High doses of beta-blockers and alcohol abstinence improve long-term rebleeding and mortality in cirrhotic patients after an acute variceal bleeding

Meta-analysis: Prevalence and impact of alcohol abstinence in alcohol-associated cirrhosis

BACKGROUND

Although alcohol abstinence may be an effective intervention for alcohol-associated cirrhosis, its association with prognosis has not been systematically assessed or quantified.

AIMS

To determine the prevalence of alcohol abstinence, factors associated with alcohol abstinence and the impact of abstinence on morbidity and overall survival in people with alcohol-associated cirrhosis.

METHODS

We searched Medline and Embase from inception to 15 April 2023 for prospective and retrospective cohort studies describing alcohol abstinence in people with known alcohol-associated cirrhosis. Meta-analysis of proportions for pooled estimates was performed. The method of inverse variance, employing a random-effects model, was used to pool the hazard ratio (HR) comparing outcomes of abstinent against non-abstinent individuals with alcohol-associated cirrhosis.

RESULTS

We included 19 studies involving 18,833 people with alcohol-associated cirrhosis. The prevalence of alcohol abstinence was 53.8% (CI: 44.6%-62.7%). Over a mean follow-up duration of 48.6 months, individuals who continued to consume alcohol had significantly lower overall survival compared to those who were abstinent (HR: 0.611, 95% CI: 0.506-0.738). These findings remained consistent in sensitivity/subgroup analysis for the presence of decompensation, study design and studies that assessed abstinence throughout follow-up. Alcohol abstinence was associated with a significantly lower risk of hepatic decompensation (HR: 0.612, 95% CI: 0.473-0.792).

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol abstinence is associated with substantial improvement in overall survival in alcohol-associated cirrhosis. However, only half of the individuals with known alcohol-associated cirrhosis are abstinent.

Evolution of spontaneous portosystemic shunts over time and following aetiological intervention in patients with cirrhosis

Background & Aims

Spontaneous portosystemic shunts (SPSS) develop frequently in cirrhosis. Changes over time and the effect of aetiological interventions on SPSS are unknown, so we aimed to explore the effect of these variables on SPSS evolution.

Methods

Patients with cirrhosis from the Baveno VI-SPSS cohort were selected provided a follow-up abdominal CT or MRI scan was available. Clinical and laboratory data were collected at baseline and follow-up. Imaging tests were reviewed to evaluate changes in the presence and size of SPSS (large (L)-SPSS was ≥8 mm) over time. Regarding alcohol- or HCV-related cirrhosis, two populations were defined: cured patients (abstinent from alcohol or successful HCV therapy), and non-cured patients.

Results

A total of 617 patients were included. At baseline SPSS distribution was 22% L-SPSS, 30% small (S)-SPSS, and 48% without (W)-SPSS. During follow-up (median follow-up of 63 months), SPSS distribution worsened: L-SPSS 26%, S-SPSS 32%, and W-SPSS 42% (p <0.001). Patients with worse liver function during follow-up showed a simultaneous aggravation in SPSS distribution. Non-cured patients (n = 191) experienced a significant worsening in liver function, more episodes of liver decompensation and lower transplant-free survival compared to cured patients (n = 191). However, no differences were observed regarding SPSS distribution at inclusion and at follow-up, with both groups showing a trend to worsening. Total shunt diameter increased more in non-cured (52%) than in cured patients (28%). However, total shunt area (TSA) significantly increased only in non-cured patients (74 to 122 mm2, p <0.001).

Conclusions

The presence of SPSS in cirrhosis increases over time and parallels liver function deterioration. Aetiological intervention in these patients reduces liver-related complications, but SPSS persist although progression is decreased.

Impact and implications

There is no information regarding the evolution of spontaneous portosystemic shunts (SPSS) during the course of cirrhosis, and especially after disease regression with aetiological interventions, such as HCV treatment with direct-acting antivirals or alcohol abstinence. These results are relevant for clinicians dealing with patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension because they have important implications for the management of cirrhosis with SPSS after disease regression. From a practical point of view, physicians should be aware that in advanced cirrhosis with portal hypertension, after aetiological intervention, SPSS mostly persist despite liver function improvement, and complications related to SPSS may still develop.

Alcohol-related liver disease phenotype impacts survival after an acute variceal bleeding episode

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Alcohol-related hepatitis (AH) encompasses a high mortality. AH might be a concomitant event in patients with acute variceal bleeding (AVB). The current study aimed to assess the prevalence of AH in patients with AVB and to compare the clinical outcomes of AH patients to other alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) phenotypes and viral cirrhosis.

METHODS

Multicentre, observational study including 916 patients with AVB falling under the next categories: AH (n = 99), ALD cirrhosis actively drinking (d-ALD) (n = 285), ALD cirrhosis abstinent from alcohol (a-ALD) (n = 227) and viral cirrhosis (n = 305). We used a Cox proportional hazards model to calculate adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of death adjusted by MELD.

RESULTS

The prevalence of AH was 16% considering only ALD patients. AH patients exhibited more complications. Forty-two days transplant-free survival was worse among AH, but statistical differences were only observed between AH and d-ALD groups (84 vs. 93%; p = 0.005), when adjusted by MELD no differences were observed between AH and the other groups. At one-year, survival of AH patients (72.7%) was similar to the other groups; when adjusted by MELD mortality HR was better in AH compared to a-ALD (0.48; 0.29-0.8, p = 0.004). Finally, active drinkers who remained abstinent presented better survival, independently of having AH.

CONCLUSIONS

Contrary to expected, AH patients with AVB present no worse one-year survival than other patients with different alcohol-related phenotypes or viral cirrhosis. Abstinence influences long-term survival and could explain these counterintuitive results.

Spectrum, Screening, and Diagnosis of Alcohol-related Liver Disease

Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) represents one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease and is a major cause of liver-related deaths worldwide. ALD encompasses a range of disorders including simple steatosis, alcoholic steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients with underlying ALD and continued heavy alcohol consumption can also develop an episode of acute-on-chronic liver injury called alcohol-associated hepatitis, the most severe form of the disease, which portends a poor prognosis. The most important risk factor for the development of ALD is the amount of alcohol consumed. Individual susceptibility to progression to advanced fibrosis among heavy drinkers is likely determined by a combination of behavioral, environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors, but the mechanisms are largely unknown. The only effective therapy for ALD is prolonged alcohol abstinence. Diagnosis of ALD involves assessing patients for alcohol use disorder and signs of advanced liver disease. In clinical practice, the histological assessment for ALD diagnosis is uncommon, and it is usually based on the medical history, clinical manifestations, and laboratory and imaging tests. Several promising biomarkers that can have both diagnostic and prognostic value in patients with ALD have been identified in recent years. This review provides an overview of the clinical spectrum of ALD, the diagnostic approach of the disease from different perspectives as well as current diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.

Fatty Liver Disease-Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic: Similar but Different

In alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD) and in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), there are abnormal accumulations of fat in the liver. This phenomenon may be related to excessive alcohol consumption, as well as the combination of alcohol consumption and medications. There is an evolution from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis leading to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatic pathology is very similar regarding non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and ALD. Initially, there is lipid accumulation in parenchyma and progression to lobular inflammation. The morphological changes in the liver mitochondria, perivenular and perisinusoidal fibrosis, and hepatocellular ballooning, apoptosis and necrosis and accumulation of fibrosis may lead to the development of cirrhosis and HCC. Medical history of ethanol consumption, laboratory markers of chronic ethanol intake, AST/ALT ratio on the one hand and features of the metabolic syndrome on the other hand, may help in estimating the contribution of alcohol intake and the metabolic syndrome, respectively, to liver steatosis.

Patterns of acute decompensation in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis and course of acute-on-chronic liver failure

INTRODUCTION

Recently, based on data from the PREDICT study, the European Foundation for the Study of Chronic Liver Failure (EF-CLIF) consortium proposed pathophysiological/prognostic groups in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis: stable decompensated cirrhosis (SDC), unstable decompensated cirrhosis (UDC), pre-acute-on-chronic liver failure (pre-ACLF), and ACLF. We evaluated the outcomes of these subgroups in a real-life cohort of hospitalized patients with cirrhosis.

METHODS

Patients with cirrhosis developing first AD between 09/2010 and 12/2017 at the Vienna General Hospital were evaluated for this retrospective analysis.

RESULTS

Two hundred and ten patients with cirrhosis (aged 57.6 ± 11.8 years) including n = 45 (21.4%) SDC, n = 100 (47.6%) UDC, n = 28 (13.3%) pre-ACLF, and n = 37 (17.6%) with ACLF were considered. The proposed AD subgroups discriminated between patients with favorable (1-year mortality: SDC: 6.7% and UDC: 19.6%) and dismal prognosis (90-day mortality: pre-ACLF: 42.9%). Interestingly, systemic inflammation gradually increased (e.g., C-reactive protein, SDC: 0.9 mg/dl, vs. UDC: 2.0 mg/dl vs. pre-ACLF: 3.2 mg/dl, p < 0.001) while renal function was progressively deteriorating (creatinine levels, SDC: 0.8 mg/dl vs. UDC: 0.9 mg/dl vs. pre-ACLF: 1.2 mg/dl, p < 0.001) across prognostic subgroups in patients with cirrhosis.

DISCUSSION

The recently proposed pathophysiological/prognostic EF-CLIF subgroups are also reproduceable in a real-life cohort of cirrhotic patients. As ACLF is a common and important complication, patients at risk of pre-ACLF at index AD should be evaluated and if disease proceeds, been treated early and aggressively to avoid excessive mortality.

Small Esophageal Varices in Patients with Cirrhosis-Should We Treat Them?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The natural history and classification systems of small varices (≤ 5 mm in diameter) in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension are summarized. Studies that assessed the course of and therapeutic intervention for small varices are discussed.

RECENT FINDINGS

Current non-invasive methods show suboptimal sensitivity to detect small varices in patients with cirrhosis. Next to etiological therapy, hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG)-guided non-selective betablocker or carvedilol treatment has shown to impact on natural history of small varices.

SUMMARY

The main therapeutic focus in cirrhotic patients with small varices is the cure of the underlying etiology. The optimal management of small varices should include measurement of HVPG. A pharmacological decrease in HVPG by non-selective betablocker therapy of ≥ 10% reduces the risk of progression to large varices, first variceal bleeding, and hepatic decompensation. If HVPG is not available, we would recommend carvedilol 12.5 mg q.d. for treatment of small varices in compensated patients without severe ascites. Only if small esophageal varices (EV) are not treated or in hemodynamic non-responders, follow-up endoscopies should be performed in 1-2 years of intervals considering the activity of liver disease or if hepatic decompensation occurs.

Does adding variceal status to the Child-Turcotte-Pugh score improve its performance in predicting mortality in cirrhosis?

The Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score is widely used worldwide to predict outcomes across a broad spectrum of liver diseases, mainly cirrhosis. Portal hypertension and variceal bleed are significant causes of morbidity and mortality in cirrhotic patients, although the variceal status is not incorporated into the classical CTP score. We sought to determine whether the inclusion of variceal status, specifically the Child-Turcotte-Pugh-Kumar (CTPK) score, would improve the utility of the classical CTP score to predict the clinical outcomes of cirrhotic patients in a single but high-volume center in China.We retrospectively analyzed the records of 253 patients from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 and performed follow-up for at least 12 months. The CTPK score and the CTP score were obtained as soon as possible after the patient's admission. Telephone follow-up was performed to assess survival situations.At 3 and 12 months, the cumulative number of deaths was 9.1% (n = 23) and 13.8% (n = 35), respectively. In the multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, the CTPK score was independently associated with death within 3 and 12 months after adjusting for potential confounders. The predictive ability related to the 2 scores was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) respectively. At 3 months of enrollment, the AUCs of CTPK and CTP were 0.814 and 0.838, respectively. At 12 months of enrollment, the AUCs of CTPK and CTP were 0.825 and 0.840, respectively. No significant difference between time points was observed. Both the CTPK score and the CTP score displayed prognostic value in cirrhotic patients, as the Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the CTPK score could clearly discriminate patients in the intermediate term (P < 0.001).The CTPK score provides reliable prediction of mortality in Chinese cirrhotic patients for both short-term and medium-term prognoses, although it is not superior to the CTP score. Therefore, the CTP score remains an excellent tool for outcome prediction in patients with cirrhosis, and greater attention to variceal status may be in veins, even for patients with a history of variceal bleed or medium/large varices.

Alcoholic liver disease - the extent of the problem and what you can do about it

It takes upwards of ten years for alcohol-related liver disease to progress from fatty liver through fibrosis to cirrhosis to acute on chronic liver failure. This process is silent and symptom free and can easily be missed in primary care, usually presenting with advanced cirrhosis. At this late stage, management consists of expert supportive care, with prompt identification and treatment of bleeding, sepsis and renal problems, as well as support to change behaviour and stop harmful alcohol consumption. There are opportunities to improve care by bringing liver care everywhere up to the standards of the best liver units, as detailed in the Lancet Commission report. We also need a fundamental rethink of the technologies and approaches used in primary care to detect and intervene in liver disease at a much earlier stage. However, the most effective and cost-effective measure would be a proper evidence-based alcohol strategy.

Management of acute variceal bleeding

Acute variceal bleeding could be a fatal complication in patients with liver cirrhosis. In patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis accompanied by ascites or hepatic encephalopathy, acute variceal bleeding is associated with a high mortality rate. Therefore, timely endoscopic hemostasis and prevention of relapse of bleeding are most important. The treatment goals for acute variceal bleeding are to correct hypovolemia; achieve rapid hemostasis; and prevent early rebleeding, complications related to bleeding, and deterioration of liver function. If variceal bleeding is suspected, treatment with vasopressors and antibiotics should be initiated immediately on arrival to the hospital. Furthermore, to obtain hemodynamic stability, the hemoglobin level should be maintained at >8 g/dL, systolic blood pressure >90 to 100 mm Hg, heart rate <100/min, and the central venous pressure from 1 to 5 mm Hg. When the patient becomes hemodynamically stable, hemostasis should be achieved by performing endoscopy as soon as possible. For esophageal variceal bleeding, endoscopic variceal ligation is usually performed, and for gastric variceal bleeding, endoscopic variceal obturation is performed primarily. If it is considered difficult to achieve hemostasis through endoscopy, salvage therapy may be carried out while keeping the patient hemodynamically stable.

Current treatment options for alcohol-related liver disease

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The burden of alcohol on global health is increasing, and there is a strong relationship between population alcohol consumption and liver-related deaths. As alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD) often develops with no signs or symptoms, the prevention of liver disease relies on the recognition of harmful drinking and screening of those patients at risk for early markers of liver disease.

RECENT FINDINGS

A robust method of screening patients at risk of ArLD is essential. Once a patient develops ArLD, abstinence and early recognition of its complications are keys to improving outcomes. Corticosteroids remain the mainstay treatment in alcoholic hepatitis pending the results from large multicentre trials. More recently, there has been an increased interest in the use of rifaximin and albumin in various settings of ArLD.

SUMMARY

Advances in the treatment of ArLD and its complications, such as alcoholic hepatitis, will allow a greater proportion of patients chance for their liver to recover. However, new strategies to detect and intervene in those patients at higher risk of ArLD are likely to have the greatest overall impact.

Therapy for alcoholic liver disease

Alcoholism results in about 2.5 million deaths annually worldwide, representing 4% of all mortality. Although alcoholism is associated with more than 60 diseases, most mortality from alcoholism results from alcoholic liver disease (ALD). ALD includes alcoholic steatosis, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis, in order of increasing severity. Important scoring systems of ALD severity include: Child-Pugh, a semi-quantitative scoring system useful to roughly characterize clinical severity; model for end-stage liver disease, a quantitative, objective scoring system used for prognostication and prioritization for liver transplantation; and discriminant function, used to determine whether to administer corticosteroids for alcoholic hepatitis. Abstinence is the cornerstone of ALD therapy. Psychotherapies, including twelve-step facilitation therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and motivational enhancement therapy, help support abstinence. Disulfiram decreases alcohol consumption by causing unpleasant sensations after drinking alcohol from accumulation of acetaldehyde in serum, but disulfiram can be hepatotoxic. Adjunctive pharmacotherapies to reduce alcohol consumption include naltrexone, acamprosate, and baclofen. Nutritional therapy helps reverse muscle wasting, weight loss, vitamin deficiencies, and trace element deficiencies associated with ALD. Although reduced protein intake was previously recommended for advanced ALD to prevent hepatic encephalopathy, a diet containing 1.2-1.5 g of protein/kg per day is currently recommended to prevent muscle wasting. Corticosteroids are first-line therapy for severe alcoholic hepatitis (discriminant function ≥ 32), but proof of their efficacy in decreasing mortality remains elusive. Pentoxifylline is an alternative therapy. Complications of advanced ALD include ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, esophageal variceal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, hepatopulmonary syndrome, and portopulmonary hypertension. Alcoholic cirrhotics have increased risk of developing hepatomas. Liver transplantation is the ultimate therapy for severe ALD, but generally requires 6 mo of proven abstinence for eligibility. Alcoholic cirrhotics who maintain abstinence generally have a relatively favorable prognosis after liver transplantation.

Variceal rebleeding: use of drug therapy and endoscopic band ligation

Patients surviving a variceal bleed are at high risk of re-bleeding with a mortality of 25-50% during a 1-2 year follow-up. Several studies and meta-analyses have demonstrated reduced rates of oesophageal variceal rebleeding with the use of β-blockers. However, their use can be limited by contraindications or intolerance to therapy. Other trials have shown that addition of nitrates may improve the efficacy of β-blockers in prevention of variceal re-bleeding. Endoscopic variceal band ligation (VBL) has been shown in meta-analyses to decrease the rates of rebleeding and mortality compared with endoscopic sclerotherapy. Studies comparing combined drug therapy with VBL have shown similar rebleeding rates although there is a suggestion that survival may be higher in those given drug therapy. Recent data suggest that combined VBL and drug therapy reduces the risk of rebleeding from oesophageal varices compared with either therapy alone; however there appears to be no reduction in overall mortality.

Economic modelling of early transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt insertion for acute variceal haemorrhage

INTRODUCTION

Early insertion of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in high-risk patients with acute variceal haemorrhage reduces rebleeding and mortality. However, the economic benefit of utilizing this approach remains unclear. We evaluated the economic implications of introducing early TIPS into routine algorithms for the management of variceal bleeding.

METHODS

Consecutive patients admitted in 2009 with variceal haemorrhage to two liver units and eligible for early TIPS insertion were identified retrospectively. The costs of a 12-month follow-up from index bleeding admission were calculated--the actual cost of follow-up and rebleeding in this cohort was compared with the theoretical 12-month follow-up costs of instead inserting an early TIPS at index admission. Our findings were subjected to a sensitivity analysis to assess the cost effectiveness of early TIPS insertion compared with standard care.

RESULTS

In 2009, 78 patients were admitted to our units with variceal haemorrhage; 27 patients (35%) were eligible for early TIPS insertion. The actual cost of a 12-month follow-up was £138 473.50. Early TIPS insertion, assuming a 3.2% rebleeding rate, would save £534.70 per patient per year (P<0.0001). On sensitivity analysis, early TIPS dominated standard care up to an early TIPS rebleeding rate of 6% and remained cost-effective up to a rebleeding rate of 12%.

CONCLUSION

Early TIPS insertion for high-risk patients with acute variceal bleeding is a cost-efficient intervention. This has important implications for the introduction of early TIPS as standard care and the organization of interventional radiology services.

Progress in prevention and treatment of rebleeding after endoscopic band ligation for esophageal variceal bleeding

Hemorrhage from esophageal varices is a serious and common complication of decompensated cirrhosis and carries a significant rate of morbidity and mortality. Endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) is an effective treatment for esophageal varices; however, there is a very high rate of rebleeding. Prevention and treatment of rebleeding after EVL are important for improving survival in patients with liver cirrhosis. Currently, many measures, including endoscopy, surgery, medication, and a combination of them, have been developed to prevent the occurrence of rebleeding after EVL. Many clinical trials have been done to evaluate the effectiveness of various treatments, alone or in combination, for rebleeding.

Patients whose first episode of bleeding occurs while taking a β-blocker have high long-term risks of rebleeding and death

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Patients who have their first episode of variceal bleeding despite primary prophylaxis with a nonselective β-adrenergic receptor antagonist (also called a nonselective β-blocker [NSBB]) receive additional treatment by endoscopic band ligation to prevent further bleeding. However, little is known about their long-term outcomes.

METHODS

We collected data on 89 consecutive patients with cirrhosis who were admitted to the Liver Unit of Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, with acute esophageal variceal bleeding between June 2007 and February 2011. Thirty-four patients were receiving primary prophylaxis with NSBBs when they had their first episode of variceal bleeding, whereas 55 were not receiving NSBBs (controls). All patients were subsequently treated with a combination of endoscopic band ligation and NSBBs. Patients were examined after 1, 3, and 6 months and every 6 months thereafter until 2 years.

RESULTS

After 2 years, a greater proportion of patients who had their first episode of bleeding while on NSBBs had further bleeding, compared with controls (48% vs 24%; P = .01). Primary prophylaxis with NSBBs and serum levels of bilirubin were independent predictors of rebleeding. Overall, 11 patients died, and 5 underwent liver transplantation. Liver transplantation-free survival was lower among patients who had their first episode of bleeding while taking NSBBs (66% vs 88% for controls; P = .02). Primary prophylaxis with NSBBs and Child-Pugh class were independently associated with liver transplantation-free survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who have their first episode of variceal bleeding while on primary prophylaxis with a β-blocking agent have an increased risk of further bleeding and death, despite adding endoscopic band ligation. These patients possibly require alternative treatment approaches.

Adding banding ligation is effective as rescue therapy to prevent variceal rebleeding in haemodynamic non-responders to pharmacological therapy

BACKGROUND

It is unknown which is the best therapy to treat haemodynamic non-responders to pharmacological therapy after variceal bleeding.

AIM

To evaluate the efficacy of adding banding ligation to drugs to prevent variceal rebleeding in haemodynamic non-responders to drugs.

METHODS

Fifty-three cirrhotic patients with variceal bleeding underwent a hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurement 5 days after the episode. Nadolol and nitrates were then titrated to maximum tolerated doses. A second HVPG was taken 14 days later. Responders (HVPG ≤12 mm Hg or ≥20% decrease from baseline) were maintained on drugs and non-responders had banding ligation added to drugs.

RESULTS

Mean follow-up was 28 months. In 5 patients the second HVPG could not be performed because of early rebleeding. The remaining 48 patients were classified as responders (n=24) and non-responders (n=24), who had banding added. No baseline differences were observed between groups. Variceal rebleeding occurred in 12% of the 48 patients whose haemodynamic response was assessed. Responders on drug therapy presented a 16% rebleeding rate, whilst non-responders rescued with banding showed an 8% rebleeding rate. Rebleeding-related mortality was not different between groups.

CONCLUSION

In a HVPG-guided strategy, adding banding ligation to drugs is an effective rescue strategy to prevent rebleeding in haemodynamic non-responders to drug therapy.