Background & Aims:
Acute liver failure (ALF) due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection
can occur after immunosuppressive treatment and be fatal, although it might
be preventable. We aimed to characterize the causes, clinical course, and
short-term outcomes of HBV-associated ALF after immune suppressive therapy,
compared to patients with HBV-associated ALF without immunosuppression
(controls).
Methods:
We performed a retrospective multi-center study of 156 consecutive
patients diagnosed with HBV-associated ALF (22 with a solid or blood
malignancy) enrolled in the Acute Liver Failure Study Group registry from
January 1998 through April 2015. We collected data on results of serologic
and hepatic biochemistry analyses, grade of hepatic encephalopathy, model
for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, and King’s College
criteria. We also collected data on clinical features, medical therapies,
and complications in the first 7 days following study enrollment. Logistic
regression was used to identify factors associated with transplant-free
survival 21 days in HBV-associated ALF (the primary outcome).
Results:
Among patients with HBV-associated ALF, 28 cases (18%) occurred after
immunosuppressive therapy (15 patients received systemic corticosteroids and
21 received chemotherapy); and 128 cases did not (controls, 82%).
Significantly greater proportions of patients with Hepatitis B-associated
ALF after immunosuppression were non-white, and had anemia or
thrombocytopenic than controls (P<.02 for all). The serologic profile
of HBV infection, severity of liver failure (based on MELD score), and
complications (hepatic encephalopathy or need for mechanical ventilation,
vasopressors, or renal replacement therapy) were similar between the groups
(P>.17 for all). Significantly smaller proportions of patients with
ALF after immunosuppression than controls survived for 21 days (42.9% vs
62.5% of controls; P=.0096). Factors associated with 21 day transplant-free
survival (c-statistic = 0.866) were increased MELD score (odds ratio, 0.894
per increment), requirement for mechanical ventilation (odds ratio, 0.111),
and immunosuppressive therapy (odds ratio, 0.274).
Conclusion:
Within a cohort study of HBV-associated ALF patients, 18% had
received immunosuppressive therapy. Significantly smaller proportions of
HBV-associated ALF patients after immunosuppression survive beyond 21 days
than patients with HBV-associated ALF who did not receive immunosuppression.
Patients undergoing chemotherapy should be screened for HBV infection and
given appropriate anti-viral therapies to reduce preventable mortality.