Join us for the Cutting-Edge Critical Care in Liver Failure: From Physiology to Transplantation, July 6-7, 2026, in Hollywood, FL!
Why Attend?
This symposium is a collaborative forum bringing together clinicians, educators, and trainees to thoughtfully explore the care of critically ill patients with acute liver failure, decompensated cirrhosis, and acute-on-chronic liver failure—from foundational physiology through transplantation. Our goal is to emphasize evidence-based practice, interprofessional collaboration, and practical bedside application.
By attending, participants will be able to:
- Integrate core liver physiology with clinical syndrome recognition (acute liver injury [ALI], acute liver failure [ALF], acute-on-chronic liver failure [ACLF], and alcohol-associated hepatitis) to rapidly triage and manage critically ill liver patients, applying evidence-based ICU strategies for complications of decompensated cirrhosis, including variceal bleeding, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatic encephalopathy, and acute kidney injury.
- Implement a time-sensitive, integrated ICU management approach for acute liver failure prioritizing golden-hour interventions utilizing evidence-informed neuromonitoring to prevent, detect and mitigate cerebral edema and intracranial hypertension, initiating organ-specific support and extracorporeal therapies as bridge to recovery or liver transplantation.
- Recognize and stage acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) through systematic assessment of organ failures and precipitating triggers, initiate prompt organ-specific management to prevent further deterioration and expedite comprehensive transplant evaluation and referral to optimize candidacy and survival.
- Differentiate hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) from other causes of acute kidney injury in cirrhosis, guide targeted vasoconstrictor and volume therapies, and select appropriate mean arterial pressure (MAP) targets and vasopressors for shock based on cirrhosis-specific hemodynamic physiology.
- Integrate ICU stabilization in parallel with transplant decision-making by identifying clinical triggers for urgent transfer and transplant-center activation, implementing strategies to preserve transplant candidacy during the critical window, and coordinating multidisciplinary consultation across critical care, hepatology, and transplant services.
- Prioritize and risk-stratify liver transplant candidates by integrating ACLF severity and waitlist mortality risk with comprehensive cardiac evaluation (including indications for combined cardiac–liver, kidney transplant), frailty and sarcopenia assessment, and ethical frameworks for transplant candidacy, including appropriate decision-making when transplantation is not indicated or feasible.
- Manage complex peri-transplant critical care differentiating and optimizing portopulmonary hypertension versus hepatopulmonary syndrome to guide perioperative risk mitigation and coordinating care with anesthesia for high-risk patients with cardiac comorbidities to reduce intraoperative and postoperative complications.
- Apply practical ICU strategies for advanced liver disease, balancing coagulopathy management with procedural safety, implementing right-heart–protective strategies in portopulmonary hypertension, and operationalizing standardized Liver ICU pathways to improve patient safety, efficiency, and outcomes.
Who Should Attend?
This activity is designed for physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, fellows, residents, and other health care professionals who have an interest in treating patients with liver failure in critical care.