Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions

Steroids Provide No Benefit in Alcoholic Hepatitis

Cochrane; 2017 Nov 2; Pavlov, et al

Publish date:: November 16, 2017

Glucocorticosteroids offer no benefit to patients with alcoholic hepatitis, according to a recent Cochrane Library analysis. In fact, the available studies found no difference between steroids and placebo or no treatment when measuring all-cause mortality, health-related quality of life, or serious adverse effects.

The evidence was of such poor quality that reviewers couldn’t definitively state that the drugs had no effect, however.
It was also not possible to rule out increased adverse effects related to steroids because of inadequate reporting.
Because confidence intervals in the analyzed studies were so wide, it was impossible to rule out meaningful benefits or harm caused by these drugs.

Citation:

Pavlov CS, Varganova DL, Casazza G, Tsochatzis E, Nikolova D, Gluud C. Glucocorticosteroids for people with alcoholic hepatitis. Cochrane Database of Syst Rev. 2017, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD001511. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001511.pub3.

This Week's Must Reads

Younger adults present with more advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma,

PDAC: Tumor reduction after neoadjuvant therapy may predict postsurgical survival,

Endoscopic intragastric balloon improved NASH parameters,

Autologous fecal microbiota transplantation helped maintain weight loss after ‘green’ Mediterranean diet,

Cryoballoon, cryospray found equivalent for eradicating Barret’s esophagus,

Must Reads in Liver Disease

Endoscopic intragastric balloon improved NASH parameters,

Lusutrombopag found safe, effective for severe thrombocytopenia in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma,

Bariatric surgery achieved long-term resolution of NASH without worsening fibrosis,

Anti-CD8a, anti-IL-17A antibodies improved immune disruption in mice with history of NASH,

Studies eyes risks for poor outcomes in primary sclerosing cholangitis,