The Role of Predictive Models in the Assessment of the Poor Outcomes in Pediatric Acute Liver Failure

Objectives: In children, acute liver failure (ALF) is a severe condition with high mortality. As some patients need liver transplantation (LT), it is essential to predict the fatal evolution and to refer them early for LT if needed. Our study aimed to evaluate the prognostic criteria and scores for assessing the outcome in children with ALF. Methods: Data of 161 children with ALF (54.66% female, mean age 7.66 ± 6.18 years) were analyzed based on final evolution (32.91% with fatal evolution or LT) and etiology. We calculated on the first day of hospitalization the PELD score (109 children), MELD, and MELD-Na score (52 children), and King’s College Criteria (KCC) for all patients. The Nazer prognostic index and Wilson index for predicting mortality were calculated for nine patients with ALF in Wilson’s disease (WD). Results: PELD, MELD, and MELD-Na scores were significantly higher in patients with fatal evolution (21.04 ± 13.28 vs. 13.99 ± 10.07, p = 0.0023; 36.20 ± 19.51 vs. 20.08 ± 8.57, p < 0.0001; and 33.07 ± 8.29 vs. 20.08 ± 8.47, p < 0.0001, respectively). Moreover, age, bilirubin, albumin, INR, and hemoglobin significantly differed in children with fatal evolution. Function to etiology, PELD, MELD, MELD-Na, and KCC accurately predicted fatal evolution in toxic ALF (25.33 vs. 9.90, p = 0.0032; 37.29 vs. 18.79, p < 0.0001; 34.29 vs. 19.24, p = 0.0002, respectively; with positive predicting value 100%, negative predicting value 88.52%, and accuracy 89.23% for King’s College criteria). The Wilson index for predicting mortality had an excellent predictive strength (100% sensibility and specificity), better than the Nazer prognostic index. Conclusions: Prognostic scores may be used to predict the fatal evolution of ALF in children in correlation with other parameters or criteria. Early estimation of the outcome of ALF is essential, mainly in countries where emergency LT is problematic, as the transfer to a specialized center could be delayed, affecting survival chances.