ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Acute skin failure (ASF) is an emergency state encountered by dermatologists, akin to other organ failures. ASF does not imply simple disruption of cutaneous integrity and functional loss, but it also is a multiorgan failure. Although many authors have attempted to dene ASF in various ways, the denition given by Irvine in 1991 appears most comprehensive: “Loss of normal temperature control with inability to maintain the core body temperature, and failure to prevent percutaneous loss of uid, electrolytes and protein, with resulting imbalance, and failure of the mechanical barrier to prevent penetration of foreign materials.”1
