OBJECTIVE

To compare and analyze the clinical characteristics between acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) and the hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome.

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of 13 cases with AFLP and 34 cases with HELLP syndrome were collected from three tertiary referral centers in Yunnan (the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, and Yan'an Hospital of Kunming City) from January 2016 to December 2021. The patients were diagnosed to AFLP and HELLP syndrome according to the Swansea criteria and the Tennessee classification system. The general characteristics, clinical features, laboratory results within 24 hours after admission, complications, maternal and neonatal outcomes were compared to analysis the differences between the two groups.

RESULTS

(1) Maternal characteristics: compared with HELLP syndrome group, AFLP group had lower body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure at admission (both P < 0.01). (2) Clinical features: the most common symptoms in AFLP patients were skin jaundice, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, edema. The main manifestations of patients with HELLP syndrome were albuminuria, hypertension, edema, headache. Some patients had multiple symptoms concurrently. (3) Laboratory results: compared with HELLP syndrome group, the levels of platelet count (PLT), total bilirubin (TBil), direct bilirubin (DBil), γ-glutamyl transferase (γ-GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bile acid (TBA), serum creatinine (SCr) and international standardized ratio (INR) in AFLP group were significantly increased within 24 hours after admission [PLT (×10/L): 107.69±51.13 vs.76.71±43.25,TBil (μmol/L): 121.60 (83.20, 170.00) vs.15.25 (7.22, 29.05), DBil (μmol/L): 86.50 (58.60, 104.00) vs. 4.30 (2.22,10.10), γ-GGT (U/L): 87.00 (37.00, 127.00) vs. 41.00 (19.00,64.42), ALP (U/L): 199.10 (109.00, 349.20) vs. 125.50 (90.50, 155.25), TBA (μmol/L): 51.50 (16.20, 117.40) vs. 4.15 (2.02, 6.95), SCr (μmol/L): 155.80 (129.00, 237.00) vs. 79.00 (65.43, 113.70), INR: 1.28 (1.17, 1.63) vs. 0.94 (0.88, 1.08), all P < 0.05], prothrombin time (PT) was significantly prolonged [seconds: 16.10 (14.50, 19.20) vs. 12.40 (11.43, 13.40), P < 0.05]. The level of blood glucose (GLU), fibrinogen (FIB) and the activity of antithrombin III (AT III) decreased significantly [GLU (mmol/L): 5.18±1.33 vs. 6.33±1.19, FIB (g/L): 1.96±1.46 vs. 3.81±1.58, AT III (%): 40.61±25.84 vs. 66.39±24.11, all P < 0.05]; (4) Complications: compared with HELLP syndrome group, the incidence of patients with hypoglycemia [30.77% (4/13) vs. 0% (0/34)], acute liver failure [53.85% (7/13) vs. 5.88% (2/34)], acute renal insufficiency [69.23% (9/13) vs. 8.82% (3/34)], coagulopathy [76.92% (10/13) vs. 38.24% (13/34)], disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) [53.85% (7/13) vs. 5.88% (2/34)], and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) [53.85% (7/13) vs. 5.88% (2/34)] were significantly higher in AFLP group (all P <0.05). (5) Maternal and neonatal outcome: all patients delivered after admission. The total length of hospital and intensive care unit stay were significantly longer in the AFLP group than in the HELLP syndrome group [days: 17.00 (11.00, 25.00) vs. 9.00 (7.00, 12.00), 12.00 (4.00, 22.00) vs. 3.91 (0, 7.00), both P < 0.01]. Two AFLP patients died, including one due to intracranial venous thrombosis and one due to multiple organ failure and cardiopulmonary arrest. There were no deaths in the HELLP syndrome group.

CONCLUSIONS

There are significant differences in maternal characteristics, laboratory results and complications between AFLP and HELLP syndrome. TBil, γ-GGT, SCr, FIB, INR and AT III activity may help to distinguish the two diseases.