Effectiveness of combining plasma exchange with plasma perfusion in acute fatty liver of pregnancy: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) is a severe liver failure condition that has limited therapeutic approaches. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of combining plasma exchange (PE) and plasma perfusion (PP) with conventional therapy for the treatment of AFLP using a retrospective analysis.

METHODS

Among 22 patients with AFLP, 16 cases were treated with conventional treatment (CT group), while the other 6 cases were treated with PE and PP in addition to conventional therapy (CT+PE+PP group). Treatment efficacy was based primarily on survival and secondarily on liver and kidney functions 2 weeks after treatment. Adverse effects were also assessed at the same time point.

RESULTS

In the CT+PE+PP group, 5 (83.3%) patients improved, while 1 (16.7%) patient died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. In the CT group, 3 (18.75%) patients improved, while 13 (81.2%) patients died of complications. Liver and kidney functions and survival were significantly improved in the CT+PE+PP group (p < 0.05) compared to the CT group.

CONCLUSIONS

Timely application of PE and PP in the early phase of AFLP may be a promising treatment to halt or reverse the progression of AFLP.