A Study on Biomarkers Predicting the Outcome of Acute-on-chronic Liver Failure

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is an ailment with high incidence of multiorgan failure (MOF) and consequent mortality. Systemic inflammation and susceptibility to infection are characteristic pathophysiological features. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) could subdue systemic inflammation and alleviate liver injury in mice model. However, there are no studies evaluating PGE2 as a predictor of early mortality.This study is designed to investigate whether plasma PGE2 and its receptors are associated with development of MOF and predict short-term mortality in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure. By the way, we will also measure several other potential predictive factors (C-reactive protein,severe hyponatremia, Second infections,Diabetes mellitus,High density lipoprotein,interleukin-10,serum bile acids,ferritin,the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio,soluable urokinase plasminogen activator receptor,vWF-Ag levels and FVIII-to-PC ratios).