View clinical trials related to Cirrhosis.
Filter by:Background: Standardization and new therapeutic treatments of variceal bleeding has significantly reduced the mortality the last 25 years, but there is still a high 6-week mortality around 15-20% and 1-year mortality of about 40%. Cirrhotic patients without prophylactic treatment suffer a risk of 60% of re-bleeding within the first year after the first bleeding episode. Variceal ligation and NSBB are the standard therapy as secondary prophylaxis, while only non-selective beta-blocker (NSBB) is offered as first-line therapy in primary prophylaxis. If portal pressure is reduced to a value below 12 mmHg or by 20% (10% if assessed by intravenous administrations), the risk of bleeding is substantially reduced, but not all patients respond to the treatment with propranolol (40-50%). Hence, patients who are non-responders to NSBB should be offered alternative treatment with e.g. carvedilol, which is a combined alpha-beta-receptor blocker or endoscopic band ligation. Currently, the response to NSBB is assessed invasively during a liver vein catheterization (LVC). Unfortunately, only a few centres in the world can perform this procedure and there are no reliable non-invasive alternatives to assess the respond to NSBB, which is of extreme importance, since non-responders have three fold increased risk of a new variceal bleeding episode. Aim: In general the aim of the project is to develop faster and non-invasive methods to evaluate portal hypertension and individual pharmacological response of NSBB in patients with cirrhosis. Furthermore, we expect to detect changes in liver and spleen stiffness as measured by MR-Elastography (MRE) after NSBB and that these depend on the drug-related effects on portal pressure. Study design and patients: 39 patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices that require NSBB (propranolol) treatment. Patients are assessed with LVC, MR-scans, echocardiography and biochemical tests. LVC is the gold standard method to test if patients respond to propranolol treatment. At visit 1. the response to NSBB is defined as a reduction of HVPG ≥10%, or to a HVPG< 12mmHg after intravenous NSBB administrations during LVC. MRI-scan with intraveneus NSBB administration is performed at visit 2. Minimum 5 days of NSBB wash out between visit 1 and 2.
Consecutive cirrhotics who present to emergency department of ILBS with documented or suspected sepsis induced hypotension with Hb <8 gm/dl will be randomly assigned to restrictive (Target Hb 7-8 gm/dl) to liberal (Target Hb 10-11 gm/dl) group in a 1:1 proportion At admission, all patients will undergo physical examination and baseline investigations to identify site of sepsis. Enrolled patients will be given PRBC-transfusion (Not more than two units of PRBC/day) when they reach their assigned trigger value (Hb 7-8 g/dl or 10-11 g/dl ) during the entire ICU stay. All other interventions will be at the discretion of clinicians.
There is an epidemic of alcohol use disorder in the US. Alcoholism is an epidemic that spans all ages and socio-economic strata, which has a major impact on healthcare expenditure. Alcohol-associated liver disease can take the form of mild fatty liver, chronic liver disease including cirrhosis and a very acute active form known as alcoholic hepatitis. However, most patients with alcohol abuse issues with cirrhosis do not develop alcoholic hepatitis and are not willing to quit drinking. These patients are neither liver transplant candidates due to their drinking nor have any recourse to therapies directed towards the liver as is the case with alcoholic hepatitis. This is very large proportion of cirrhotic patients who do not have many therapeutic options. Prior studies have demonstrated that these patients have an altered gut-liver axis which is exacerbated by dysbiosis and a higher production of potentially toxic secondary bile acids. These secondary bile acids in turn have the potential to worsen the already impaired gut barrier in these patients, creating a vicious cycle of inflammation and further liver injury that is led by the altered microbial composition. A gut-based strategy that has the capability of "resetting" this dysbiosis could help in the amelioration of this inflammatory load and improve the prognosis of these patients.
This early phase I trial studies how well contrast enhanced ultrasound with sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres (Lumason) works in detecting liver cancer in participants with cirrhosis. Contrast enhanced-ultrasounds use contrast agents, such as Lumason, that are injected into a vein in order to help certain organs and tissues show up more clearly on scans. Contrast enhanced ultrasound with Lumason may help doctors more easily find liver cancer compared to ultrasounds without contrast agent.
This study aimed to evaluate whether vagus nerve-preserving laparoscopic splenectomy and azygoportal disconnection is effective and safe, and to determine whether a reduction in the incidence of postoperative complications of the digestive system improves postoperative quality of life compared with conventional laparoscopic splenectomy and azygoportal disconnection.
The hepatoadrenal syndrome has been well described in the literature and is known to be associated with poorer outcomes in both stable and critically ill cirrhotic patients. In chronic liver disease, adrenal (and more specifically cortisol) insufficiency is thought to be a byproduct of altered lipid metabolism that results in decreased HDL production and thus decreased delivery of cholesterol to the adrenal for subsequent corticosteroid production. Studies to date have implicated lecithin-cholesterol acetyltransferase (LCAT) as the key enzyme which is deficient in some cirrhotic patients, leading to an impaired ability to esterify cholesterol and thus a loss of normal cellular functioning and membrane stability. The investigators seek to quantify this LCAT deficiency in a cohort of cirrhotic patients and demonstrate its association with various abnormal physiologies associated with chronic liver disease, including spur cell anemia, low HDL levels, and adrenal insufficiency. Hospitalized cirrhotic patients at UVA that meet study eligibility criteria will be approached by a member of the study team to obtain consent for participation. If a patient agrees to become a study subject, they will have an approximate total of 35ml of blood drawn the following morning. Lab tests to be performed include: peripheral blood smear, lipid panel, free cortisol, cortisol binding globulin, serum cholesterol esters (surrogate for LCAT enzyme activity), and a standard-dose cortisol stimulation test. The latter involves blood drawn with the initial collection, administration of an intravenous 250mcg dose of synthetic ACTH, and then repeat small-volume blood draws at 30 minutes and 60 minutes later. Subjects will be classified as adrenally sufficient or insufficient on the basis of as standard-dose cortisol stimulation test. Variables of interest for comparison between the groups include MELD score, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) classification, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, presence of spur cell anemia, serum cholesterol ester percentage (surrogate for LCAT enzymatic activity), cortisol binding globulin levels, and free cortisol levels. Student's t-test and Chi Square tests will be utilized to determine significance; a p <0.05 value will be used as our threshold for significance. If multiple factors are found to be significantly different in a univariate fashion between classification groups, a multivariate logistic regression analysis will be performed for adjusted analysis. The investigators will also seek to define any correlations between variables. Furthermore, the investigators will assess correlation between MELD score and serum cholesterol ester percentage, spur cell anemia, HDL levels, cortisol binding globulin levels, and free cortisol levels; similar correlate analysis will be done using CTP classification instead of MELD score.
The transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is a well-established procedure for the treatment of portal hypertensive bleeding, refractory ascites and vascular diseases of the liver. The major drawbacks of this procedure are shunt dysfunction and portosystemic encephalopathy (PSE). The availability of self-expandable polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stentgrafts (PTFE-SGs) has dramatically improved the long-term patency of TIPS. However, the incidence of PSE remains a threatening complication in about 50% of patients. The Investigators hypothesized that under-dilated PTFE-SGs would not self-expand to nominal diameter and their under-dilation would be safe and could reduce the rate of post-TIPS encephalopathy, while maintaining clinical efficacy. Aim of this proof-of-concept exploratory study is to determine whether "under-dilated TIPS" is a feasible procedure that reduces the incidence of PSE while maintaining clinical efficacy.
The central hypothesis of this study is that BCAA supplementation and BCAA supplementation plus low-intensity activity will improve muscle mass and HRQOL in cirrhotic patients compared to usual care
Prospective evaluation of the circulating cell-free DNA-based epigenetic biomarker (mSEPT9) through a cross-sectional biomarker phase II design. The aim of the SEPT9-CROSS study is to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the plasma mSEPT9 biomarker in a large-scale study of 530 cirrhotic patients recruited in the Nancy University Hospital.
The spontaneous Porto-systemic shunt is occluded by intervention procedures like Balloon Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (BRTO), Plug-assisted Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (PARTO) and shunt occlusion procedures resulting in diversion of blood flow towards the portal circulation and in turn the liver. According to this investigator hypothesized that shunt occlusion improves liver volume and function along with beneficial effect on other organ systems by decreasing ammonia and improving hepatopetal flow. All patients with cirrhosis having large shunt(>10mm) and raised ammonia levels and will be randomized to receive standard medical treatment and those receiving shunt occlusion procedures. Investigator will assess organ functions and liver regenerative potential pre and post (after 3 to 15 months) procedure.