Acute fulminant hepatitis, better known as fulminant heptic failure or acute liver failure or fulminant hepatitis has become a fast growing and developing medical concern, which is caused due to the injured liver cells that cannot be repaired very quickly to support the system. This often causes the liver to stop functioning for a certain period of time that results in problems in some other parts of the body. There is a difference between acute liver failure and acute hepatitis- in case of acute liver failure, the liver dies due to the problem.

Since the liver is one of the most vital organs of the body, when the liver is damaged, other organs get affected as well. The human brain is largely affected due to liver failure and the injury caused to the brain during liver failure is known as encephalopathy.

The Symptoms

Encephalopathy is detected prior to the determination or diagnosis of fulminant hepatitis. Patients suffering form fulminant hepatitis must first show the signs and symptoms of encephalopathy. The key symptoms include behavioral chage, confusion, mental health concerns and lack of alertness. These symptoms might as well cause coma in some cases and can even cause death, if the condition doesn’t reverse.

The Causes

Viral hepatitis infection leads to acute liver failure. It is one of the most severe complications associated with hepatitis. In fact, the doctor would always keep this fact in mind while treating patients suffering from viral hepatitis. Though acute liver failure is rare, but is commonly associated with hepatitis A and B infections. Still, it is only about 1% people infected with hepatitis B and lesser percentage than that are infected with hepatitis A are likely to have fulminant hepatitis.

Another cause of fulminant hepatitis in America is acetaminophen toxicity. Acetaminophen, also called Tylenol, is a typical painkiller, like aspirin and can be availed over-the-counter. People who are frequent drinkers usually take acetaminophen in abundance and are at an increased risk of developing acute liver failure.

Treatment

The treatment involved for fulminant hepatitis is usually critical. Hospitalization is a must and patients deserve critical care service, since there are multiple problems that require dedicated intensive care. The primary objective of such treatment is to keep the sufferer alive for long to allow the liver to repair itself according to its own time or until and unless the patient can be sent for liver transplantation. But in some case, liver transplant is not advised medically for certain reasons and also there aren’t many livers available to be transplanted.

Being such a critical problem, fulminant hepatitis is potentially dangerous and can be fatal as well. Once diagnosed with the disease, patients must take proper care of themselves and especially of their diet. Alcohol is something that damages the liver to a large extent and needs to be avoided under every circumstance. People suffering from prolonged liver problems must be more careful than the rest and must as well take precautionary measures to prevent the development of critical liver complications like hepatitis types and fulminant hepatitis.