Cirrhosis/Liver Failure News

Conducting a psychometric evaluation prior to the start of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement is useful for identifying which patients with cirrhosis will develop hepatic encephalopathy post-placement, according to published findings.

Elderly adults older than 70 years with cirrhosis had reduced survival 90 days post-transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, according to published findings.

In the Bleeding Prevention with Simvastatin clinical study, researchers found that the addition of simvastatin to standard therapy for Child-Pugh A and B cirrhosis increased survival, according to published findings.

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement was more safe and effective against variceal rebleeding in patients with cirrhosis, compared with endoscopic therapy plus beta-blocker.

Liver transplantation candidates with cirrhosis experienced significant decline in physical functioning while waitlisted for transplant. This decreased function was also associated with increased risk for mortality, according to data published in Hepatology.

In a U.S. Veteran population, a majority of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had undetected cirrhosis at the time carcinoma was diagnosed. These patients were also more likely to have advanced stage HCC.

In a systematic review and meta-analysis, researchers in the UK found that increased coffee consumption reduced the risk for cirrhosis, according to published findings in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Merck announced the FDA has approved Zepatier for the treatment of adult patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 and 4 infection, with or without ribavirin.

In a retrospective cohort study using data from the Veteran Affairs Clinical Case Registry, patients with hepatitis C virus infection and compensated cirrhosis who used statins had a lower risk for cirrhosis decompensation and mortality vs. nonstatin users.

In a prospective study, researchers found elastography to be effective for diagnosing liver fibrosis and cirrhosis among patients at risk for liver fibrosis due to alcohol consumption.