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Experts, More Research Needed for Best Treatment of PALF
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Due to its rarity and complexity, pediatric acute liver failure requires treatment by an expert and, even then, presents an ongoing challenge.
“Most clinicians will not even see a single case during their whole career,” Richard A. Schreiber, MDCM, FRCP(C), FAASLD, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, said in an interview with Healio Gastroenterology. “And most specialists in gastroenterology are highly uncomfortable managing patients with advanced liver failure. These cases are highly complex and require physicians who are highly expert in managing liver disease.”
Many of these experts convened in the PALF study group in 1999 and have made great strides in understanding this complex disease, how it differs depending on age of presentation and how new research might target treatment.
“The next frontier is trying to tailor therapy to the underlying cause, particularly in the arena of immune mediated injury. Thus, the focus needs to be on identifying high and low-risk subsets of children with PALF for interventions,” Michael R. Narkewicz, MD, professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, told Healio Gastroenterology.
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The Editors Healio Gastroenterology gastroenterology@healio.com