Episode 4: Acute Liver Failure in Dogs and Cats (Bleeding risks, Pregnancy-associated ALF, When to biopsy)

Welcome to The VetEmCrit Podcast — where we break down complex veterinary emergency and critical care topics into clear, evidence-based insights you can use right away in practice. Each episode of the VetEmCrit Podcast is the audio version of our YouTube videos, created so you can learn emergency and critical care on the go. If you’re new here, I’m Dr. Igor Yankin, DACVECC, a small animal emergency and critical care specialist and founder of vetemcrit.com. In this episode of the VetEmCrit Podcast, we explore why definitions of acute liver failure differ between human and veterinary medicine, and how that shapes diagnosis and treatment. We’ll tackle controversial topics like whether encephalopathy should be required for diagnosis, when it’s actually safe to biopsy a coagulopathic patient, and what to do when viscoelastic testing and INR tell different stories. We’ll also look at emerging—and often overlooked—causes, including pregnancy-associated liver failure and copper storage disease. Can lessons from human medicine, like transjugular biopsy and targeted transfusion strategies, really apply to our patients? Join us as we unpack the data, the guidelines, and the gray zones that matter most for ER vets managing acute liver failure at the cage-side. Free resources to help you level up: Youtube channel Free Acid-Base Analysis Workshop Free veterinary emergency tools, protocols, and articles Online courses on acid-base and electrolyte disorders Free RACE-approved CE on IV potassium supplementation