Five patients with hepatic failure (4 with acute hepatic failure and 1 with chronic hepatic failure) were treated by plasma exchange. Improvement of coma grade was observed in 2 patients. but 3 patients died without recovery from coma. The death in 1 of the 3 fatal cases was due to chronic hepatic failure. PT in the 2 patients whose lives were saved showed recovery progressively at each plasma exchange, but PT in the 3 fatal cases remained below 50% of normal. It was concluded that measurement

more »

... f PT is useful for the early diagnosis of acute hepatic failure and that it is essential to perform plasma exchange as quickly as possible once diagnosis is established.