Background: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a life-threatening infection in patients with cirrhosis. Depending on the clinical setting, the prevalence and mortality rates of SBP in cirrhosis range between 1.5-30% and 10-46%, respectively. The purpose of this study was to assess the yearly trend in SBP prevalence, length of stay and mortality among hospitalized cirrhosis [...]

Background: Rifaximin, a nonsystemic antibiotic, may be used alone or in combination with lactulose for reducing the risk of overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE) recurrence in adults. This analysis evaluated rifaximin alone and rifaximin + lactulose (combination) on health-related quality of life (QOL) and caregiver burden in patients with a history of OHE. Methods: In a [...]

Background: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a common neurological complication in patients with cirrhosis. In addition to numerous morbidity-related issues, HE is associated with substantial economic burden. Treatment includes lactulose or rifaximin, a nonsystemic antibiotic that is indicated for reducing the risk of overt HE recurrence in adults. Rifaximin has also been shown to reduce the [...]

Background: The number of hospitalizations related to a primary diagnosis of cirrhosis has been declining since the mid-2000’s. However, the temporal trend of number of hospitalizations and inpatient mortality associated with secondary conditions of cirrhosis remains uncertain. Therefore, we conducted a nationwide population data analysis to show the temporal correlation of hospitalizations and mortality associated [...]

Case Presentation: A 46 year-old man with decompensated cirrhosis (MELD 45) presented with dizziness and confusion for two days. He denied any other new symptoms. Home medications included lactulose, propranolol, pantoprazole, folic acid and thiamine. On arrival, the patient was normothermic (99.2 F), with bradycardia to 30-40 BPM and blood pressures of 80s/40s mmHg. He [...]

Case Presentation: A 45 yo woman with alcohol use, liver cirrhosis, hepatic encephalopathy and recurrent abdominal ascites, presented to hospital with decreased urine output and abdominal swelling. She was found to have severe acute renal failure and was treated for suspected hepatorenal syndrome with intravenous albumin infusion. She did not recover renal function and required [...]