Patients in hepatic coma may die within a few days if the disease is due to acute liver failure; if the disease is due to chronic liver abnormalities, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, they can usually survive for years or even decades with active treatment. Hepatic coma is the development of hepatic encephalopathy to a serious stage. Acute hepatic encephalopathy is commonly associated with fulminant liver failure, where patients may experience short-term excitement, agitation, delirium, etc., and then rapidly enter coma or even death. Chronic hepatic encephalopathy is common after cirrhosis, primary hepatocellular carcinoma and portal-body shunts, and can manifest as intermittent fluctuating disorders of consciousness, personality and behavioral changes, and then progress to hepatic coma, which can last for years or even decades. Hepatic coma is a serious medical emergency with a high mortality rate, and the principle of treatment is to actively treat the primary disease. In some patients, liver failure can be improved by liver transplantation and artificial liver.