Prophylactic Antibiotics in Compensated Liver Cirrhosis

Summary

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Description

cute variceal bleeding is one of the major causes of death in cirrhotic patients . It is also the major cause of upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in cirrhotic patients, accounting for 70% of cases . Mortality during the first episode is estimated to 15-20% but is higher in severe patients (Child...

cute variceal bleeding is one of the major causes of death in cirrhotic patients . It is also the major cause of upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in cirrhotic patients, accounting for 70% of cases . Mortality during the first episode is estimated to 15-20% but is higher in severe patients (Child Pugh C), at around 30%, whereas it is very low in patients with compensated cirrhosis (Child Pugh A). Hemorrhage from gastro-esophageal varices is a devastating complication of portal hypertension. Although the in-hospital mortality of acute variceal bleeding was up to 40% about 20 years ago, it was decreased to about 15-20% in recent years.20 One of the main reasons in the decrease of mortality has been ascribed to the alertness of clinicians in the treatment and prophylaxis of associated bacterial infections. The prevalence of bacterial infections in cirrhotic patients with gastrointestinal hemorrhage has been up to 52%-66%. Therefore, timely short-term antibiotic prophylaxis is an essential step in the management of these patients. Prophylaxis must be instituted as early as variceal hemorrhage is suspected, and timely administration has been associated with a reduced re-bleeding rate and lower mortality . More recently, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) recommended antibiotic prophylaxis in all cirrhotic patients with UGIB, regardless of its source (i.e. variceal or non-variceal) or the presence of ascites. The importance of prophylaxis is incontrovertible in patients with advanced cirrhosis, whereas in patients with less severe disease, conflicting data have been published. In a retrospective study, Child A patients had a low rate of bacterial infection (2%) in the absence of antibiotic prophylaxis, and there was no difference in mortality between patients on and off antibiotics . In contrast, antibiotics were associated with a marked mortality reduction in Child C patients. However, more prospective studies are needed to assess whether antibiotic prophylaxis can be avoided in Child A patients . Thus, this study will be conducted to investigate the necessity of prophylactic antibiotic in compensated cirrhotic patients with UGIB and to evaluate its influence on patient outcomes.

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