Organ Failure

The medical term that means one or multiple organs are failing to work properly is known as organ failure. This condition occurs in people differently, such as suddenly or gradually. When a vital organ fails, people need life support or an organ transplant. Essential organs include the liver, kidneys, heart, brain, lungs, and small intestine.

In other words, organ failure occurs when one or several essential organs stop functioning correctly to meet the body’s needs. While some organs can recover, others may not, and people often need an organ transplant. Without treatment, organ failure is fatal.

Types of Organ Failure

Check below some essential organs that can fail:

Liver – Normally, the liver performs hundreds of functions necessary to sustain life (such as filtering toxins from the blood). Moreover, liver failure can be acute (sudden) or chronic (gradual).
Kidneys – These are vital organs because they remove waste from the blood through the urine. They also balance electrolytes and fluids.
Heart – The heart muscle delivers oxygen-rich blood to all tissues and organs in the body. If the heart begins to work improperly, it may lead to reduced oxygen to vital organs and other problems. This type of organ failure can also be acute (that occurs suddenly) and chronic (congestive heart failure). The chronic form of heart failure progresses over time.
Lungs – These organs are a part of the respiratory system that deliver oxygen to all tissues in the body. People may experience either acute or chronic respiratory failure.
Small intestine – This is also a vital organ that absorbs nutrients from food that the body requires to function properly. If it fails, you may experience malnutrition or starvation.
Brain – The brain tells all organs how to function. In general, people with degenerative brain diseases experience chronic and progressive brain failure. Sometimes, people may develop acute brain failure, which means brain death. If the brain or brainstem dies, the rest of the organs will follow.

Furthermore, when multiple organs fail, doctors may call it multiple organ failure, total organ failure, or multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

What Happens When you go into Organ Failure?

People with the chronic form of organ failure often notice that the condition progresses in stages. Generally, the four and five stages are considered “end-stages”, and they are the point where the organs no longer work. In such cases, people need artificial life support or an organ transplant to survive.

Those who develop the acute form of organ failure often notice that the disease progresses quickly. This type of organ failure is considered a medical emergency, and without immediate treatment, it often leads to death. Furthermore, the essential organs often support each other, and if one of them fails, it may lead to a domino effect.

Symptoms

Usually, people with organ failure experience the following symptoms. For example:

Sleepiness
Loss of consciousness
Weakness
Fainting
Fatigue (extreme tiredness)
Appetite changes
Nausea
Vomiting
Fast or shallow breathing
Irregular heartbeat
Fever
Chills
Increased sweating, especially in the extremities or abdomen
Persistent chest or abdominal pain

Check below also some additional signs and symptoms of specific organ failure:

Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) is often caused by liver failure
Cyanosis (it often occurs due to respiratory or heart failure) that causes a bluish tint to the lips and under the fingernails

Do not hesitate to see a doctor if any of the previous symptoms occur because they may indicate a serious health condition.

Causes

Generally, there are a lot of factors that may cause an organ failure. Check below the most common of them:

Chronic Health Conditions

The following conditions cause progressive damage to organs over time. While some of them are congenital (present at birth), others may be acquired later in life. In most cases, chronic diseases cannot be cured, and you need permanent treatment to manage them. However, some chronic disorders may cause serious damage to certain organs over the years. Check below some examples:

Chronic liver diseases – The most common liver diseases that lead to chronic liver failure are fatty liver disease and hepatitis C.
Chronic kidney diseases – Usually, people develop chronic kidney failure due to glomerulonephritis and polycystic kidney disease. Some people may also develop this type of kidney failure due to diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure).
Chronic heart diseases – In most cases, progressive heart failure occurs due to congenital heart defects or coronary artery disease.
Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases – For example, chronic intestinal motility disorders (such as intestinal pseudo-obstruction) and Crohn’s disease cause chronic intestinal failure.
Chronic respiratory diseases – Commonly, people develop a chronic form of respiratory failure due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma.
Chronic degenerative brain diseases – Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are among the most common causes of chronic brain failure (dementia).

Traumatic Injury

Some people may develop acute organ failure due to a severe injury to one of the vital organs. When the organ continues to function despite serious damage, people develop the chronic type of organ failure. Furthermore, some people may experience a state of shock due to severe injuries. In such cases, the blood flow to all organs is interrupted.

Permanent small intestinal failure – The removal of a large portion of the small bowel due to a disease (such as short bowel syndrome) is a common cause of this type of organ failure.
Doctors do not know what exactly causes degenerative brain diseases (chronic brain failure), but they can cause brain death.

Toxic Injury

There are some toxins that may lead to acute or chronic organ injury. They can negatively affect any or all of the essential organs. While you can be toxic poisoned from substances or bacterial infections that produce these toxins in the body. However, the liver and kidneys filter these toxic substances each day from the blood. If any of the previous organs fail, the toxins may build up and cause damage to multiple organs.

Chronic drug or alcohol use – Misuse of alcoholic beverages may lead to chronic liver failure (toxic hepatitis), alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy (chronic heart failure), or alcohol-related brain damage (chronic brain failure). High amounts of alcohol also negatively affect the kidneys and intestines. For instance, acute heart failure, acute liver failure, or acute kidney failure.
Environmental toxins – Certain environmental toxins contribute to chronic respiratory failure, kidney and liver disease, and degenerative brain diseases.
Bacterial infections – There are some bacterial infections that produce toxins that often affect people differently. In more severe cases, people can develop sepsis or shock.

Loss of Blood or Oxygen Supply

In normal circumstances, all tissues and organs in the body get oxygen through the blood. However, anything that affects the oxygen-rich blood flow to the organs may cause acute or chronic organ failure. This condition is known as hypoxia.

Ischemia – This is a condition in which the blood flow is restricted to a specific organ. For instance, an ischemic stroke means a part of the brain does not receive oxygen-rich blood. Therefore, it may lead to acute brain damage or brain death (sometimes). Furthermore, one of the most common causes of chronic heart failure is ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Major cardiac events – These include heart attacks (myocardial infarctions), cardiac arrest, and stroke. These conditions can interrupt blood and oxygen supply to multiple tissues and organs in the body.
Shock – This is an acute and system-wide loss of blood flow. Usually, it includes septic shock (bloodstream infection), cardiogenic shock (heart damage), obstructive shock (cardiac obstruction), and anaphylactic shock (severe allergic reaction). Without immediate treatment, shock can lead to multiple organ failure.

Diagnosis

Usually, healthcare professionals begin the diagnosis with a physical examination to check for irregularities linked to the disease. However, to confirm or rule out organ failure, doctors perform the following tests. For example:

Liver and kidney function tests – During these tests, doctors measure chemicals in the blood and urine to get more information about how your organs are working. If your doctor suspects liver or kidney problems, they may also perform a renal scan or liver stiffness scan (also known as elastrography).
Blood tests – These tests are often done to check for malnutrition. Doctors may also perform an enteroscopy of the small intestine to diagnose small intestinal failure.
Echocardiogram – This is an imaging test used to measure the heart’s ejection fraction.
Neurocognitive tests and brain scans – These tests are used to determine brain damage caused by a condition.
Pulmonary function tests – The following tests are used to determine how well your lungs are working. Doctors often perform a pulse oximetry or arterial blood gas test to measure blood oxygen levels.
Other imaging tests – These include ultrasound or CT (computerized tomography) scans.

Treatment

The treatments are often different among people because they depend on several factors. For example, the type and severity of the condition, existing health problems, age, and preferences. Usually, doctors recommend the following options to control your condition. For example:

IV (intravenous) fluids and nutrition
Oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation
Dialysis
Vasopressor medicines
Blood transfusion
Antibiotics

Rarely, an organ transplant can cure acute organ failure.

If you develop a chronic form of organ failure, doctors may recommend other treatments. These include:

Dietary and lifestyle changes that may reduce the progression of the disease.
Dialysis that slows the progression of chronic kidney failure.
Breathing interventions for people with chronic respiratory failure to help them get more oxygen.
Specific medicines to treat chronic heart failure and its causes, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, and others.
Parenteral nutrition – This treatment is often recommended for people with chronic intestinal failure.
Medications to relieve the symptoms caused by dementia. Generally, there is no specific treatment that can slow or reverse this condition.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you recover from organ failure?

In some cases, people can recover from an acute organ failure. In such cases, they need temporary life support. However, in people with chronic organ failure, the condition cannot be reversed even in the early stages. In late stages of chronic organ failure, people can also experience fibrosis (scarring in the organs) or tissue death.

What does it mean to have organ failure?

In some cases, this medical term is misleading. In general, it means that a specific organ cannot work to meet the body’s needs. In such cases, people often require life support until an organ transplant. Unfortunately, an organ transplant is not an option for everyone who develops organ failure.

What are the symptoms of organ failure?

Usually, people with organ failure experience the following symptoms. For example, extreme fatigue, confusion, nausea, and swelling in the extremities. Do not ignore the symptoms and visit a doctor for a diagnosis and treatment. If you have any other questions, ask your healthcare provider.