Albumin in the management of hepatic encephalopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction and objectives It has been suggested that albumin administration could alter the natural history of cirrhosis, and also, that long-term treatment with albumin might be associated with improvement in survival, control of ascites, reduction in the incidence bacterial infections, renal dysfunction, hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and hyponatremia, as well as reduction in length of hospitalization in patients with cirrhosis and ascites. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the role of albumin in the management of HE. Materiales and methods:: This is a systematic review of randomized controlled trials that evaluated the use of albumin in adult patients with cirrhosis and HE. The search for eligible studies was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases until June 2020. The outcomes of interest were the complete reversal of HE and mortality. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model, through the Mantel-Haenszel method. Results: This systematic review was registered at the PROSPERO platform (CRD42020194181). The search strategy retrieved 1,118 articles. After reviewing titles and abstracts, 24 studies were considered potentially eligible, but 22 were excluded after full-text analysis. Finally, 2 studies were included. In the meta-analysis, albumin was associated to significant lower risks of persistent HE (risk ratio - RR = 0.60; 95% confidence interval - CI = 0.38-0.95, p = 0.03) and mortality (RR = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.33-0.90, p = 0.02). Conclusion: Albumin administration improves HE and reduces mortality in patients with cirrhosis and HE.

Abnormal Liver Tests during Hospitalization Predict Mortality in Patients with COVID-19: A Multicenter Study from South America.

Background: The role of liver function tests (LFT) as prognostic factors in patients admitted with COVID-19 has not been fully investigated, particularly outside resource-rich countries. We aimed at evaluating the prognostic value of abnormal LFT on admission and during hospitalization of patients with COVID-19. Methods: We performed a retrospective study that included 298 adult patients hospitalized for COVID-19, between 05/2020 and 02/2021, in 6 hospitals from 5 countries in South America. We analyzed demographic and comorbid variables and laboratory tests on admission and during hospitalization. LFT over twice the upper limit of normal (ALEx2) were also evaluated in relation to a variety of factors on admission and during hospitalization. De novo-ALEx2 was defined as the presence of ALEx2 at one week of hospitalization in patients without ALEx2 on admission. Patients were followed until hospital discharge or death. Multivariable analysis was used to evaluate the association between ALEx2 on admission and during hospitalization and mortality. Results: Of the total of 298 patients, 60% were male, with a mean age of 60 years, and 74% of patients had at least one comorbidity. Of those, 137 (46%) patients were transferred to the intensive care unit and 66 (22.1%) patients died during hospitalization. ALEx2 on admission was present in 87 (29.2%) patients and was found to be independently associated with 1-week mortality (odds ratio (OR) = 3.55; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 1.05-12.05). Moreover, 84 (39.8%) out of 211 patients without ALEx2 at admission developed de novo-ALEx2, which was independently associated with mortality during second week of hospitalization (OR = 6.09; 95%CI 1.28-29) and overall mortality (OR = 2.93, 95%CI 1.05-8.19). Conclusions: A moderate elevation of LFT during admission was associated with a poor short-term prognosis in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. In addition, moderate elevation of LFT at one week of hospitalization was an independent risk factor for overall mortality in these patients.

The prognostic impact of different stages of acute kidney injury in patients with decompensated cirrhosis: a prospective cohort study.

AIM: To assess the impact of the different stages of acute kidney injury (AKI) on the prognosis of patients hospitalized with decompensated cirrhosis. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of consecutive patients admitted in two tertiary hospitals in southern Brazil. Participants were considered eligible if they were admitted for acute decompensation of cirrhosis. The main exposure factor was the onset of AKI. AKI stages were defined according the European recommendations. The outcomes evaluated were survival time and death rates at 28 and 90 days from hospital admission. A χ2 test was used to compare mortality between groups. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were undertaken assessing time to event as days from AKI diagnosis to death or liver transplant. RESULTS: Two hundred and five patients were included in the study, and 121 met the criteria for AKI. Patients with AKI 1b, AKI 2 and AKI 3 had higher 90-day mortality than patients without AKI (P = 0.008, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). However, there was no difference in 90-day mortality when patients with AKI 1a were compared with those without AKI (P = 0.742). The mean survival of patients without AKI was higher than that of patients with AKI 1b (591.4 and 305.4 days, respectively, P = 0.015), while there was no significant difference between the mean survival of patients without AKI and that of patients with AKI 1a (591.4 and 373.6 days, respectively, P = 0.198). CONCLUSION: Only AKI ≥1b seems to substantially impact mortality of patients hospitalized for acute decompensation of cirrhosis.

Intestinal preparations for colonoscopy. Comparative study: mannitol, picosulphate and macrogol / Preparos intestinais para colonoscopia. Estudo comparativo: manitol, picossulfato e macrogol

ABSTRACT Bowel preparation is mandatory prior to elective colonoscopy and their effectiveness is closely related to the quality of the examination. There are many preparations on the market and there is no consensus on which is best. This study aimed to compare three solutions for colon preparation in patients undergoing colonoscopy. We conducted a prospective study with 61 patients divided randomly into three groups: one that received a standard dose of macrogol, another received a standard dose of 10% mannitol and another received a standard dose of sodium picosulphate. Patients and examining endoscopists responded to questionnaires for compiling data. In the results we noticed that 10% mannitol, despite being less tolerated by the patient when compared to sodium picosulphate, presents better results in colonic cleaning, being therefore superior in this regard. Macrogol was considered as an intermediate in relation to the other two preparations. As for tolerability, preference is given to sodium picosulphate as best tolerated, followed by mannitol and by macrogol, which is poorly tolerated by the patient. We conclude that as the main objective of bowel preparation in colonoscopy is the quality of colonic cleaning, 10% mannitol was superior to the other preparations studied.

RESUMO O preparo intestinal é mandatório antes da realização das colonoscopias eletivas e sua eficácia está intrinsecamente relacionada à qualidade do exame. Existem diversos preparos no mercado e não há consenso sobre qual é melhor. Este estudo teve como objetivo comparar três soluções para preparo de cólon em pacientes submetidos à colonoscopia. Foi realizado um estudo prospectivo com 61 pacientes distribuídos de forma randomizada em três grupos: um recebeu macrogol, outro manitol a 10% e outro picossulfato de sódio em doses padrão. Os pacientes e os endoscopistas examinadores responderam a questionários para compilação de dados. Nos resultados notamos que o manitol a 10%, apesar de ser menos tolerado pelo paciente quando comparado ao picossulfato de sódio, apresenta melhores resultados na limpeza colônica, sendo, portanto, superior neste quesito. O macrogol foi considerado como intermediário em relação aos outros dois preparos. Quanto à tolerabilidade, a preferência recai sobre o picosulfato de sódio como o mais bem tolerado, seguido pelo Manitol; macrogol foi o menos tolerado pelo paciente. Concluímos que, como o principal objetivo do preparo intestinal na colonoscopia é a qualidade da limpeza colônica, o manitol a 10% mostrou-se superior aos demais preparos estudados.