The current standard of care for severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH) has several limitations in that only up to one-third of patients are eligible for steroid therapy. Additionally, steroids have their own issues: a portion of patients do not respond, while there is doubtful long-term benefit in those who do and a large proportion are ineligible to receive steroids entirely and hence have no definitive options for treatment. As such, there is a large gap between the problem and the available solutions. Alcohol causes dysbiosis and also disrupts gut barrier function, consequently promoting the translocation of microbial lipopolysaccharide into the portal circulation and liver. Therefore, probiotics, prebiotics, antibiotics, or transplantation of gut microbiota are likely to attenuate the dysbiosis-related liver insult. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is expected to have a role in managing alcoholic liver disease in general and SAH in particular by correcting dysbiosis, the primary insult. Results from mouse studies have suggested beyond doubt that alcohol-related liver injury is transferrable and also treatable by adopting FMT from suitable donors. Initial human trials from our center have affirmed benefits in human subjects with SAH as well, with both improvements in disease severity and as well as the rate of survival. Further studies addressing the head-to-head comparison of steroids and FMT are ongoing. Available preliminary data are promising and FMT and/or gut microbial modulation might become the standard of care in the near future for managing alcohol-related liver diseases, especially alcoholic hepatitis, with greater applicability, improved acceptability, and minimal side effects.

Background/Aims: Liver cirrhosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Every episode of decompensation and hospitalization reduces survival. We studied the clinical profile and long-term outcomes comparing alcohol-related cirrhosis (ALC) and non-ALC.
Methods: Cirrhosis patients at index hospitalisation (from January 2010 to June 2017), with ≥1 year follow-up were included.
Results: Five thousand and one hundred thirty-eight cirrhosis patients (age, 49.8±14.6 years; male, 79.5%; alcohol, 39.5%; Child-A:B:C, 11.7%:41.6%:46.8%) from their index hospitalization were analysed. The median time from diagnosis of cirrhosis to index hospitalization was 2 years (0.2–10). One thousand and seven hundred seven patients (33.2%) died within a year; 1,248 (24.3%) during index hospitalization. 59.5% (2,316/3,890) of the survivors, required at least one readmission, with additional mortality of 19.8% (459/2,316). ALC compared to non-ALC were more often (P<0.001) male (97.7% vs. 67.7%), younger (40–50 group, 36.2% vs. 20.2%; P<0.001) with higher liver related complications at baseline, (P<0.001 for each), sepsis: 20.3% vs. 14.9%; ascites: 82.2% vs. 65.9%; spontaneous bacterial peritonitis: 21.8% vs. 15.7%; hepatic encephalopathy: 41.0% vs. 25.0%; acute variceal bleeding: 32.0% vs. 23.7%; and acute kidney injury 30.5% vs. 19.6%. ALC patients had higher Child-Pugh (10.6±2.0 vs. 9.0±2.3), model for end-stage liver-disease scores (21.49±8.47 vs. 16.85±7.79), and higher mortality (42.3% vs. 27.3%, P<0.001) compared to non-ALC.
Conclusions One-third of cirrhosis patients die in index hospitalization. 60% of the survivors require at least one rehospitalization within a year. ALC patients present with higher morbidity and mortality and at a younger age.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to study the efficacy and safety of zolpidem for sleep disturbances in patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: Fifty-two Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class A or B cirrhotics with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index >5 were randomized to either zolpidem 5 mg daily (n=26) or placebo (n=26) for 4 weeks. RESULTS: The therapy of 4 weeks was completed by 23 patients receiving zolpidem (3 stopped treatment due to excessive daytime drowsiness) and 24 receiving placebo (2 refused to continue the study). In the zolpidem group, after 4 weeks of therapy, there was significant increase in total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency compared to baseline and improvement in polysomnographic parameters of sleep initiation and maintenance (i.e., decrease in sleep latency time, decrease in wake time, and decreases in number of arousals and periodic limbs movements per hour of sleep), without any significant change in sleep architecture. CONCLUSIONS: Four weeks of 5 mg daily zolpidem in CTP class A or B cirrhosis patients with insomnia led to significant increases in TST and sleep efficiency and improvement in polysomnographic parameters of sleep initiation and maintenance without any significant change in sleep architecture.
Arousal ; Cytidine Triphosphate ; Extremities ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders