20th April 2024

Presentation

Acute liver failure can be hyperacute (<7 days), acute (7-21 days) or subacute (3-26 weeks). Patients are unwell with signs of hepatic encephalopathy and may develop jaundice, tachycardia and reduced blood pressure, mimicking sepsis. It can occur in isolation or on a background of underlying chronic liver disease (known as acute-on-chronic liver failure), which may be mistaken for acute liver failure if it is a first presentation.