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ISSN 1001-5256 (Print)
ISSN 2097-3497 (Online)
CN 22-1108/R
Volume 41 Issue 7
Jul.  2025
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Article Contents

The survival benefit of plasma exchange in patients with acute liver failure: Controversies and thoughts

DOI: 10.12449/JCH250708
Research funding:

National Natural Science Foundation of China (82170535)

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  • Corresponding author: JIN Qinglong, jinql@jlu.edu.cn (ORCID: 0000-0002-4626-9828)
  • Received Date: 2025-06-04
  • Accepted Date: 2025-06-26
  • Published Date: 2025-07-25
  • Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare but life-threatening clinical syndrome, and supportive care and liver transplantation are currently the main treatment methods for ALF. Plasma exchange (PEX), as a blood purification technique, can remove inflammatory mediators and toxins, and it is a widely used alternative therapy for liver transplantation in clinical practice. Studies have shown that PEX can alleviate inflammatory response, stabilize hemodynamics, and improve survival rate in ALF patients. However, a multicenter retrospective cohort study in the UK published in Journal of Hepatology in April 2025 showed that there was no improvement in overall survival benefit or transplantation-free survival rate in ALF patients after PEX, which has led to widespread debate in the academic world. This article reviews the advances in the application of PEX in ALF and discusses related controversial issues.

     

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