Indocyanine green clearance as a prognostic marker in acute liver failure

Aims: In patients suffering from acute liver failure (ALF) prediction of prognosis is of major importance to decide whether liver transplantation is needed. The King´s College criteria (KCC) are widely used to determine prognosis. However, the specificity of the KCC to predict the need for transplantation is low. Indocyanine green (ICG) is a dye that is biliary cleared from the blood and its plasma concentration can be determined non-invasively by the rate of absorption of infrared light. The clearance of ICG depends on hepatic blood flow and hepatocyte function. Methods: Consecutive patients presenting with ALF…