Patient's question:
It's often said that men develop fatty liver because of drinking and overeating. However, women rarely get fatty liver. I have a female colleague who is pregnant, and during this check-up, she was diagnosed with acute fatty liver during pregnancy.Doctor's answer:
Hello, Acute Fatty Liver Disease (AFLD) during pregnancy is a rare and severe complication with a poor prognosis, most commonly occurring in the final trimester of pregnancy. Its clinical presentation is often similar to severe acute hepatitis and can include acute liver failure, pancreatitis, renal failure, and systemic coagulation abnormalities, leading to rapid death. It is more prevalent in women with their first pregnancy. Typical cases present with acute onset, initial symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, upper abdominal pain, and back pain, varying degrees of hypertension and edema, progressively worsening jaundice, and short-term complications such as coma, ascites, large patches of skin bruising, hematochezia, and hematuria. Once a definitive diagnosis is made, pregnancy should be terminated immediately, as this is the only effective measure. If left until late-stage liver failure and coagulation dysfunction, followed by Cesarean section or induction of labor, it may result in postpartum hemorrhage, endangering the lives of both the mother and the baby.