Acute fatty liver of pregnancy: A report of two cases

Abstract

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is an uncommon, potentially fatal disorder. Between 1998 and 2000, two patients with acute fatty liver of pregnancy presented at the Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore. Both patients were in the thirty-sixth week of pregnancy. Jaundice and encephalopathy were the predominant symptoms. Both the mothers died after they delivered a stillborn infant each. The maternal deaths were due to multiorgan failure and/or postpartum haemorrhage and sepsis. The route of delivery was vaginal in both the patients. Extrahepatic and metabolic complications in both cases included renal failure, sepsis, hypoglycaemia, disseminated intravascular coagulation and gastrointestinal bleeding. Liver biopsy done in both patients was consistent with the diagnosis of acute fatty liver of pregnancy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report from India on acute fatty liver of pregnancy.