Active clinical trials for "Liver Cirrhosis"

Prolonged corrected QT interval (QTc) has been observed in about half of patients with liver cirrhosis. Marked prolongation of QTc (ie, 500 msec) has been considered to be a risk factor for fatal ventricular arrhythmia, such as torsade de pointes,7,8 which has been reported in liver transplantation (LT) surgery. In a previous study, prolonged QTc interval ( 500 msec) was frequently observed throughout the procedure of LT, even among patients with baseline QTc 440 msec. Therefore, it is important to optimize electrolyte balance and hemodynamic status to reduce greater risk of perioperative arrhythmias. The investigators hypothesized that the change of QTc interval might be differ according to method of general anesthesia (inhalation agent vs. intravenous agent).

Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is used to describe the endoscopic appearance of gastric mucosa in patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension, with a characteristic mosaic-like pattern with or without red spots. The severity of PHG can vary from mild to severe, and patients with PHG are at an increased risk of acute and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding. According to the study by Kim et al, severe PHG showed a significantly high-risk of mortality and reduced expected survival time than none or mild PHG. Therefore, we need to detect PHG as soon as possible.However, as an invasive examination, endoscopy examination may massive gastrointestinal bleeding or gastric perforation. Most patients are afraid and disable to tolerate it, which significantly reduces the real morbidity of PHG and delays the time for diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, there is a need to find effective non-invasive methods that can predict patients with PHG in the early stage, especially which require treatment.

Iron deficiency anemia is a common complication of liver cirrhosis in childern and may affects there life this study to improve the outcome of these patients

Heptorenal syndrome (HRS) is divided into two types. A non-acute kidney injury (NAKI-HRS), which is predominantly related to end-stage disease and a more acute kidney injury (HRS-AKI). HRS-AKI is potentially reversible and develops subsequent to aggravation of a systemic circulatory vasodilatation, that triggers renal vasoconstriction and deteriorates renal perfusion and function. The albumin and terlipressin response is evaluated clinically, routinely for a week and reduces mortality with 23% compared to no treatment. Only 40-50% of the patients with HRS-AKI respond to the treatment with terlipressin. The treatment of hepatorenal syndrome (HRS-AKI) is aimed at improving blood flow to the kidneys. Flow changes associated to development of HRS have only sparsely been studied and not previously by MR technique and no previous studies have evaluated changes in flow induced by terlipressin. It has been hypothesized that development of HRS is associated to a deterioration in heart function with development of cardiomyopathy, which together with renal vasoconstriction leads to renal failure. Simultaneous MR-assessments of cardiac function and flows (especially the renal flow) in HRS-AKI have not previously been performed. The aim of the project is to develop new, fast and non-invasive methods to evaluate hemodynamic changes and individual pharmacological terlipressin response in patients with acute hepatorenal syndrome (type HRS-AKI) We expect a higher increase in renal blood flow in terlipressin-responders compared to terlipressin-non-responders and non-responders will generally have a lower basic renal flow and a decreased cardiac output. Study design and patients The study design is experimental and includes 30 cirrhotic patients with HRS-AKI. Patients with HRS-AKI are MR scanned before and 17 minutes after their first dose of terlipressin. ECHO is performed before first dose of Terlipressin and is repeated after one of the first doses of terlipressin. Clinically efficacy is defined in accordance to international guidelines at day-7 and 90 days mortality is registered. The screening period and treatments follow international and national guidelines for acute renal failure in patients with cirrhosis.

The aims of this study are to evaluate liver fibrosis with two-dimensional (2D) shear wave elastography (SWE) technique in inactive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers and patients with active chronic hepatitis B (CHB), with the help of a propagation map, compare this method with histopathological results in patients with CHB and determine the suitability of 2D-SWE for use instead of liver biopsy by evaluating fibrosis before and after treatment.

NAFLD, closely linked to overweight and insulin resistance, has reached 25% prevalence worldwide. Advanced liver fibrosis(ALF) must be accurately diagnosed in NAFLD because it defines a subgroup of patients with impaired prognosis, and these patients need a specific management to prevent the occurrence of liver-related complication. Relatively few NAFLD patients develop ALF and it is a challenge for physicians to identify them. Liver biopsy is the reference for liver fibrosis evaluation but this invasive procedure cannot be first-line used in NAFLD. Non-invasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis is now available, especially liver stiffness measurement (LSM) with Fibroscan and blood fibrosis tests. However, Fibroscan is a costly device available only in few specialized centres with thus poor accessibility in face of the large NAFLD population. Blood fibrosis tests can be performed by every physician and are distinguished as "complex" or "simple". Because they include specialized biomarkers, complex blood fibrosis tests are accurate for the diagnosis of ALF but they are quite expensive and not reimbursed, with therefore limited use in clinical practice. Simple blood fibrosis tests have the advantage to include cheap and easy-to-obtain biomarkers with simple calculation thanks to free websites or smartphone applications. Simple blood fibrosis tests are globally less accurate than complex blood fibrosis tests or Fibroscan but, used with a high-sensitivity cut-off, they have the high interest of being able to accurately rule out advanced fibrosis in a significant proportion of NAFLD patients. Recently, two sequential diagnostic procedures have been developed for the diagnosis of ALF with the idea to combine the advantages of the different kind of fibrosis tests: the FIB4-Fibroscan (FIB4-FS) and the eLIFT-FibroMeterVCTE (eLIFT-FMVCTE) algorithms. These algorithms include as first-line procedure a simple blood fibrosis test (FIB4 or eLIFT) which identifies the patients who require a further second-line evaluation with a more accurate non-invasive test (Fibroscan or FibroMeterVCTE). Liver biopsy is finally used as third-line procedure in patients for whom the diagnosis remains undetermined. Such algorithms have the advantage to limit the use of complex fibrosis tests only to a subset of at risk-patients. The TRAFIC study compare two strategies for the diagnosis of ALF in NAFLD patients: the FIB4-Fibroscan algorithm and the eLIFT-FibroMeterVCTE algorithm

Frequently patients with advanced liver disease experience physical and emotional symptoms during their hospitalization that can may cause a level of discomfort to both the patient and the family members that surround them. This study involves the early introduction of a team of clinicians that specialize in the lessening (palliation) of many of these discomforting symptoms. This team of clinicians is called the palliative care team and they focus on ways to improve pain and other symptom management and to assist patients and their families in coping with the physical, emotional and social issues associated with a diagnosis of advanced liver disease. The team consists of physicians and advance practice nurses who have been specially trained in the care of patients facing serious illness and their caregivers. The investigators are studying the feasibility of delivering this program, the acceptability and satisfaction with the program, and changes in the quality of life, illness understanding, and symptoms of hospitalized patients who receive the program and their caregivers. The study will use a series of questionnaires to measure the study participants' quality of life, physical symptoms, illness and prognostic understanding, and mood. Study questionnaires will be completed in the hospital, home or clinic. Qualitative interviews will be conducted with hepatology and palliative care clinicians as well as patients and caregivers.

The purpose of this study is to identify genetic determinants of susceptibility to liver cirrhosis . It will assist in predicting individual risks of disease progression and would help to clarify pathophysiologic mechanisms of liver cirrhosis .

Liver transplantation are surgeries associated with important bleeding and often require perioperative red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. Overall, between 20 and 85 % of liver transplant recipients receive at least one RBC transfusion during their surgery. Such transfusions are consistently associated with higher morbidity and mortality, although this causal association is still under debate in many surgical populations. Despite the lack of clear causative association between perioperative transfusions and worse outcomes, minimizing bleeding and transfusions is believed to improve postoperative outcomes. Many perioperative variables are associated with higher blood loss and need for perioperative transfusions: liver disease severity, preoperative anemia and coagulopathy, higher cardiac filling pressures and higher fluid administration, among others. However, few perioperative interventions have been shown to reduce bleeding and transfusion requirements in this population. Among them, the use of intraoperative phlebotomies to reduce portal and hepatic venous pressure during the dissection phase is a promising one, also described in liver resection surgery. To further investigate the effects of intraoperative phlebotomies on intraoperative bleeding, perioperative transfusions and mortality, the Principal Investigator will conduct a retrospective cohort study with a propensity score based causal analysis.

The main objective of this study is to analyze the pathophysiological implications of glucagon and the incretin hormones in patients with liver disease (Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or cirrhosis) with and without diabetes compared with healthy controls. The present study will contribute significantly to the understanding of the pathophysiology of liver disease and glucose metabolism. The final goal is that the results could pave the way for new treatment modalities for patients with liver disease.