Value of laboratory tests for acute liver failure in children

Acute liver failure (ALF) in children is severe syndrome with varied etiology and a rapid deterioration of liver function which results in coagulopathy abnormality and encephalopathy.ALF in children often carries a high morbidity and mortality.Laboratory tests is helpful for diagnosis and severity assessment of ALF in children and is useful for predicting survival or need for liver transplantation.The objective of this article is to introduce the values of laboratory tests in clinical diagnosis,prognosis and timing for transplantation of ALF in children. Key words: Acute liver failure;  Hepatic encephalopathy ; Coagulopathy ;  Laboratory tests