0000000000312262
AUTHOR
Joachim Labenz
Impact of non-selective ß-blockers on hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver cirrhosis
Non-selective β-blockers (NSBB) are frequently used for the treatment of portal hypertension and gastroesophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis; however prospective studies investigating the potential association between NSBB use and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) are still scarce. We investigated the potential association between NSBB use and the presence of covert HE (CHE) as well as the development of overt HE (OHE).224 patients with liver cirrhosis were included into this cohort study at two German centers and followed for a median of 364 days. CHE was diagnosed by pathological results in the PHES. Predictors for the presence of CHE or the development of OHE were analyzed using …
Raised serum Interleukin-6 identifies patients with liver cirrhosis at high risk for overt hepatic encephalopathy
BACKGROUND Systemic inflammation is a driving force for the development of hepatic encephalopathy and recent studies demonstrated that elevated Interleukin-6 (IL-6) serum levels are associated with the presence of minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver cirrhosis. AIM To test the hypothesis that IL-6 is a suitable marker to identify patients with liver cirrhosis at high risk for the development of overt hepatic encephalopathy. METHODS 201 patients were included into this prospective cohort study and were followed for a mean time of 322 days. Covert hepatic encephalopathy was diagnosed according to the West-Haven criteria (hepatic encephalopathy grade 1) and with the portosyste…
Epidemiology of hepatic encephalopathy in german hospitals – the EpHE study
Abstract Background Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious complication of liver cirrhosis. The proportion of patients with liver cirrhosis attending German hospitals suffering from HE is unknown. Methods In the first part of the study, data of 14 community hospitals and 5 university hospitals covering the years 2010 and 2011 were analyzed retrospectively for the DRG codes of liver cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy. In the second prospective part of the multicenter observational study, all patients with liver cirrhosis attending the departments of gastroenterology of 16 participating community hospitals within a study period of 3 months were included and screened for HE clinically acco…
Development and Validation of a Prognostic Score to Predict Covert Hepatic Encephalopathy in Patients With Cirrhosis.
Diagnosis of covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) is challenging and often neglected in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to develop an easy-to-perform score to predict CHE in patients with cirrhosis.For the development or validation cohort of the proposed clinical CHE score, 142 or 96 consecutive patients with cirrhosis were prospectively enrolled. The Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score was used to detect minimal hepatic encephalopathy. All patients were examined with the simplified animal naming test and were asked to complete the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire. We followed the TRIPOD guideline for development, validation, and reporting of the proposed score.The clin…
Management of hepatic encephalopathy in Germany: a survey among physicians
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a severe complication of liver cirrhosis with impairment of quality of life and prognosis. Management patterns among physicians have not been investigated yet. A questionnaire containing 17 questions was sent out to 1468 gastroenterologists and 120 general practitioners (GPs). It included questions regarding diagnostic, therapeutic, and management strategies used in patients with overt HE (OHE) and covert HE (CHE). The response rate was 12 % (n = 172) for gastroenterologists and 45 % (n = 54) for GPs. Of gastroenterologists, 26.7 % examine patients with an initial diagnosis of liver cirrhosis regarding HE. Gastroenterologists favored a combination of differen…
Validation of the Clinical Frailty Scale for the Prediction of Mortality in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis
Introduction Frailty is a common but often underestimated complication in patients with liver cirrhosis. The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) allows the assessment of frailty within a short period of time but has only been investigated in a Canadian cohort of outpatients. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the ability of the CFS to predict mortality in outpatients and nonelectively hospitalized German patients. Methods Two hundred outpatients and 99 nonelectively hospitalized patients with liver cirrhosis were prospectively enrolled. Outpatients/inpatients were followed for a median of 364/28 days regarding the primary outcome of death or liver transplantation. Eighty-seven patients o…
Outcome Prediction of Covert Hepatic Encephalopathy in Liver Cirrhosis: Comparison of Four Testing Strategies
INTRODUCTION: Despite the negative impact of covert hepatic encephalopathy on the outcome of patients with liver cirrhosis, data regarding the ability of different testing strategies to predict overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE) development and mortality are limited. This study aimed to compare the ability of Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES), critical flicker frequency (CFF), simplified animal naming test (S-ANT1), and clinical covert hepatic encephalopathy (CCHE) score to predict OHE development and mortality. METHODS: A total of 224 patients with liver cirrhosis were tested with different testing strategies and prospectively followed up regarding clinically relevant outcom…
Vorsorgegastroskopie – lohnt sich das wirklich?
Die Vorsorgekoloskopie ist in Deutschland seit vielen Jahren fest etabliert und eine Erfolgsgeschichte. Erkrankungen mit malignem Potential sind auch im oberen Verdauungstrakt haufig anzutreffen. Zu nennen sind hier in erster Linie die gastroosophageale Refluxkrankheit (GERD) sowie die autoimmune (Typ A) und die bakterielle Gastritis (Typ B) hervorgerufen durch die Infektion mit Helicobacter pylori. Vergleichsweise selten sind dagegen intraepitheliale Neoplasien des Duodenums und die Zoeliakie, die zum T-Zell-Lymphom fuhren kann. Diese drei Regionen des oberen Verdauungstrakts konnen durch die „Vorsorgegastroskopie“, die korrekt Osophago-Gastro-Duodenoskopie (OGD) heist, beurteilt werden.