Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of plasma exchange (PE) in the treatment of patients with liver failure. Methods A total of 47 patients with liver failure were admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University from February 2015 through August 2018, and all patients underwent three or more PE treatment, and followed-up for 12 weeks. Multivariate Logistic analysis was applied to reveal the impacting factors of survival. Results At the end of 12 weeks, 22 (46.8%)survived, and 25 died; the age, baseline MELD score, PTA and APTT in the fatal group were (47.5±13.4)yr, (33.5±6.1), (23.8±10.1)% and (93.8±40.6)s, significantly different compared to , and the incidence of hepatic encephalopathy in fatal group was 64.0%, significantly higher than 27.3%(P＜0.05) in survivals; multivariate Logistic analysis showed that the age and baseline PTA were the independent factors affecting prognosis of patients with liver failure; the decreased serum bilirubin levels after PE were positively correlated to serum bilirubin levels before(r=0.866, P＜0.05), and the PTA increased most obviously after first PE treatment(P＜0.05). Conclusion Our findings suggest that patients’age and baseline PTA are the independent risk factors for short-term prognosis in patients with liver failure, and the clinicians should take these factors into consideration in clinical practice to deal with in time.

Key words: Liver failure, Plasma exchange, Prognosis