Clinical Study
Primary Prophylaxis to Prevent the Development of Hepatic Encephalopathy in Cirrhotic Patients with Acute Variceal Bleeding
Table 1
Basal characteristics of patients.
| | Characteristic | Lactulose | LOLA | Rifaximin | Placebo | P | | n = 22 | n = 22 | n = 21 | n = 22 |
| | Age (years) | 50.1 ± 11.3 | 54.3 + 7.7 | 53.0 + 10.9 | 49.3 ± 9.5 | 0.31 |
| | Male gender, n () | 14 (63.6) | 14 (63.6) | 10 (47.6) | 17 (77.3) | 0.25 |
| | CHILD A/B/C | 7/10/5 | 7/13/2 | 9/10/2 | 5/15/2 | 0.54 |
| | Units of red cells concentrates | 1.1 ± 1.4 | 1.4 + 1.2 | 1.0 + 1.1 | 1.4 ± 1.1 | 0.51 |
| | Cause of cirrhosis (n) | | | | | | | Alcohol | 8 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 0.65 | | Hepatitis C | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | | | NASH | 4 | 7 | 5 | 4 | | | Other | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | |
| | MAP (mmHg) | 70.4 ± 10.3 | 68.4 ± 11.6 | 67.8 ± 10.3 | 65.7 ± 10.5 | 0.50 |
| | Cardiac frequency (beats/min) | 90.9 ± 15.6 | 95.4 ± 12.3 | 88.8 ± 7.8 | 94.9 ± 10.4 | 0.47 |
| | Time before endoscopy (hours) | 8.0 ± 1.9 | 7.0 ± 1.0 | 7.6 ± 1.6 | 7.0 ± 1.0 | 0.07 |
| | Urea (mg/dl) | 41.4 ± 20.6 | 39.5 ± 18.6 | 41.9 ± 22.2 | 44.8 ± 22.2 | 0.86 |
| | Creatinine (mg/dl) | 0.92 ± 0.26 | 0.81 ± 0.18 | 0.83 ± 0.21 | 0.93 ± 0.22 | 0.20 |
| | Sodium (mEq/L) | 137.6 ± 3.7 | 138.2 ± 4.6 | 138.5 ± 3.1 | 136.6 ± 3.7 | 0.39 |
| | Potassium (mEq/L) | 4.0 ± 0.5 | 3.9 ± 0.5 | 4.0 ± 0.5 | 3.9 ± 0.4 | 0.62 |
| | Chlorine (mEq/L) | 104.9 ± 4.0 | 101.9 ± 4.2 | 103.2 ± 5.6 | 104.3 ± 6.2 | 0.24 |
| | Albumin (mg/dl) | 3.0 ± 0.7 | 3.2 ± 0.5 | 3.0 ± 0.6 | 2.9 ± 0.7 | 0.47 |
| | Bilirubin (mg/dl) | 1.7 ± 1.4 | 1.7 ± 1.2 | 1.7 ± 1.3 | 2.1 ± 1.8 | 0.69 |
| | Hemoglobin (g/dl) | 9.9 ± 4.7 | 8.6 ± 2.9 | 8.8 ± 2.7 | 8.3 ± 2.7 | 0.46 |
| | Hematocrit () | 30.1 ± 14.6 | 26.3 ± 8.3 | 26.7 ± 7.9 | 25.7 ± 7.9 | 0.50 |
| | Platelets (109cells/mcl) | 130.6 ± 95.3 | 107.3 ± 34.4 | 131.1 ± 69.7 | 127.5 ± 71.9 | 0.65 |
| | Leucocytes (103cells/mcl) | 8.1 ± 5.4 | 7.6 ± 2.8 | 6.8 ± 2.6 | 9.0 ± 5.1 | 0.39 |
| | Neutrophils (103cells/mcl) | 6.0 ± 4.0 | 5.7 ± 2.3 | 5.2 ± 2.3 | 7.0 ± 4.6 | 0.41 |
| | Prothrombin time (sec) | 17.3 ± 5.9 | 15.6 ± 3.9 | 17.8 ± 10.7 | 16.7 ± 4.0 | 0.73 |
| | INR | 1.5 ± 0.5 | 1.3 ± 0.4 | 1.5 ± 0.9 | 1.4 ± 0.3 | 0.64 |
| Variceal bleeding source
Esophageal/Gastric (n) | 19/3 | 20/2 | 16/5 | 20/2 | 0.46 |
| | Rebleeding, n () | 3 (13.6) | 7 (31.8) | 7 (33.3) | 5 (22.7) | 0.39 |
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INR: international normalized ratio; LOLA: L-ornithine L-aspartate; MAP: mean arterial pressure; NASH: nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Statistical significance: P ≤ 0.05.
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