Heat stroke leading to acute liver injury & failure: A case series from the Acute Liver Failure Study Group

Abstract

Background & aims: In the United States, nearly 1000 annual cases of heat stroke are reported but the frequency and outcome of severe liver injury in such patients is not well described. The aim of this study was to describe cases of acute liver injury (ALI) or failure (ALF) caused by heat stroke in a large ALF registry.

Methods: Amongst 2675 consecutive subjects enrolled in a prospective observational cohort of patients with ALI or ALF between January 1998 and April 2015, there were eight subjects with heat stroke.

Results: Five patients had ALF and three had ALI. Seven patients developed acute kidney injury, all eight had lactic acidosis and rhabdomyolysis. Six patients underwent cooling treatments, three received N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), three required mechanical ventilation, three required renal replacement therapy, two received vasopressors, one underwent liver transplantation, and two patients died-both within 48 hours of presentation. All cases occurred between May and August, mainly in healthy young men because of excessive exertion.

Conclusions: Management of ALI and ALF secondary to heat stroke should focus on cooling protocols and supportive care, with consideration of liver transplantation in refractory patients.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00518440.

Keywords: acute liver failure; heat stroke; liver transplantation; multi-organ system failure; rhabdomyolysis.

FIGURE 1

Autopsy histopathology of the liver in a patient who died from heat stroke and acute liver failure: (A) massive hepatocyte necrosis throughout nearly the entire lobule, ×40; (B, C) Showing viable bile duct in portal tract, rare viable hepatocytes in periportal zone, haemorrhagic necrosis in centrilobular zone, picture B at ×100, C at ×200. Autopsy was performed within 6 hours of death