Acute liver failure
Authors:
K. Maťašová
Authors‘ workplace:
Neonatologická klinika, Jesseniova lekárska fakulta v Martine, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave, Univerzitná nemocnica Martin
Published in:
Čes-slov Neonat 2026; 32 (1): 5-10.
Category:
Original Paper
Overview
Acute liver failure in the newborn is a serious condition with an unfavorable prognosis. It is usually the result of a disease that affects the liver during the fetal period and is defined as a loss of synthetic function of the liver with coagulopathy unresponsive to vitamin K administration and an INR ≥ 2.0. The most common causes of acute liver failure in the newborn are gestational alloimmune liver disease, viral infections, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, and inborn errors of metabolism, most often affecting mitochondria. The article provides an overview of the differential diagnosis and basic principles of treatment of the newborn with acute liver failure. The main cause of liver failure in newborns is gestational alloimmune liver disease, when hepatocyte development is impaired as a result of transplacental transfer of maternal antibodies. There are no specific serological tests for the diagnosis of this condition, nor is the antigen that induced the production of antibodies known. Early administration of intravenous immunoglobulin in combination with exchange transfusion reduces mortality. Prevention consists of administering intravenous immunoglobulin in subsequent pregnancies.
Keywords:
liver failure – newborn – GALD – koagulopathy
Sources
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Neonatology Neonatal NurseArticle was published in
Czech and Slovak Neonatology
2026 Issue 1
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