Background: Describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics in the pediatric patients with Acute Liver Failure that were attended in the period between 1998 and 2009 in the different health institutions in Colombia. Methods: A transversal study based on the revision of clinical histories and questionnaires carried out in 10 health institutions in 5 Colombian cities; including 2 Centers specialized in Transplants to evaluate the cases of Fulminant Hepatic Failure in patients under the age of 18 years of age presented between January 1998 and November 2009. FHF was defined as: 1). The elevation of AST and ALT aminotransferases and/or the elevation of conjugated bilirubin. 2). The absence of known chronic hepatic disease. 3). INR > or equal to 1.5 or PT > or equal to 15 seconds after the administration of vitamin K, if the patient presents encephalopathy or 4). An INR > or equal to 2.0 or TP > or equal to 20 seconds after the administration of vitamin K if encephalopathy is not presented. 5.) The degree of encephalopathy was stratified according to age and according to its classification. Results: 47 clinical histories were revised and 46 subjects were included. The average age was 5.8 years of age (4 months of age – 16 years of age); of which 58.6% corresponded to the female gender; 28.35% (13/46) coming from rural areas. Jaundice was found in 100% of the subjects upon entry and encephalopathy in 76% (35/46). Liver failure was mortal in 32.6% (15/46), with the average age being 6, 5 years of age. Infection as a result of the Hepatitis A Virus was one of the first causes of FHF with 32.6% (15/46) as well as Indeterminate Hepatitis (32.6%) and 15.2% caused by a toxic reaction to the medications. The greatest proportion of deaths is associated to Indeterminate Hepatitis due to the forcefulness of the disease and the limited elements to understand its etiology. 76.6% of the transplant candidates obtained a successful transplant (67%); retransplant was carried out in 2 subjects, one died and the other managed to survive. Conclusion: Acute Liver Failure is a frequent pathology among the pediatric ages in Colombia and is caused by the Hepatitis A Virus in up to 32.6% of the cases. A high percentage of patients need liver transplantation and in some cases have fatal consequences. Many of these cases are preventable with vaccination. Abstracts for SupplementInternational Journal of Infectious DiseasesVol. 14Preview Full-Text PDF Open Archive