Liver Transplantation for Acute Liver Failure due to Yellow Fever: A Case Report

Abstract

Yellow fever is a noncontagious disease caused by an arbovirus in the Flaviviridae family. It is an endemic disease in the tropical forests of Africa and South America, with the mosquito as a vector. Approximately half of those infected will be asymptomatic, while 15% will develop the severe/malignant form of the disease that includes renal and hepatic failure, bleeding, and neurological impairment as the principal symptoms. The lethality of the severe form reaches up to 70%. The objective of this study was to report on the case of a patient who was transferred to the hepatobiliary unit of our service due to acute liver failure due to yellow fever. He was treated with liver transplantation. The patient progressed satisfactorily, being discharged from the intensive care unit in 10 days and discharged from the hospital within 19 days after transplantation. Despite the encouraging result of our team, this has not been applied to other centers that have also performed this modality of treatment; therefore, the question remains as to whether and when to recommend liver transplantation for treatment of severe yellow fever.