Active clinical trials for "Liver Cirrhosis"

Research has proven that large varices can be treated with beta-blockers (a type of anti-hypertensive medication) to reduce the pressure in the veins. The management of small varices is still uncertain. This study aims to discover if beta blockers can be used in this setting. We hypothesize that beta blockers will reduce the risk of bleeding from small varices from 20% to 10% over a period of 3 years, resulting in significant cost savings to the NHS from better patient outcomes.

The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of rifaximin versus norfloxacin for secondary prevention of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites.

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy of screening for liver disease with liver stiffness measurement on abstinence or light consumption after 6 months in individuals who are receiving treatment for alcohol use disorder and without a history of liver disease. The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial with concealed allocation comparing A) an invitation to a liver stiffness measurement, blood sampling and leaflet on alcohol-related disease (intervention) with B) an invitation to blood sampling (control). The primary outcome is 'abstinence or light consumption' (≤ 10 units/week) throughout the last months, and assessed 6 months after randomization.

The prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) is about 10% in the general population, but increases with age, ranging from 9.1% in men 40-49 years to 55% in men >70. The major risk factors for ED are as follows: diabetes; heart conditions; tobacco use; obesity; injuries to the nerves that control erection; medications such as antidepressants; psychological conditions such as stress, anxiety, or depression; and drug or alcohol use (4). The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF5) is a simple and well-validated tool for the evaluation of ED (5) and is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis and evaluation of symptom severity. The link between cirrhosis and ED has been suggested in a recent study, showing ED was also impacted by liver failure, portal hypertension and other known risk factors. In the investigators team, they showed, additionally, that neurocognitive impairment is associated with ED in cirrhosis (data not published). The prevalence of ED after liver transplantation (LT) varies among series, ranging from 66 to 86%. After LT, on the one hand, improvement of liver function and bioavailable testosterone favours the improvement of ED. On the other hand, immunosuppressive agents are suspected to worsen it. ED's reversibility has also been discussed; nevertheless, data are scarce and heterogeneous. In the investigators group, they can perform in routine a neurocognitive evaluation of patients with cirrhosis thanks to a neuropsychologist experienced in cognitive disorders occurring in patients with cirrhosis. The aims of this study are: 1) to compare the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in a population of patients with cirrhosis before liver transplantation (LT) and one year after LT; (2) to describe factors associated with ED before and after LT, with a special focus of hormonal profile, neurocognitive impairment, multimodal brain Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and of the type of immunosuppressive therapy used; (3) to assess the impact of ED on sexual partner; (4) to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment with phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE-5) drugs after LT. Methods: neurocognitive tests will be performed by an expert neuropsychologist. Biological evaluation will include an evaluation of liver function, hormonal assessment (bioavailable testosterone). MRI acquisition protocol will include anatomical sequences (3D-T1, FLAIR, T2, T2 *), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and two single voxel MR spectroscopy acquisitions. Evaluation will be performed before LT and 1 year after LT.

To determine the effectiveness of a behaviorally-based tailored disease management intervention in patients with fibrosis or steatosis and risk factors for cirrhosis.

Patients who have completed 2-years treatment in RCT Study of carvedilol will receive another 2-years extension therapy, aiming to investigate the long-term efficacy of carvedilol for the prevention of esophageal varices in treated HBV cirrhotic patients.

Proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) are commonly prescribed in an uncritical manner to patients with liver cirrhosis without a clear evidence-based indication. Observational studies suggests that PPI use in cirrhotic patients may be a risk factor for the development of infections, especially spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). A possible explanation are PPI-associated microbiotic shifts leading to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth with subsequently increased bacterial translocation. Furthermore, PPI therapy in cirrhotic patients may lead to an increased risk for pneumonia and Clostridium difficile-infections. However, the evidence is ambiguous, as other published studies found no evidence for an association of PPI use with an increased risk for SBP or pneumonia. Moreover, an association between episodes of hepatic encephalopathy and PPI use has been reported. Infections and hepatic encephalopathy may often lead to a hospitalization of cirrhotic patients and PPI use at discharge has also been associated to early re-hospitalization. While some studies found an association of PPI and increased mortality in cirrhotic patients, other studies could not observe this association. Thus, some of the current evidence suggests an unfavourable risk profile of PPIs in patients with liver cirrhosis. However, this patient population is considered to be at a high risk of gastrointestinal haemorrhage from peptic ulcers. Importantly, patients with liver cirrhosis have an increased mortality after peptic ulcer bleeding as compared to patients without cirrhosis. Therefore, generous PPI use may also have a yet unproven preventive effect against upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The STOPPIT trial is the first prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind trial investigating the effect of discontinuation of long-term PPI therapy on hospitalized patients with complicated liver cirrhosis with a pre-existing long-term PPI therapy. Importantly, patients with an evidence-based indication for PPI therapy are excluded from the trial. All study participants (n=476) stop their previous PPI treatment and are then randomized (1:1) to receive either placebo (intervention group) or esomeprazole 20mg/day (control group) for 360 days. The primary hypothesis anticipates a delay of re-hospitalisation and/or death (composite endpoint) in patients who discontinue PPI treatment as compared to patients who continue PPI therapy. Secondary objectives include the assessment of mortality, re-hospitalisation rates, infection rates, rate of acute hepatic decompensation and ACLF, as well as rates of upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding events in both groups. Impact of prolonged or discontinued PPI therapy on the intestinal microbiota and pharmacoeconomics will be studied as a secondary assessment.

In this study, three biomarkers tests (AFP, AFP-L3 and PIVKA-II) and abdominal sonography or CT scans are performed every 6 months to detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) early in patients with cirrhosis, a high-risk group of HCC. The aim of this study is to confirm the early HCC diagnosis rate in patients with cirrhosis and compare the detection efficacy between tests.

Assess whether a pre-interventional thrombelastography guided algorithm for assessing and correction of coagulation status in cirrhotic patients is safe and effective

The study aims to compare the potential benefit of allopurinol versus atorvastatin in reducing the risk of developing cirrhosis-related complications, delaying the onset of hepatocellular carcinoma, and improving survival. Furthermore, the study aims to evaluate their impact on parents' related quality of life.