Acute Liver Failure Study Group: Adult Acute Liver Failure Study (AALF)
Study Design: Cohort
Conditions: Liver Diseases, Liver Failure, Acute
Division: DDN
Duration: 1998 – Present
# Recruitment Centers: 15
Treatment: None, observational only
Available Genotype Data: No
Image Summary: No
Transplant Type: Liver Transplant
Does it have dialysis patients: No
Access to samples for Acute Liver Failure Study Group: Adult Acute Liver Failure Study (AALF) is currently only available via collaboration. Please contact the parent study to ask about ancillary study opportunities.
Clinical Trials URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00518440
General Description
Acute liver failure (ALF) affects about 2,000 persons per year in the U.S. Patients with ALF show severe and sometimes devastating disease presentations and require extensive care and resources. Liver transplant is often necessitated as treatment. The Acute Liver Failure Study Group (ALFSG) was established in 1997 to develop a consortium of investigators and clinical centers that could consolidate data and biospecimens for observational and clinical trials concerning ALF.
A Multi-Center Trial to Study Acute Liver Failure in Adults (AALF) is a prospective cohort study currently being conducted by the ALFSG. The study is designed to collect clinical and epidemiological data as well as serum, plasma, urine, tissue and DNA samples on individuals who have ALF and on individuals who have acute liver injury (ALI), a less severe group of patients who have coagulopathy but do not reach the threshold of encephalopathy. Patients with either ALF or ALI who meet the eligibility criteria are enrolled and referred to ALFSG clinical sites by providers. Information concerning clinical history and physical findings, hospital course, and short- and long-term outcomes are collected for all participants who consent to participate in the study. Patients are followed long-term at 6 and 12 months. Overall survival and outcome data will be assessed to contribute to the understanding of these conditions. Currently, the bioreposity contains more than 75,000 specimens for over 2,000 patients.
This study is ongoing.
Objectives
The primary objectives of the study are to collect clinical and epidemiological data as well as biospecimens (serum, plasma, urine, tissue, DNA samples) on individuals who have acute liver failure and on individuals who have acute liver injury, a less severe group of patients who have coagulopathy but do not reach the threshold of encephalopathy.
Criteria
Eligibility criteria for patients with ALF include:
- Altered mentation of any degree (encephalopathy)
- Evidence of moderately severe coagulopathy (INR ≥ 1.5)
- Presumed acute illness onset of less than 26 weeks
- Informed consent from patient’s next of kin
Eligibility criteria for patients with ALI include:
- Acetaminophen (APAP) etiology of acute illness < 2 weeks
- INR ≥ 2.0, ALT ≥ 10X ULN, and non-acetaminophen etiology of acute illness < 26 weeks
- INR ≥ 2.0, ALT ≥ 10X ULN, and TBili ≥ 3 mg/dl
Outcome
This study is ongoing.