VA Cooperative Study on Alcoholic Hepatitis. III: Changes in protein-calorie malnutrition associated with 30 days of hospitalization with and without enteral nutritional therapy

ACG Clinical Guideline: Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease

ABSTRACT

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is the most common cause of advanced hepatic disease and frequent indication for liver transplantation worldwide. With harmful alcohol use as the primary risk factor, increasing alcohol use over the past decade has resulted in rapid growth of the ALD-related healthcare burden. The spectrum of ALD ranges from early asymptomatic liver injury to advanced disease with decompensation and portal hypertension. Compared with those with other etiologies of liver disease, patients with ALD progress faster and more often present at an advanced stage. A unique phenotype of advanced disease is alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) presenting with rapid onset or worsening of jaundice, and acute on chronic liver failure in severe forms conveying a 1-month mortality risk of 20%-50%. The model for end stage disease score is the most accurate score to stratify AH severity (>20 defined as severe disease). Corticosteroids are currently the only available therapeutic with proven efficacy for patients with severe AH, providing survival benefit at 1 month in 50%-60% of patients. Abstinence of alcohol use, a crucial determinant of long-term outcomes, is challenging to achieve in ALD patients with concurrent alcohol use disorder (AUD). As patients with ALD are rarely treated for AUD, strategies are needed to overcome barriers to AUD treatment in patients with ALD and to promote a multidisciplinary integrated care model with hepatology, addiction medicine providers, and social workers to comprehensively manage the dual pathologies of liver disease and of AUD. Liver transplantation, a definitive treatment option in patients with advanced cirrhosis, should be considered in selected patients with AH, who are unresponsive to medical therapy and have a low risk of relapse to posttransplant alcohol use. Level of evidence and strength of recommendations were evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations system. This guideline was developed under the American College of Gastroenterology Practice Parameters Committee.

Past, Present, and Future Therapies for Alcohol-associated Hepatitis

PURPOSE

Alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is a unique presentation of cholestatic steatohepatitis with liver dysfunction and malaise preceded by heavy alcohol intake. Although AH exists on a spectrum, in its most severe form, 28-day mortality approaches 50%. Clinical trials of therapeutic interventions over the last 50 years have yielded few durable therapies, none of which convey benefit beyond the short term.

METHODS

A qualitative systematic review was performed via searches of PubMed, the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and ClinicalTrials.gov for therapeutic interventions for AH.

FINDINGS

Prior to 2005, clinical trial results for AH were identified within PubMed. From 2005 to the present, trials were well catalogued within online registries and included information regarding trial status (eg, complete, terminated, actively enrolling). Most clinical trials for AH have used existing medications broadly targeting pathogenic themes of AH (eg, inflammation, cell death) in an off-label manner. The trend of initially promising pilot studies answered by larger trials showing lack of efficacy or safety signals have ended the hopes of many new therapeutics. The emergence of theragnostics to identify patients who may benefit from existing therapies and trials of agents with novel mechanisms of action, including epigenetic modifications and hyaluronic acid signaling targeted to AH pathogenesis, are currently under investigation.

IMPLICATIONS

This review of AH treatments details the historical interventions and clinical trials that have led to the current treatment algorithm and active studies shaping the therapeutic pipeline for AH.

Predicted estimates of resting energy expenditure have limited clinical utility in patients with cirrhosis

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Malnutrition is associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with cirrhosis. Accurate assessment of energy requirements is needed to optimize dietary intake. Resting energy expenditure (REE), the major component of total energy expenditure, can be measured using indirect calorimetry (mREE) or estimated using prediction equations (pREE). This study assessed the usefulness of predicted estimates of REE in this patient population.

METHODS

Individual mREE data were available for 900 patients with cirrhosis (mean [±1 SD] age 55.7±11.6 years-old; 70% men; 52% south-east Asian) and 282 healthy controls (mean age 36.0±12.8 years-old; 52% men; 18% south-east Asian). Metabolic status was classified using thresholds based on the mean ± 1 SD of the mREE in the healthy controls. Comparisons were made between mREE and pREE estimates obtained using the Harris-Benedict, Mifflin, Schofield and Henry equations. Stepwise regression was used to build 3 new prediction models which included sex, ethnicity, body composition measures, and model for end-stage liver disease scores.

RESULTS

The mean mREE was significantly higher in patients than controls when referenced to dry body weight (22.4±3.8 cf. 20.8±2.6 kcal/kg/24 hr; p <0.001); there were no significant sex differences. The mean mREE was significantly higher in Caucasian than Asian patients (23.1±4.4 cf. 21.7±2.9 kcal/kg/24 hr; p <0.001). Overall, 37.1% of Caucasian and 25.3% of Asian patients were classified as hypermetabolic. The differences between mREE and pREE were both statistically and clinically relevant; in the total patient population, pREE estimates ranged from 501 kcal/24 hr less to 548 kcal/24 hr more than the mREE. Newly derived prediction equations provided better estimates of mREE but still had limited clinical utility.

CONCLUSIONS

Prediction equations do not provide useful estimates of REE in patients with cirrhosis. REE should be directly measured.

LAY SUMMARY

People with cirrhosis are often malnourished and this has a detrimental effect on outcome. Provision of an adequate diet is very important and is best achieved by measuring daily energy requirements and adjusting dietary intake accordingly. Prediction equations, which use information on age, sex, weight, and height can be used to estimate energy requirements; however, the results they provide are not accurate enough for clinical use, particularly as they vary according to sex and ethnicity.

The Impact of Malnutrition on the Hospital and Infectious Outcomes of Patients Admitted With Alcoholic Hepatitis: 2011 to 2017 Analysis of US Hospitals

GOALS

We specifically evaluate the effect of malnutrition on the infection risks of patients admitted with alcoholic hepatitis using a national registry of hospitalized patients in the United States.

BACKGROUND

Malnutrition is a common manifestation of alcoholic hepatitis that affects patient outcomes.

STUDY

2011 to 2017 National Inpatient Sample was used to isolated patients with alcoholic hepatitis, stratified using malnutrition (protein-calorie malnutrition, sarcopenia, and weight loss/cachexia) and matched using age, gender, and race with 1:1 nearest neighbor matching method. Endpoints included mortality and infectious endpoints.

RESULTS

After matching, there were 10,520 with malnutrition and 10,520 malnutrition-absent controls. Mortality was higher in the malnutrition cohort [5.02 vs. 2.29%, P<0.001, odds ratio (OR): 2.25, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.93-2.63], as were sepsis (14.2 vs. 5.46, P<0.001, OR: 2.87, 95% CI: 2.60-3.18), pneumonia (10.9 vs. 4.63%, P<0.001, OR: 2.51, 95% CI: 2.25-2.81), urinary tract infection (14.8 vs. 9.01%, P<0.001, OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.61-1.91), cellulitis (3.17 vs. 2.18%, P<0.001, OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.24-1.74), cholangitis (0.52 vs. 0.20%, P<0.001, OR: 2.63, 95% CI: 1.59-4.35), and Clostridium difficile infection (1.67 vs. 0.91%, P<0.001, OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.44-2.37). In multivariate models, malnutrition was associated with mortality [P<0.001, adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.61, 95% CI: 1.37-1.90] and infectious endpoints: sepsis (P<0.001, aOR: 2.42, 95% CI: 2.18-2.69), pneumonia (P<0.001, aOR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.96-2.46), urinary tract infection (P<0.001, aOR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.53-1.84), cellulitis (P<0.001, aOR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.22-1.74), cholangitis (P=0.002, aOR: 2.27, 95% CI: 1.36-3.80), and C. difficile infection (P<0.001, aOR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.46-2.44).

CONCLUSION

This study shows the presence of malnutrition is an independent risk factor of mortality and local/systemic infections in patients admitted with alcoholic hepatitis.

[Medical Treatment of Alcoholic Liver Disease]

Alcoholic liver disease is a major cause of liver disease that results in significant morbidity and mortality in Korea. Abstinence is the most important strategy to prevent disease progression. Corticosteroids improve the one-month survival in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis, but it was not effective on long-term survival. An N-acetylcysteine treatment combined with corticosteroids may provide a short-term survival benefit than corticosteroids alone. Pentoxifylline is unlikely to affect short-term survival. Hence, studies on new therapies, such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and fecal microbiota transplantation, are ongoing. This paper briefly reviews the current knowledge of the medical treatment of alcoholic liver disease.

Recent advances in alcoholic hepatitis

Alcoholic hepatitis is the severest clinical presentation of alcoholic liver disease. Lacking an effective pharmacologic treatment, alcoholic hepatitis is associated with a poor prognosis and its recovery relies mostly on abstinence. With alcohol use disorder being universally on the rise, the impact of alcoholic hepatitis on society and health-care costs is expected to increase significantly. Prognostic factors and liver biopsy can help with timely diagnosis, to determine eligibility and response to corticosteroids, and for prognostication and transplant referral. Although recent discoveries in the pathophysiology of alcoholic hepatitis are encouraging and could pave the way for novel treatment modalities, a multidisciplinary approach considering timely identification and treatment of liver-related complications, infectious and metabolic disease, malnutrition, and addiction counseling should be emphasized. Apart from proper selection of candidates, transplant programs should provide adequate post-transplant addiction support in order to make of early liver transplantation for alcoholic hepatitis the ultimate sobering experience in the next decade.

ESPEN guideline on clinical nutrition in liver disease

This update of evidence-based guidelines (GL) aims to translate current evidence and expert opinion into recommendations for multidisciplinary teams responsible for the optimal nutritional and metabolic management of adult patients with liver disease. The GL was commissioned and financially supported by ESPEN. Members of the guideline group were selected by ESPEN. We searched for meta-analyses, systematic reviews and single clinical trials based on clinical questions according to the PICO format. The evidence was evaluated and used to develop clinical recommendations implementing the SIGN method. A total of 85 recommendations were made for the nutritional and metabolic management of patients with acute liver failure, severe alcoholic steatohepatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver cirrhosis, liver surgery and transplantation as well as nutrition associated liver injury distinct from fatty liver disease. The recommendations are preceded by statements covering current knowledge of the underlying pathophysiology and pathobiochemistry as well as pertinent methods for the assessment of nutritional status and body composition.

ACG Clinical Guideline: Alcoholic Liver Disease

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) comprises a clinical-histologic spectrum including fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis (AH), and cirrhosis with its complications. Most patients are diagnosed at advanced stages and data on the prevalence and profile of patients with early disease are limited. Diagnosis of ALD requires documentation of chronic heavy alcohol use and exclusion of other causes of liver disease. Prolonged abstinence is the most effective strategy to prevent disease progression. AH presents with rapid onset or worsening of jaundice, and in severe cases may transition to acute on chronic liver failure when the risk for mortality, depending on the number of extra-hepatic organ failures, may be as high as 20-50% at 1 month. Corticosteroids provide short-term survival benefit in about half of treated patients with severe AH and long-term mortality is related to severity of underlying liver disease and is dependent on abstinence from alcohol. General measures in patients hospitalized with ALD include inpatient management of liver disease complications, management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, surveillance for infections and early effective antibiotic therapy, nutritional supplementation, and treatment of the underlying alcohol-use disorder. Liver transplantation, a definitive treatment option in patients with advanced alcoholic cirrhosis, may also be considered in selected patients with AH cases, who do not respond to medical therapy. There is a clinical unmet need to develop more effective and safer therapies for patients with ALD.

Nutrition support in hospitalised adults at nutritional risk

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of disease-related malnutrition in Western European hospitals is estimated to be about 30%. There is no consensus whether poor nutritional status causes poorer clinical outcome or if it is merely associated with it. The intention with all forms of nutrition support is to increase uptake of essential nutrients and improve clinical outcome. Previous reviews have shown conflicting results with regard to the effects of nutrition support.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the benefits and harms of nutrition support versus no intervention, treatment as usual, or placebo in hospitalised adults at nutritional risk.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (Ovid SP), Embase (Ovid SP), LILACS (BIREME), and Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science). We also searched the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (www.who.int/ictrp); ClinicalTrials.gov; Turning Research Into Practice (TRIP); Google Scholar; and BIOSIS, as well as relevant bibliographies of review articles and personal files. All searches are current to February 2016.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We include randomised clinical trials, irrespective of publication type, publication date, and language, comparing nutrition support versus control in hospitalised adults at nutritional risk. We exclude trials assessing non-standard nutrition support.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane and the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group. We used trial domains to assess the risks of systematic error (bias). We conducted Trial Sequential Analyses to control for the risks of random errors. We considered a P value of 0.025 or less as statistically significant. We used GRADE methodology. Our primary outcomes were all-cause mortality, serious adverse events, and health-related quality of life.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 244 randomised clinical trials with 28,619 participants that met our inclusion criteria. We considered all trials to be at high risk of bias. Two trials accounted for one-third of all included participants. The included participants were heterogenous with regard to disease (20 different medical specialties). The experimental interventions were parenteral nutrition (86 trials); enteral nutrition (tube-feeding) (80 trials); oral nutrition support (55 trials); mixed experimental intervention (12 trials); general nutrition support (9 trials); and fortified food (2 trials). The control interventions were treatment as usual (122 trials); no intervention (107 trials); and placebo (15 trials). In 204/244 trials, the intervention lasted three days or more.We found no evidence of a difference between nutrition support and control for short-term mortality (end of intervention). The absolute risk was 8.3% across the control groups compared with 7.8% (7.1% to 8.5%) in the intervention groups, based on the risk ratio (RR) of 0.94 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.86 to 1.03, P = 0.16, 21,758 participants, 114 trials, low quality of evidence). We found no evidence of a difference between nutrition support and control for long-term mortality (maximum follow-up). The absolute risk was 13.2% in the control group compared with 12.2% (11.6% to 13%) following nutritional interventions based on a RR of 0.93 (95% CI 0.88 to 0.99, P = 0.03, 23,170 participants, 127 trials, low quality of evidence). Trial Sequential Analysis showed we only had enough information to assess a risk ratio reduction of approximately 10% or more. A risk ratio reduction of 10% or more could be rejected.We found no evidence of a difference between nutrition support and control for short-term serious adverse events. The absolute risk was 9.9% in the control groups versus 9.2% (8.5% to 10%), with nutrition based on the RR of 0.93 (95% CI 0.86 to 1.01, P = 0.07, 22,087 participants, 123 trials, low quality of evidence). At long-term follow-up, the reduction in the risk of serious adverse events was 1.5%, from 15.2% in control groups to 13.8% (12.9% to 14.7%) following nutritional support (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.85 to 0.97, P = 0.004, 23,413 participants, 137 trials, low quality of evidence). However, the Trial Sequential Analysis showed we only had enough information to assess a risk ratio reduction of approximately 10% or more. A risk ratio reduction of 10% or more could be rejected.Trial Sequential Analysis of enteral nutrition alone showed that enteral nutrition might reduce serious adverse events at maximum follow-up in people with different diseases. We could find no beneficial effect of oral nutrition support or parenteral nutrition support on all-cause mortality and serious adverse events in any subgroup.Only 16 trials assessed health-related quality of life. We performed a meta-analysis of two trials reporting EuroQoL utility score at long-term follow-up and found very low quality of evidence for effects of nutritional support on quality of life (mean difference (MD) -0.01, 95% CI -0.03 to 0.01; 3961 participants, two trials). Trial Sequential Analyses showed that we did not have enough information to confirm or reject clinically relevant intervention effects on quality of life.Nutrition support may increase weight at short-term follow-up (MD 1.32 kg, 95% CI 0.65 to 2.00, 5445 participants, 68 trials, very low quality of evidence).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

There is low-quality evidence for the effects of nutrition support on mortality and serious adverse events. Based on the results of our review, it does not appear to lead to a risk ratio reduction of approximately 10% or more in either all-cause mortality or serious adverse events at short-term and long-term follow-up.There is very low-quality evidence for an increase in weight with nutrition support at the end of treatment in hospitalised adults determined to be at nutritional risk. The effects of nutrition support on all remaining outcomes are unclear.Despite the clinically heterogenous population and the high risk of bias of all included trials, our analyses showed limited signs of statistical heterogeneity. Further trials may be warranted, assessing enteral nutrition (tube-feeding) for different patient groups. Future trials ought to be conducted with low risks of systematic errors and low risks of random errors, and they also ought to assess health-related quality of life.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Alcoholic Hepatitis: A Systematic Review

Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) occurs in about one-third of individuals reporting long-term heavy alcohol use. It is associated with high short-term mortality, economic burden, and hospital resources utilization. We performed this systematic review to (i) describe clinical characteristics and genomics associated with the risk of AH; (ii) discuss role and limitations of liver biopsy and prognostic scoring systems; (iii) summarize evidence regarding the currently available therapies including liver transplantation; and (iv) outline emerging therapies with areas of unmet need. Literature search was performed for studies published in English language (January 1971 through March 2016). The following search engines were used: PubMed, Elsevier Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library. For the treatment section, only randomized controlled studies were included for this review. A total of 138 studies (59 randomized, 22 systematic reviews or meta-analyses, 7 surveys or guidelines, 7 population-based, and 43 prospective cohorts) were cited. There are over 325,000 annual admissions with AH contributing to about 0.8% of all hospitalizations in the United States. Liver biopsy may be required in about 25 to 30% cases for uncertain clinical diagnosis. Corticosteroids with or without N-acetylcysteine remains the only available therapy for severe episodes. Data are emerging on the role of liver transplantation as salvage therapy for select patients. Abstinence remains the most important factor impacting long-term prognosis. Results from the ongoing clinical trials within the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism-funded consortia are awaited for more effective and safer therapies. AH is a potentially lethal condition with a significant short-term mortality. A high index of suspicion is required. There remains an unmet need for noninvasive biomarkers for the diagnosis, and predicting prognosis and response to therapy.

Diagnosis and treatment of nutritional deficiencies in alcoholic liver disease: Overview of available evidence and open issues

Malnutrition is common in alcoholic liver disease and is associated with high rates of complications and mortality. In this article, the current literature was reviewed to highlight the relevance of proper nutritional management providing levels of evidence, when available. A PubMed search was performed for English-language publications from 1980 through 2014 with the keywords: alcoholic liver disease, nutritional deficiencies, nutritional support, enteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition, and protein-energy malnutrition. Manuscripts focused on nutritional approach in patients with alcoholic liver disease were selected. Although nutritional support for malnourished patients improves the outcome of hospitalization, surgery, transplantation and reduces the complications of liver disease and the length of hospital stay, specific guidelines are scanty. Both enteral and parenteral nutrition appear to improve nutritional parameters and liver function; however data on survival is often conflicting. As micronutrient depletion is common in alcoholic liver disease and each deficiency produces specific sequelae, all cirrhotic patients should be screened at baseline for deficiencies of micronutrient and supplemented as needed. In summary, protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrient depletion are clinical concerns in alcoholic liver disease. Nutritional therapy, including enteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition and micronutrient supplementation should be part of the multidisciplinary management of these patients.

Enteral Nutrition in Chronic Liver Disease: Translating Evidence Into Practice

Malnutrition is prevalent in individuals with chronic liver disease and occurs as a result of inadequate nutrient intake, altered metabolism, and malabsorption. Although limited data show benefits of enteral nutrition (EN) in this population, patients with chronic liver disease often have inadequate oral intake and are potential candidates for EN. The goals of the EN, type and severity of liver disease, and access for EN will influence the decision to initiate EN. This paper summarizes EN studies in patients with liver disease and provides practical tips regarding patient selection, EN access, and EN formula choices. Two case studies illustrate the principles and challenges of providing EN to patients with cirrhosis. The paper concludes with suggested parameters for an EN feeding protocol and recommendations for future research.

Management of alcoholic hepatitis: Current concepts

Alcoholic hepatitis is a devastating form of acute liver injury seen in chronic alcohol abusers with significant morbidity and mortality. It is a multisystem disease that is precipitated by ingesting large quantities of alcohol with genetic and environmental factors playing a role. Prognostic criteria have been developed to predict disease severity and these criteria can serve as indicators to initiate medical therapy. Primary therapy remains abstinence and supportive care, as continued alcohol abuse is the most important risk factor for disease progression. The cornerstone of supportive care remains aggressive nutritional support, and although acute alcoholic hepatitis has been extensively studied, few specific medical therapies have been successful. Corticosteroids remain the most effective medical therapy available in improving short term survival in a select group of patients with alcoholic hepatitis; however, the long-term outcome of drug therapies is still not entirely clear and further clinical investigation is necessary. While liver transplantation for acute alcoholic hepatitis have demonstrated promising results, this practice remains controversial and has not been advocated universally, with most transplant centers requiring a prolonged period of abstinence before considering transplantation. Extracorporeal liver support devices, although still experimental, have been developed as a form of liver support to give additional time for liver regeneration. These have the potential for a significant therapeutic option in the future for this unfortunately dreadful disease.

Nutrition in alcoholic liver disease

The liver plays an important role in the metabolism, synthesis, storage, and absorption of nutrients. Patients with cirrhosis are prone to nutritional deficiencies and malnutrition, with a higher prevalence among patients with decompensated disease. Mechanisms of nutritional deficiencies in patients with liver disease are not completely understood and probably multifactorial. Malnutrition among patients with cirrhosis or alcoholic liver disease correlates with poor quality of life, increased risk of infections, frequent hospitalizations, complications, mortality, poor graft and patient survival after liver transplantation, and economic burden. Physicians, including gastroenterologists and hepatologists, should be conversant with assessment and management of malnutrition and nutritional supplementation.

A meta-analysis of nutritional supplementation for management of hospitalized alcoholic hepatitis

BACKGROUND

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Malnutrition accompanies this condition and may be both a consequence of and contributor to the pathology. Many trials have investigated the benefits of providing supplemental nutrition in the management of patients with ALD. The present study is a meta-analysis of the available evidence.

METHOD

A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies comparing nutritional supplementation plus a normal hospital diet versus diet alone.

RESULTS

Seven randomized controlled studies including 262 patients with ALD were identified. Pooled analysis revealed no statistical difference in mortality between groups given special nutritional therapy versus a normal balanced diet (OR 0.80 [95% CI 0.42 to 1.52]). In addition, nutrition did not significantly improve ascites (OR 1.29 [95% CI 0.52 to 3.20]) or any biochemical parameters. However, encephalopathy showed a significant improvement or resolution (OR 0.24 [95% CI 0.06 to 0.93]).

CONCLUSION

Nutritional supplementation provided no mortality benefit in patients with ALD, and neither ascites nor biochemical parameters significantly improved. However, encephalopathy was significantly ameliorated and, therefore, nutritional supplementation should be encouraged in that setting.

Nutritional support for liver disease

BACKGROUND

Weight loss and muscle wasting are commonly found in patients with end-stage liver disease. Since there is an association between malnutrition and poor clinical outcome, such patients (or those at risk of becoming malnourished) are often given parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, or oral nutritional supplements. These interventions have costs and adverse effects, so it is important to prove that their use results in improved morbidity or mortality, or both.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, and oral nutritional supplements on the mortality and morbidity of patients with underlying liver disease.

SEARCH METHODS

The following computerised databases were searched: the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group Controlled Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Science Citation Index Expanded (January 2012). In addition, reference lists of identified trials and review articles and Clinicaltrials.gov were searched. Trials identified in a previous systematic handsearch of Index Medicus were also considered. Handsearches of a number of medical journals, including abstracts from annual meetings, were done. Experts in the field and manufacturers of nutrient formulations were contacted for potential references.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised clinical trials (parallel or cross-over design) comparing groups of patients with any underlying liver disease who received, or did not receive, enteral or parenteral nutrition or oral nutritional supplements were identified without restriction on date, language, or publication status. Six categories of trials were separately considered: medical or surgical patients receiving parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, or supplements.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

The following data were sought in each report: date of publication; geographical location; inclusion and exclusion criteria; the type of nutritional support and constitution of the nutrient formulation; duration of treatment; any nutrition provided to the controls; other interventions provided to the patients; number, sex, age of the study participants; hospital or outpatient status; underlying liver disease; risks of bias (sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding, incomplete outcome reporting, intention-to-treat analysis, selective outcome reporting, others (vested interests, baseline imbalance, early stopping)); mortality; hepatic morbidity (development or resolution of ascites or hepatic encephalopathy, occurrence of gastrointestinal bleeding); quality of life scores; adverse events; infections; lengths of stay in the hospital or intensive care unit; costs; serum bilirubin; postoperative complications (surgical trials only); and nutritional outcomes (nitrogen balance, anthropometric measurements, body weight). The primary outcomes of this review were mortality, hepatic morbidity, quality of life, and adverse events. Data were extracted in duplicate; differences were resolved by consensus.Data for each outcome were combined in a meta-analysis (RevMan 5.1). Estimates were reported using risk ratios or mean differences, along with the 95% confidence intervals (CI). Both fixed-effect and random-effects models were employed; fixed-effect models were reported unless one model, but not the other, found a significant difference (in which case both were reported). Heterogeneity was assessed by the Chi(2) test and I(2) statistic. Subgroup analyses were planned to assess specific liver diseases (alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma), acute or chronic liver diseases, and trials employing standard or branched-chain amino acid formulations (for the hepatic encephalopathy outcomes). Sensitivity analyses were planned to compare trials at low and high risk of bias and trials reported as full papers. The following exploratory analyses were undertaken: 1) medical and surgical trials were combined for each nutritional intervention; 2) intention-to-treat analyses in which missing dichotomous data were imputed as best- and worst-case scenarios; 3) all trials were combined to assess mortality; 4) effects were estimated by absolute risk reductions.

MAIN RESULTS

Thirty-seven trials were identified; only one was at low risk of bias. Most of the analyses failed to find any significant differences. The significant findings that were found were the following: 1) icteric medical patients receiving parenteral nutrition had a reduced serum bilirubin (mean difference (MD) -2.86 mg%, 95% CI -3.82 mg% to -1.89 mg%, 3 trials) and better nitrogen balance (MD 3.60 g/day, 95% CI 0.86 g/day to 6.34 g/day, 1 trial); 2) surgical patients receiving parenteral nutrition had a reduced incidence of postoperative ascites only in the fixed-effect model (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.87, 2 trials, I(2) = 70%) and one trial demonstrated a reduction in postoperative complications, especially infections (pneumonia in particular); 3) enteral nutrition may have improved nitrogen balance in medical patients (although a combination of the three trials was not possible); 4) one surgical trial of enteral nutrition found a reduction in postoperative complications; and 5) oral nutritional supplements had several effects in medical patients (reduced occurrence of ascites (RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.88, 3 trials), possibly (significant differences only seen in the fixed-effect model) reduced rates of infection (RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.99, 3 trials, I(2) = 14%), and improved resolution of hepatic encephalopathy (RR 3.75, 95% CI 1.15 to 12.18, 2 trials, I(2) = 79%). While there was no overall effect of the supplements on mortality in medical patients, the one low risk of bias trial found an increased risk of death in the recipients of the supplements. Three trials of supplements in surgical patients failed to show any significant differences. No new information was derived from the various subgroup or sensitivity analyses. The exploratory analyses were also unrevealing except for a logical conundrum. There was no difference in mortality when all of the trials were combined, but the trials of parenteral nutrition found that those recipients had better survival (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.98, 10 trials). Either the former observation represents a type II error or the latter one a type I error.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The data do not compellingly justify the routine use of parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, or oral nutritional supplements in patients with liver disease. The fact that all but one of these trials were at high risks of bias even casts doubt on the few benefits that were demonstrated. Data from well-designed and executed randomised trials that include an untreated control group are needed before any such recommendation can be made. Future trials have to be powered adequately to see small, but clinically important, differences.

Nutritional support for liver disease

BACKGROUND

Weight loss and muscle wasting are commonly found in patients with end-stage liver disease. Since there is an association between malnutrition and poor clinical outcome, such patients (or those at risk of becoming malnourished) are often given parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, or oral nutritional supplements. These interventions have costs and adverse effects, so it is important to prove that their use results in improved morbidity or mortality, or both.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, and oral nutritional supplements on the mortality and morbidity of patients with underlying liver disease.

SEARCH METHODS

The following computerised databases were searched: the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group Controlled Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Science Citation Index Expanded (January 2012). In addition, reference lists of identified trials and review articles and Clinicaltrials.gov were searched. Trials identified in a previous systematic handsearch of Index Medicus were also considered. Handsearches of a number of medical journals, including abstracts from annual meetings, were done. Experts in the field and manufacturers of nutrient formulations were contacted for potential references.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised clinical trials (parallel or cross-over design) comparing groups of patients with any underlying liver disease who received, or did not receive, enteral or parenteral nutrition or oral nutritional supplements were identified without restriction on date, language, or publication status. Six categories of trials were separately considered: medical or surgical patients receiving parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, or supplements.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

The following data were sought in each report: date of publication; geographical location; inclusion and exclusion criteria; the type of nutritional support and constitution of the nutrient formulation; duration of treatment; any nutrition provided to the controls; other interventions provided to the patients; number, sex, age of the study participants; hospital or outpatient status; underlying liver disease; risks of bias (sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding, incomplete outcome reporting, intention-to-treat analysis, selective outcome reporting, others (vested interests, baseline imbalance, early stopping)); mortality; hepatic morbidity (development or resolution of ascites or hepatic encephalopathy, occurrence of gastrointestinal bleeding); quality of life scores; adverse events; infections; lengths of stay in the hospital or intensive care unit; costs; serum bilirubin; postoperative complications (surgical trials only); and nutritional outcomes (nitrogen balance, anthropometric measurements, body weight). The primary outcomes of this review were mortality, hepatic morbidity, quality of life, and adverse events. Data were extracted in duplicate; differences were resolved by consensus.Data for each outcome were combined in a meta-analysis (RevMan 5.1). Estimates were reported using risk ratios or mean differences, along with the 95% confidence intervals (CI). Both fixed-effect and random-effects models were employed; fixed-effect models were reported unless one model, but not the other, found a significant difference (in which case both were reported). Heterogeneity was assessed by the Chi(2) test and I(2) statistic. Subgroup analyses were planned to assess specific liver diseases (alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma), acute or chronic liver diseases, and trials employing standard or branched-chain amino acid formulations (for the hepatic encephalopathy outcomes). Sensitivity analyses were planned to compare trials at low and high risk of bias and trials reported as full papers. The following exploratory analyses were undertaken: 1) medical and surgical trials were combined for each nutritional intervention; 2) intention-to-treat analyses in which missing dichotomous data were imputed as best- and worst-case scenarios; 3) all trials were combined to assess mortality; 4) effects were estimated by absolute risk reductions.

MAIN RESULTS

Thirty-seven trials were identified; only one was at low risk of bias. Most of the analyses failed to find any significant differences. The significant findings that were found were the following: 1) icteric medical patients receiving parenteral nutrition had a reduced serum bilirubin (mean difference (MD) -2.86 mg%, 95% CI -3.82 mg% to -1.89 mg%, 3 trials) and better nitrogen balance (MD 3.60 g/day, 95% CI 0.86 g/day to 6.34 g/day, 1 trial); 2) surgical patients receiving parenteral nutrition had a reduced incidence of postoperative ascites only in the fixed-effect model (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.87, 2 trials, I(2) = 70%) and one trial demonstrated a reduction in postoperative complications, especially infections (pneumonia in particular); 3) enteral nutrition may have improved nitrogen balance in medical patients (although a combination of the three trials was not possible); 4) one surgical trial of enteral nutrition found a reduction in postoperative complications; and 5) oral nutritional supplements had several effects in medical patients (reduced occurrence of ascites (RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.88, 3 trials), possibly (significant differences only seen in the fixed-effect model) reduced rates of infection (RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.99, 3 trials, I(2) = 14%), and improved resolution of hepatic encephalopathy (RR 3.75, 95% CI 1.15 to 12.18, 2 trials, I(2) = 79%). While there was no overall effect of the supplements on mortality in medical patients, the one low risk of bias trial found an increased risk of death in the recipients of the supplements. Three trials of supplements in surgical patients failed to show any significant differences. No new information was derived from the various subgroup or sensitivity analyses. The exploratory analyses were also unrevealing except for a logical conundrum. There was no difference in mortality when all of the trials were combined, but the trials of parenteral nutrition found that those recipients had better survival (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.98, 10 trials). Either the former observation represents a type II error or the latter one a type I error.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The data do not compellingly justify the routine use of parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition, or oral nutritional supplements in patients with liver disease. The fact that all but one of these trials were at high risks of bias even casts doubt on the few benefits that were demonstrated. Data from well-designed and executed randomised trials that include an untreated control group are needed before any such recommendation can be made. Future trials have to be powered adequately to see small, but clinically important, differences.

Randomised clinical trial: enteral nutrition does not improve the long-term outcome of alcoholic cirrhotic patients with jaundice

BACKGROUND

Malnutrition and jaundice are independent prognostic factors in cirrhosis.

AIM

To assess the impact of enteral nutrition on the survival of alcoholic cirrhotic patients with jaundice but without acute alcoholic hepatitis.

METHODS

The study was a multicentre prospective randomised controlled trial comparing effects of enteral nutrition vs. a symptomatic support in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and jaundice (bilirubin ≥51 µmol/L) but without severe acute alcoholic hepatitis. A total of 99 patients were randomised to receive either the conventional symptomatic treatment (55 patients) or the symptomatic support associated with 35 kcal/Kg/day of enteral nutrition during 4 weeks followed by an oral nutritional support during 2 months (44 patients). Randomisation was stratified on nutritional status. One-year survival curves were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and Logrank test.

RESULTS

Populations in both arms were similar. One-year survival was similar in the overall population (27/44 patients (61.4%) in the enteral nutrition arm vs. 36/55 (65.5%) in the control arm; Logrank P = 0.60) and in the subgroup suffering from malnutrition [18/29 patients (62.1%) in the enteral nutrition arm vs. 20/32 (62.5%) in the control arm; Logrank P = 0.99]. There was no statistical difference for bilirubin, prothrombin rate, Child-Pugh score, albumin or nutritional assessment. Complications during treatment (bleeding, encephalopathy, infection) occurred in 23% of patients in the enteral nutrition group (10/44) vs. 16% (9/55) of the control patients (P = 0.59).

CONCLUSION

Enteral nutrition does not improve the survival and hepatic or nutritional parameters of cirrhotic patients with jaundice.

Feeding the patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

It is usually believed that in case of upper gastrointestinal bleeding patients must be systematically fasted. This review will focus on oral and/or enteral feeding in patients with or at risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

RECENT FINDINGS

In case of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, an endoscopy is always required in order to determine the pathophysiology of the bleeding, and in some case to perform an endoscopic treatment. In patients hospitalized in ICU, enteral nutrition is the best stress ulcer prophylaxis. In patients with enteral nutrition the concomitant use of histamine-2 receptor blockers or proton-pump inhibitors may be harmful. In case of bleeding due to gastric erosions, enteral nutrition can be resumed as soon as the patient tolerates. In patients with liver cirrhosis nonbleeding oesophageal varices are not a contraindication for enteral nutrition nor nasogastric tube. In patients hospitalized for acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to an ulcer with high risk of rebleeding (Forrest I-IIb) or with variceal bleeding it is recommended to wait at least 48 h after endoscopic therapy before initiating oral or enteral feeding. In case of ulcer with low risk of rebleeding (Forrest IIc and III) or in patients with gastritis, Mallory-Weiss, oesophagitis, or angiodysplasia, there is no need to delay refeeding, and they can be fed as soon as tolerated.

SUMMARY

Understanding the cause of the diagnosis is always necessary to adapt nutrition in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Treatment of alcoholic liver disease

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) remains a major cause of liver-related mortality in the US and worldwide. The correct diagnosis of ALD can usually be made on a clinical basis in conjunction with blood tests, and a liver biopsy is not usually required. Abstinence is the hallmark of therapy for ALD, and nutritional therapy is the first line of therapeutic intervention. The role of steroids in patients with moderate to severe alcoholic hepatitis is gaining increasing acceptance, with the caveat that patients be evaluated for the effectiveness of therapy at 1 week. Pentoxifylline appears to be especially effective in ALD patients with renal dysfunction/hepatorenal syndrome. Biologics such as specific anti-TNFs have been disappointing and should probably not be used outside of the clinical trial setting. Transplantation is effective in patients with end-stage ALD who have stopped drinking (usually for ≥6 months), and both long-term graft and patient survival are excellent.

Alcoholic steatohepatitis

Severe alcoholic steatohepatitis has a poor prognosis and is characterized by jaundice and signs of liver failure. Its incidence is unknown, but prevalence is around 20% in cohorts of alcoholics undergoing liver biopsy. Diagnosis is established with elevated liver transaminases, neutrophil counts, serum bilirubin, and impaired coagulation and a history of excessive alcohol consumption, and exclusion of other etiologies. Histology is helpful but not mandatory. Prognostic scores include the Maddrey's discriminant function, the model of end-stage liver disease, and the Glasgow Alcoholic Hepatitis Score. Pathophysiology involves hepatic fat storage, increased hepatic uptake of gut-derived endotoxins triggering Kupffer cell activation and release of proinflammatory triggers, induction of cytochrome P4502E1 producing toxic acetaldehyde and reactive oxygen species, and ethanol-mediated hyperhomocysteinemia causing endoplasmic reticulum stress. Treatment includes abstinence, enteral nutrition, corticosteroids, and possibly pentoxifylline. A debate is ongoing whether certain patients with severe alcoholic steatohepatitis could be eligible for liver transplantation.

Hepatology - Guidelines on Parenteral Nutrition, Chapter 16

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is indicated in alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) and in cirrhotic patients with moderate or severe malnutrition. PN should be started immediately when sufficientl oral or enteral feeding is not possible. ASH and cirrhosis patients who can be sufficiently fed either orally or enterally, but who have to abstain from food over a period of more than 12 hours (including nocturnal fasting) should receive basal glucose infusion (2–3 g/kg/d). Total PN is required if such fasting periods last longer than 72 h. PN in patients with higher-grade hepatic encephalopathy (HE); particularly in HE IV° with malfunction of swallowing and cough reflexes, and unprotected airways. Cirrhotic patients or patients after liver transplantation should receive early postoperative PN after surgery if they cannot be sufficiently rally or enterally nourished. No recommendation can be made on donor or organ conditioning by parenteral administration of glutamine and arginine, aiming at minimising ischemia/reperfusion damage. In acute liver failure artificial nutrition should be considered irrespective of the nutritional state and should be commenced when oral nutrition cannot be restarted within 5 to 7 days. Whenever feasible, enteral nutrition should be administered via a nasoduodenal feeding tube.

ESPEN Guidelines on Parenteral Nutrition: hepatology

Parenteral nutrition (PN) offers the possibility to increase or to ensure nutrient intake in patients, in whom sufficient nutrition by oral or enteral alone is insufficient or impossible. Complementary to the ESPEN guideline on enteral nutrition of liver disease (LD) patients the present guideline is intended to give evidence-based recommendations for the use of PN in LD. For this purpose three paradigm conditions of LD were chosen: alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH), liver cirrhosis and acute liver failure. The guideline was developed by an interdisciplinary expert group in accordance with officially accepted standards and is based on all relevant publications since 1985. The guideline was presented on the ESPEN website and visitors' criticism and suggestions were welcome and included in the final revision. PN improves nutritional state and liver function in malnourished patients with ASH. PN is safe and improves mental state in patients with cirrhosis and severe HE. Perioperative (including liver transplantation) PN is safe and reduces the rate of complications. In acute liver failure PN is a safe second-line option to adequately feed patients in whom enteral nutrition is insufficient or impossible.

Nutrition in alcoholic steatohepatitis: more of the same or something new?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To describe the evidences for and against the different nutritional and nonnutritional therapeutic approaches for severe alcoholic steatohepatitis, based on data from randomized controlled trials, in order to answer the question posed in the title: 'more of the same or something new?'.

RECENT FINDINGS

Very few papers assessing old or new therapeutic strategies for severe alcoholic steatohepatitis have been published in the last 18 months. In addition, all of them provide negative results. A meta-analysis of the trials using anabolic steroids in alcoholic steatohepatitis confirmed the lack of benefit associated with this therapy. Also, two randomized controlled trials failed to disclose any positive effect of different antioxidant mixture in these patients.

SUMMARY

The answer to the question posed in the title of this review must unfortunately be 'nothing new, but just the same!'.

Nutrition support in clinical practice: review of published data and recommendations for future research directions

In the last 30 years, marked advances in enteral feeding techniques, venous access, and enteral and parenteral nutrient formulations have made it possible to provide nutrition support to almost all patients. Despite the abundant medical literature and widespread use of nutritional therapy, many areas of nutrition support remain controversial. Therefore, the leadership at the National Institutes of Health, The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, and The American Society for Clinical Nutrition convened an advisory committee to perform a critical review of the current medical literature evaluating the clinical use of nutrition support; the goal was to assess our current body of knowledge and to identify the issues that deserve further investigation. The panel was divided into five groups to evaluate the following areas: nutrition assessment, nutrition support in patients with gastrointestinal diseases, nutrition support in wasting diseases, nutrition support in critically ill patients, and perioperative nutrition support. The findings from each group are summarized in this report. This document is not meant to establish practice guidelines for nutrition support. The use of nutritional therapy requires a careful integration of data from pertinent clinical trials, clinical expertise in the illness or injury being treated, clinical expertise in nutritional therapy, and input from the patient and his/her family.

Current concepts and controversies in the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis

The treatment of alcoholic hepatitis remains one of the most debated topics in medicine and a field of continued research. In this review, we discuss the evolution of scoring systems, including the recent development of the Glasgow alcoholic hepatitis score, role of liver biopsy and current treatment interventions. Studies of treatment interventions with glucocorticoids, pentoxifylline, infliximab, s-adenosyl-methionine, and colchicine are reviewed with discussion on quality. Glucocorticoids currently remain the mainstay of treatment for severe alcoholic hepatitis.

Enteral nutrition in severely malnourished and anorectic cirrhotic patients in clinical practice

OBJECTIVES

To determine among severely malnourished cirrhotic patients remaining anorectic during hospital stay which patients may benefit from enteral nutrition in clinical practice.

METHODS

A prospective study including malnourished cirrhotic patients fed by enteral nutrition because of inadequate dietary intake after one-month hospitalization was carried out in a department receiving patients from other hospitals. Patients who died during hospital stay (N=35, group I) were compared to surviving patients (N=28, group II).

RESULTS

Nutritional status and spontaneous dietary intake on admission to our department were in the same range in the two groups, Pugh score was higher in group I (11.1 +/- 1.9 vs 9.1 +/- 2.0, P=0.0001). The delay between previous hospital admission and the outset of enteral nutrition was comparable in the two groups. Its duration and total dietary intake during enteral nutrition were higher in group II (respectively 42.2 +/- 30.9 vs 15.2 +/- 33.1 days, P=0.0016 and 41.1 +/- 13.0 vs 29.9 +/- 10.0 kcal/kg/d, P=0.0004). Prevalence of side effects was higher in group I (54.3 vs 17.9%, P=0.0031). Multivariate analysis showed that Pugh score and septic complications were negatively associated with survival (respectively P=0.0196 and P=0.0078) while duration of enteral nutrition was positively associated (P=0.0435). Eighty six per cent of patients receiving enteral nutrition with bilirubin levels above 74 micromol/L on admission to our department died during hospital stay. Mid-term effects of enteral nutrition in surviving patients were improvement in Pugh score (7.5 +/- 2.0 vs 9.1 +/- 2.0, P<0.0001) and increase in spontaneous caloric and protein intake (29.7 +/- 15.3 vs 18.1 +/- 10.1 kcal/kg/d, P=0.0150 and 1.0 +/- 0.5 vs 0.6 +/- 0.3 g/kg/d, P=0.0049).

CONCLUSIONS

In severely malnourished cirrhotic patients remaining anorectic after one-month hospitalization, patients with bilirubin level below 74 micromol/L may benefit from six-week enteral nutrition with mid-term improvement in liver function and increase in spontaneous dietary intake.

Nutrition in liver disease

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The aim of this paper is to describe the relevant medical literature published between spring 2003 and spring 2005 in the field of malnutrition in liver disease and its management.

RECENT FINDINGS

The most relevant articles covered in this paper provide data regarding the absence of energy imbalance in patients with stable cirrhosis, thus arguing against its potential role in the development of malnutrition; the increase in body cell mass and muscle mass as the major components of weight gain after portal-systemic shunting; the largest published randomized controlled trial of the positive effect of branched-chain amino acid supplements on the long-term outcome of patients with cirrhosis; studies using stable isotope labeled substrates, suggesting that dietary fat could be absorbed via the portal vein in patients with cirrhosis; and a randomized controlled trial suggesting the possibility that probiotics may decrease the infection rate after liver transplantation.

SUMMARY

In spite of the data provided by these and other articles described in the review, the major controversial issues in the field of nutritional management of liver disease remain open. Particularly remarkable is the lack of consensus regarding the nutritional management of acute liver failure.

Treatment of alcoholic hepatitis

Cirrhosis and its sequelae are responsible for close to 2% of all causes of death in the United States. Some studies have suggested that the costs of liver disease may account for as much as 1% of all health care spending, with alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) representing a major portion. It accounts for between 40% to 50% of all deaths due to cirrhosis, with an accompanying rate of progression of up to 60% in patients with pure alcoholic fatty liver over 10 years, and a 5-year survival rate as low as 35% if patients continue to drink. A subset of patients with ALD will develop an acute, virulent form of injury, acute alcoholic hepatitis, which has a substantially worse prognosis. Despite enormous progress in understanding the physiology of this disease, much remains unknown, and therefore, a consensus regarding effective therapy for ALD is lacking. Conventional therapy is still based largely on abstinence from alcohol, as well as general supportive and symptomatic care. Unfortunately, hepatocellular damage may progress despite these measures. Multiple treatment interventions for both the short- and long-term morbidity and mortality of this disease have been proposed, but strong disagreement exists among experts regarding the value of any of the proposed specific therapeutic interventions.

Review article: Nutritional therapy in alcoholic liver disease

Chronic alcohol consumption may lead to primary and secondary malnutrition. In particular, protein energy malnutrition not only aggravates alcoholic liver disease but also correlates with impaired liver function and increased mortality. Therefore, in these patients, adequate nutritional support should be implemented in order to improve their prognosis. Clinical trials addressing this issue have shown that nutritional therapy either enterally or parenterally improves various aspects of malnutrition, and there is increasing evidence that it may also improve survival. Therefore, malnourished alcoholics should be administered a diet rich in carbohydrate- and protein-derived calories preferentially via the oral or enteral route. Micronutrient deficiencies typically encountered in alcoholics, such as for thiamine and folate, require specific supplementation. Patients with hepatic encephalopathy may be treated with branched-chain amino acids in order to achieve a positive nitrogen balance. Fatty liver represents the early stage of alcoholic liver disease, which is usually reversible with abstinence. Metadoxine appears to improve fatty liver but confirmatory studies are necessary. S-adenosyl-L-methionine may be helpful for patients with severe alcoholic liver damage, since various mechanisms of alcohol-related hepatotoxicity are counteracted with this essential methyl group donor, while a recent large trial showed that the use of polyenylphosphatidylcholine is of limited efficacy.

Branched-chain amino acids for hepatic encephalopathy

BACKGROUND

Hepatic encephalopathy may be caused by a decreased plasma ratio of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) to aromatic amino acids. Treatment with BCAA may therefore have a beneficial effect on patients with hepatic encephalopathy.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the beneficial and harmful effects of BCAA for patients with hepatic encephalopathy.

SEARCH STRATEGY

We identified trials through The Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group Controlled Trials Register (September 2002), (Issue 3, 2002), MEDLINE (1966-2002/09) and EMBASE (1980-2002/05), manual searches of bibliographies and journals, authors of trials, and pharmaceutical companies.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised trials comparing BCAA with any kind of control therapy for hepatic encephalopathy were included, regardless of blinding, language, or publication status.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Trial inclusion and data extraction were made independently by two reviewers. Our primary outcome was improvement of hepatic encephalopathy. Statistical heterogeneity was tested using random effects and fixed effect models. Binary outcomes are reported as risk ratios (RR) based on a random effects model.

MAIN RESULTS

Eleven randomised trials (556 patients) assessing BCAA versus carbohydrates, neomycin/lactulose, or isonitrogenous control were included. The median number of patients in each trial was 55 (range 22 to 75). Follow-up after treatment was reported in four trials (median 17 days (range 6 to 30 days)). Compared to the control regimens, BCAA significantly increased the number of patients improving from hepatic encephalopathy at the end of treatment (risk ratio (RR) 1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04 to 1.66, nine trials). We found no evidence of an effect of BCAA on survival (RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.14, eight trials) or adverse events (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.41 to 2.31, three trials). Sensitivity analyses indicated that methodological quality had significant impact on the results. We found no evidence of an effect of BCAA on improvement of hepatic encephalopathy in trials with adequate generation of the allocation sequence (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.23, three trials), adequate allocation concealment (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.33, five trials), or adequate double-blinding (RR 1.20, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.73, three trials).

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS

We did not find convincing evidence that BCAA had a significant beneficial effect on patients with hepatic encephalopathy. The trials performed in this field were small with short follow-up and most had low methodological quality.

Alcoholic Hepatitis

Alcoholic hepatitis is a multisystem disease seen in individuals who chronically abuse alcohol. When severe, it is associated with a very high mortality rate, with nearly 50% of severely affected persons dying within 1 month of hospitalization. Primary therapy is complete alcohol abstinence and supportive care. Corticosteroids have been shown to be beneficial in a subset of severely ill patients with alcoholic hepatitis and concomitant hepatic encephalopathy. Pentoxifylline has been shown to improve short-term survival rates. Other pharmacologic interventions, including colchicine, propylthiouracil, calcium channel antagonists, and insulin with glucagon infusions, have not been proven to be beneficial. Nutritional supplementation with high-calorie, high-protein diets does not improve mortality rates. Orthotopic liver transplantation is highly controversial in this population of patients and currently is not indicated as definitive treatment. Extracorporeal liver support devices are still in their developmental stage and are only experimental.

Nutritional aspects of liver disease and transplantation

In the past year, some relevant papers related to the diagnosis of malnutrition and its pathogenesis in cirrhosis have been published. The value of anthropometrics in the nutritional assessment of end-stage cirrhotic patients has been reinforced. Also, the role of bioelectrical impedance analysis in these patients has been redefined. Several papers have investigated the relationship between leptin and malnutrition in chronic liver disease, particularly the role of alcoholism in hyperleptinaemia, and the importance of protein-bound leptin in these patients. In other papers, the impact of both undernutrition and obesity on the outcome of liver transplantation has been investigated. Two randomized, controlled trials on enteral nutrition in liver disease have been published in this period. One of them deals with a clinical situation (i.e. severe alcoholic hepatitis) associated with a high mortality rate, whereas the second is the first controlled trial in the field of preoperative nutrition in liver transplantation. Finally, some papers provide further arguments in the dilemma of which route of nutrition (enteral or parenteral) is better in cirrhosis.

Effects of ascites resolution after successful TIPS on nutrition in cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites

OBJECTIVE

Malnutrition is common in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and refractory ascites. The use of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent shunt (TIPS) is effective in eliminating ascites. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of TIPS and resolution of refractory ascites on the nutritional status of patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

METHODS

Fourteen consecutive patients with refractory ascites and a Pugh score of 9.0+/-0.5 had a TIPS insertion. Biochemical data, resting energy expenditure (REE), total body nitrogen (TBN), body potassium (TBK), body fat (TBF), muscle force (MF), and food intake were recorded before TIPS, and at 3 and 12 months after the procedure.

RESULTS

Ten patients completed the study. Baseline values for REE, TBN, TBF, MF, and energy intake were below normal at baseline. There was a significant increase in dry weight, TBN, and REE at 3 and 12 months compared with baseline. TBF improved significantly at 12 months. There was a trend toward an increase in energy intake (p = 0.072). There was no change in protein intake, TBK, MF, and Pugh score.

CONCLUSION

In cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites, resolution of the ascites after TIPS placement resulted in improvement of several nutritional parameters, especially for body composition.

ALCOHOL: its metabolism and interaction with nutrients

In the past, alcoholic liver disease was attributed exclusively to dietary deficiencies, but experimental and judicious clinical studies have now established alcohol's hepatotoxicity. Despite an adequate diet, it can contribute to the entire spectrum of liver diseases, mainly by generating oxidative stress through its microsomal metabolism via cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1). It also interferes with nutrient activation, resulting in changes in nutritional requirements. This is exemplified by methionine, one of the essential amino acids for humans, which needs to be activated to S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), a process impaired by liver disease. Thus, SAMe rather than methionine is the compound that must be supplemented in the presence of significant liver disease. In baboons, SAMe attenuated mitochondrial lesions and replenished glutathione; it also significantly reduced mortality in patients with Child A or B cirrhosis. Similarly, decreased phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase activity is associated with alcoholic liver disease, resulting in phosphatidylcholine depletion and serious consequences for the integrity of membranes. This can be offset by polyenylphosphatidylcholine (PPC), a mixture of polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholines comprising dilinoleoylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC), which has high bioavailability. PPC (and DLPC) opposes major toxic effects of alcohol, with down-regulation of CYP2E1 and reduction of oxidative stress, deactivation of hepatic stellate cells, and increased collagenase activity, which in baboons, results in prevention of ethanol-induced septal fibrosis and cirrhosis. Corresponding clinical trials are ongoing.

Nutrition

The use of nutrition for the medical patient, in the inpatient setting and at home, will likely continue to increase in the future. Each patient should be evaluated in an individualized but systematic fashion. Each patient in whom malnourishment is suspected should undergo a thorough assessment for the presence and degree of malnutrition with an accurate calculation of nutritional requirements. It is important to choose the correct method of delivery of nutrition, to monitor and recognize any complications or problems that may arise, and to tailor the nutritional therapy to the unique diseases that are encountered in medicine. Although increasingly new advances and changes are occurring in the field of nutrition, nutritional support and therapy are best delivered and supplied to the patient with a network of health care workers, including the physician, the nurse, the dietitian, the social worker, and pharmacist.

Nutritional and metabolic issues in cirrhosis and liver transplantation

In the last year some relevant papers on nutrition and metabolism in chronic liver disease and transplantation have been published. Studies investigating the reliability of predicting energy expenditure in cirrhosis, and some relevant contributions to the understanding of metabolic consequences of liver transplantation, deserve particular mention. These include the first direct evidence that liver transplantation corrects the insulin resistance present in cirrhosis, as well as studies on the role of genetic polymorphism of the vitamin D receptor gene in bone loss after transplantation. Other papers have dealt with body composition, polyunsaturated fatty acid and antioxidant status in cirrhosis. However, relevant contributions in the field of nutritional support in cirrhosis are surprisingly lacking.

Short- and long-term outcome of severe alcohol-induced hepatitis treated with steroids or enteral nutrition: a multicenter randomized trial

Steroids are recommended in severe alcohol-induced hepatitis, but some data suggest that artificial nutrition could also be effective. We conducted a randomized trial comparing the short- and long-term effects of total enteral nutrition or steroids in these patients. A total of 71 patients (80% cirrhotic) were randomized to receive 40 mg/d prednisolone (n = 36) or enteral tube feeding (2,000 kcal/d) for 28 days (n = 35), and were followed for 1 year or until death. Side effects of treatment occurred in 5 patients on steroids and 10 on enteral nutrition (not significant). Eight enterally fed patients were prematurely withdrawn from the trial. Mortality during treatment was similar in both groups (9 of 36 vs. 11 of 35, intention-to-treat) but occurred earlier with enteral feeding (median 7 vs. 23 days; P =.025). Mortality during follow-up was higher with steroids (10 of 27 vs. 2 of 24 intention-to-treat; P =. 04). Seven steroid patients died within the first 1.5 months of follow-up. In contrast to total enteral nutrition (TEN), infections accounted for 9 of 10 follow-up deaths in the steroid group. In conclusion, enteral feeding does not seem to be worse than steroids in the short-term treatment of severe alcohol-induced hepatitis, although death occurs earlier with enteral nutrition. However, steroid therapy is associated with a higher mortality rate in the immediate weeks after treatment, mainly because of infections. A possible synergistic effect of both treatments should be investigated.

Practicalities of nutrition support in chronic liver disease

The underlying causative agent in the majority of patients with chronic liver disease is ethanol; the rest of the cases are largely viral in aetiology (hepatitis B or C viruses). Nutrition supplementation improves the quality of life and decreases morbidity in chronic liver disease, but evidence that it prolongs long-term survival is lacking. The situation is very different in chronic liver disease patients who receive a liver transplant, however, with better pretransplantation nutrition status predicting a distinctly improved survival after transplantation.