Lectures

Cirrhosis.pptx (sharepoint.com)

Management of Decompensated Cirrhosis - teachIM

Podcasts

#100: Cirrhosis: Initial Evaluation and Management - The Curbsiders

#101: Cirrhosis: Medications, decompensation, complications - The Curbsiders

#466 Cirrhosis Update with Scott Matherly - The Curbsiders

Articles

Cirrhosis: Diagnosis and Management | AAFP

Practice Guidelines | AASLD

Back to Basics: Outpatient Management of Cirrhosis | AASLD

AASLD Practice Guidance on risk stratification and management of portal hypertension and varices in cirrhosis - PubMed

  • See table 3 for nonselective beta-blockers and their dosing strategies

Systematic review with meta-analysis: the haemodynamic effects of carvedilol compared with propranolol for portal hypertension in cirrhosis - PubMed

  • Carvedilol is recommended as the preferred NSBB as studies have shown improvement in lowering portal pressures compared to propranolol due to carvedilol’s anti-alpha-adrenergic activity

β blockers to prevent decompensation of cirrhosis in patients with clinically significant portal hypertension (PREDESCI): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial - PubMed

  • PREDESCI trial showed decreased frequency of decompensation with use of carvedilol

Coffee Consumption Decreases Risks for Hepatic Fibrosis and Cirrhosis: A Meta-Analysis - PMC

  • The pooled results of the meta-analysis indicated that coffee consumers were less likely to develop cirrhosis compared with those who do not consume coffee, with a summary OR of 0.61 (95%CI: 0.45–0.84)

Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Upper Gastrointestinal Bleed in Liver Cirrhosis; Less May Be More - PubMed

  • Retrospective cohort study of 303 patients with cirrhosis presenting with upper GI bleeding at our institute from 2010 to 2018. Patients were divided into three cohorts based on duration of antibiotic administration for prophylaxis: 1-3 days of antibiotics, 4-6 days of antibiotics and 7 days or more of antibiotics

  • Rates of infection were not statistically different between the three antibiotic groups (p = 0.78). There was no difference in time to infection (Kruskall Wallace test p = 0.75), early re-bleeding (p = 0.81), late re-bleeding (p = 0.37) and in-hospital mortality (p = 0.94) in the three groups.

  • Bottom-line: Short course of antibiotics for prophylaxis (3 days) appears safe and adequate for prophylaxis in patients with cirrhosis with upper gastrointestinal bleeding if there is no active infection.

References

Yoshiji H, Nagoshi S, Akahane T, et al. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for Liver Cirrhosis 2020. J Gastroenterol. 2021;56(7):593-619. doi:10.1007/s00535-021-01788-x 

Biggins SW, Angeli P, Garcia-Tsao G, et al. Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Management of Ascites, Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis and Hepatorenal Syndrome: 2021 Practice Guidance by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Hepatology. 2021;74(2):1014-1048. doi:10.1002/hep.31884 

Garcia-Tsao G, Abraldes JG, Berzigotti A, Bosch J. Portal hypertensive bleeding in cirrhosis: Risk stratification, diagnosis, and management: 2016 practice guidance by the American Association for the study of liver diseases [published correction appears in Hepatology. 2017 Jul;66(1):304]. Hepatology. 2017;65(1):310-335. doi:10.1002/hep.28906 

Sharma BC, Sharma P, Lunia MK, Srivastava S, Goyal R, Sarin SK. A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial comparing rifaximin plus lactulose with lactulose alone in treatment of overt hepatic encephalopathy. Am J Gastroenterol. 2013;108(9):1458-1463. doi:10.1038/ajg.2013.219 

Bass NM, Mullen KD, Sanyal A, et al. Rifaximin treatment in hepatic encephalopathy. N Engl J Med. 2010;362(12):1071-1081. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0907893