Acute Liver Dysfunction Criteria in Critically Ill Children: The PODIUM Consensus Conference

Abstract

Context: Develop evidence-based criteria for individual organ dysfunction.

Objectives: Evaluate current evidence and develop contemporary consensus criteria for acute liver dysfunction with associated outcomes in critically ill children.

Data sources: Electronic searches of PubMed and Embase conducted from January 1992 to January 2020, used medical subject heading terms and text words to characterize acute liver dysfunction and outcomes.

Study selection: Studies evaluating critically ill children with acute liver dysfunction, assessed screening tools, and outcomes were included. Studies evaluating adults, infants ≤36 weeks gestational age, or animals or were reviews/commentaries, case series with sample size ≤10, or non-English language studies were excluded.

Data extraction: Data were abstracted from each eligible study into a data extraction form along with risk of bias assessment by a task force member.

Results: The systematic review supports criteria for acute liver dysfunction, in the absence of known chronic liver disease, as having onset of symptoms <8 weeks, combined with biochemical evidence of acute liver injury, and liver-based coagulopathy, with hepatic encephalopathy required for an international normalized ratio between 1.5 and 2.0.

Limitations: Unable to assess acute-on-chronic liver dysfunction, subjective nature of hepatic encephalopathy, relevant articles missed by reviewers.

Conclusions: Proposed criteria identify an infant, child, or adolescent who has reached a clinical threshold where any of the 3 outcomes (alive with native liver, death, or liver transplant) are possible and should prompt an urgent liaison with a recognized pediatric liver transplant center if liver failure is the principal driver of multiple organ dysfunction.