End-stage liver disease (ESLD) is the culmination of progression of chronic liver disease to cirrhosis, decompensation, and chronic liver failure, featuring portal hypertension or hepatocellular failure-related complications. Liver transplantation offers improved long-term survival for these patients but is negatively influenced by donor availability, financial constraints in developing countries, active substance abuse, progression of disease or malignancy on wait-list, sepsis and extrahepatic organ involvement. In this context, palliative care (PC), an interdisciplinary medical practice that aim to prevent and relieve suffering, offers best possible quality of life and is not limited to end-of-life care. It also encompasses achievable goals such as symptom control and aggressive disease-modifying treatments or interventions that beneficially alter the natural course of the disease to offer curative intend. In this narrative review, we discuss the prognostic factors that define disease course in ESLD, various indications and challenges in PC for advanced cirrhosis and management options for major symptom burden in patients with ESLD based on evidence-based best practice.

A 34-year-old male visited our hospital with complaints of recurrent episodes of altered behavior since past 6 months along with difficulty in walking since past 3 months. He was diagnosed of chronic liver disease in the past. Examination revealed spasticity and brisk deep tendon reflexes in both the lower limbs. His blood investigations and spinal cord imaging was normal. Based on his clinical features, a possibility of portosystemic shunting leading to portosystemic encephalopathy (PSE) and shunt myelopathy was suspected. A computed tomography portography showed a recanalized paraumblical vein draining portal blood into external iliac veins. Patient underwent shunt occlusion (Figure- 2). One month after the procedure, while there was no recurrence of symptoms of PSE, those of myelopathy remained unchanged. Shunt myelopathy is a rare complication of spontaneous or iatrogenic portosystemic shunts. Unlike PSE, the management of shunt myelopathy is uncertain due to limited evidence. Limited evidence suggests reversal of myelopathy after early shunt occlusion, highlighting the irreversible changes that may set in spinal cord due to delayed diagnosis. Our case highlights an important but a rare complication of portosystemic shunting in chronic liver disease which should be kept in mind if these patients develop symptoms attributable to spinal cord disease.

The expression splanchnic vein thrombosis encompasses Budd-Chiari syndrome and portal vein thrombosis. These disorders have common characteristics: they are both rare diseases which can cause portal hypertension and its complications. Budd-Chiari syndrome and portal vein thrombosis in the absence of underlying liver disease share many risk factors, among which myeloproliferative neoplasms represent the most common; a rapid comprehensive work-up for risk factors of thrombosis is needed in these patients. Long-term anticoagulation is indicated in most patients. Portal vein thrombosis can also develop in patients with cirrhosis and in those with porto-sinusoidal vascular liver disease. The presence and nature of underlying liver disease impacts the management of portal vein thrombosis. Indications for anticoagulation in patients with cirrhosis are growing, while transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt is now a second-line option. Due to the rarity of these diseases, studies yielding high-grade evidence are scarce. However, collaborative studies have provided new insight into the management of these patients. This article focuses on the causes, diagnosis, and management of patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome, portal vein thrombosis without underlying liver disease, or cirrhosis with non-malignant portal vein thrombosis.

UNASSIGNED: Anaemia is frequently observed in patients with cirrhosis and was identified as a predictor of adverse outcomes, such as increased mortality and occurrence of acute-on-chronic liver failure. To date, the possible effects of iron supplementation on these adverse outcomes are not well described. We therefore aimed to assess the role of iron supplementation in patients with cirrhosis and its capability to improve prognosis.
UNASSIGNED: Laboratory diagnostics were performed in consecutive outpatients with cirrhosis admitted between July 2018 and December 2019 to the University Hospital Essen. Associations with transplant-free survival were assessed in regression models.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 317 outpatients with cirrhosis were included, of whom 61 received a liver transplant (n = 19) or died (n = 42). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, male sex (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.33, 95% CI [1.59, 6.99], p = 0.001), model for end-stage liver disease score (HR = 1.19, 95% CI [1.11, 1.27], p <0.001) and the increase of haemoglobin levels within 6 months (ΔHb6) (HR = 0.72, 95% CI [0.63, 0.83], p <0.001) were associated with transplant-free survival. Regarding the prediction of haemoglobin increase, intake of rifaximin (beta = 0.50, SD beta = 0.19, p = 0.007) and iron supplementation (beta = 0.79, SD beta = 0.26, p = 0.003) were significant predictors in multivariate analysis.
UNASSIGNED: An increase of haemoglobin levels is associated with improvement of transplant-free survival in patients with cirrhosis. Because the prediction of haemoglobin increase significantly depends on rifaximin and iron supplementation, application of these two medications can have an important impact on the outcome of these patients.
UNASSIGNED: Anaemia is very common in patients with cirrhosis and is known to be a predictor of negative outcomes, but little is known about the effect of iron substitution in these individuals. In our cohort, increase of haemoglobin levels improved transplant-free survival of patients with cirrhosis. The increase of haemoglobin levels was mainly induced by iron supplementation and was even stronger in the case of concomitant use of iron and rifaximin.
UNASSIGNED: UME-ID-10042.

Video 1This video details our case as well as our method for successfully eradicating varices immediately prior to esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection to minimize risks of variceal hemorrhage.

UNASSIGNED: Among individuals with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis and acute variceal bleeding (AVB), the Baveno VII workshop recommended pre-emptive TIPS in those with a Child-Pugh score of 8-9 and active bleeding at initial endoscopy (Child B8-9 + AB criteria). Nevertheless, whether this criterion is superior to the CLIF-Consortium acute decompensation score (CLIF-C ADs) remains unclear.
UNASSIGNED: Data on 1,021 consecutive individuals with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis and AVB from 13 university hospitals in China who were treated with pre-emptive TIPS (n = 297) or drug plus endoscopic treatment (n = 724) between 2010 to 2019 were retrospectively analysed. A competing risk regression model was used to compare the outcomes between the two groups after adjusting for confounders. The concordance-statistic for benefit (c-for-benefit) was used to evaluate a models\' ability to predict treatment benefit (risk difference between treatment groups).
UNASSIGNED: Pre-emptive TIPS was associated with reduced mortality compared to drug plus endoscopic treatment (adjusted hazard ratio 0.62, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.88). A higher baseline CLIF-C AD score was associated with greater survival benefit (i.e., larger absolute mortality risk reduction). After adjusting for confounders, a survival benefit was observed in individuals with CLIF-C ADs ≥48 or Child-Pugh B8-9 with active bleeding, but not in those with CILF-C ADs <48, no active bleeding or Child-Pugh B7 with active bleeding. The c-for-benefit of CILF-C ADs for predicting survival benefit was higher than that of Child B8-9+AB criteria.
UNASSIGNED: In individuals with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis and AVB, CLIF-C ADs predicts survival benefit from pre-emptive TIPS and outperforms the Child B8-9+AB criteria. Prospective validation should be performed to confirm this result, especially for other aetiologies of cirrhosis.
UNASSIGNED: In this study, among individuals with Child-Pugh B cirrhosis and acute variceal bleeding, the CLIF-Consortium acute decompensation (CLIF-C AD) score could predict the survival benefit from pre-emptive TIPS, with patients with higher CLIF-C AD scores benefiting more from pre-emptive TIPS. Furthermore, the CLIF-C AD score outperformed the Child B8-9 plus active bleeding criteria in terms of discriminating between those who obtained more benefit vs. less benefit from pre-emptive TIPS. Depending on prospective validation, the CLIF-C AD score could be used as the model of choice to determine who should undergo pre-emptive TIPS.

UNASSIGNED: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) relieves hepatic venous obstruction in Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS), but the effect on liver function is unclear, particularly outside the immediate post-treatment period. This study aims to evaluate the long-term impact of TIPS on liver function and outcomes in BCS patients.
UNASSIGNED: Twenty patients with BCS who underwent TIPS from 1999 to 2018 were included. Demographic data and clinical data at the time of TIPS procedure, 6 months, 12 months, 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years post-TIPS were collected.
UNASSIGNED: There were 13 (13/20, 65%) women and 7 (7/20, 35%) men with a mean age at the time of TIPS of 42.6 ± 12.8 years. The median time from BCS diagnosis to TIPS was 41 (IQR: 4-165) days. The number of patients with severe ascites decreased significantly from 10/17 (58.8%) at the time of TIPS, to 1/16 (7.7%), 1/13 (7.7%), 2/16 (12.5%), 1/14 (7.1%), and 0/8 (0%) at 6 months, 12 months, 2 years, 5 years and 10 years post-TIPS, respectively. 4/20 (20%) patients developed new hepatic encephalopathy post-TIPS procedure. Child-Pugh score significantly decreased from a score of 9.4 ± 1.8 pre-TIPS to 7.6 ± 1.8 at 6 months, 7.4 ± 1.5 at 12 months, 7.3 ± 1.6 at 2 years, 6.8 ± 1.5 at 5 years, and 6.4 ± 0.7 at 10 years post-TIPS. Fifteen (15/20, 75%) patients required TIPS revision including 4 (4/15, 26.7%) within 30 days, 2 (2/15, 13.3% within 1 month to 1 year, and 9 (9/15, 60%) at more than 1 year. Eight (8/20, 40%) patients underwent liver transplantation (LT) at median time of 7.3 (IQR 3.2-12.9) years after TIPS.
UNASSIGNED: TIPS placement for BCS results in sustained resolution of symptoms and improved liver function. Despite the frequent need for revisions, the long-term durability of TIPS can forgo the need for LT in the majority of patients.

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UNASSIGNED: Non-invasive stratification of the liver decompensation risk remains unmet in people with compensated cirrhosis. This study aimed to develop a non-invasive tool (NIT) to predict hepatic decompensation.
UNASSIGNED: This retrospective study recruited 689 people with compensated cirrhosis (median age, 54 years; 441 men) from 5 centres from January 2016 to June 2020. Baseline abdominal computed tomography (CT), clinical features, and liver stiffness were collected, and then the first decompensation was registered during the follow-up. The spleen-based model was designed for predicting decompensation based on a deep learning segmentation network to generate the spleen volume and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-Cox. The spleen-based model was trained on the training cohort of 282 individuals (Institutions I-III) and was validated in 2 external validation cohorts (97 and 310 individuals from Institutions IV and V, respectively) and compared with the conventional serum-based models and the Baveno VII criteria.
UNASSIGNED: The decompensation rate at 3 years was 23%, with a 37.6-month median (IQR 21.1-52.1 months) follow-up. The proposed model showed good performance in predicting decompensation (C-index ≥0.84) and outperformed the serum-based models (C-index comparison test p <0.05) in both the training and validation cohorts. The hazard ratio (HR) for decompensation in individuals with high risk was 7.3 (95% CI 4.2-12.8) in the training and 5.8 (95% CI 3.9-8.6) in the validation (log-rank test, p <0.05) cohorts. The low-risk group had a negligible 3-year decompensation risk (≤1%), and the model had a competitive performance compared with the Baveno VII criteria.
UNASSIGNED: This spleen-based model provides a non-invasive and user-friendly method to help predict decompensation in people with compensated cirrhosis in diverse healthcare settings where liver stiffness is not available.
UNASSIGNED: People with compensated cirrhosis with larger spleen volume would have a higher risk of decompensation. We developed a spleen-based model and validated it in external validation cohorts. The proposed model might help predict hepatic decompensation in people with compensated cirrhosis when invasive tools are unavailable.

UNASSIGNED: Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections in patients with cirrhosis represent a significant therapeutic challenge as they are associated with poor outcomes due to high rates of treatment failure, and frequently induce liver decompensation.
UNASSIGNED: To evaluate treatment failure and in-hospital mortality in two cohorts of patients with cirrhosis and with CRKP infections treated with antibiotic regimens including or excluding Ceftazidime-avibactam.
UNASSIGNED: Data from hospitalized patients with liver cirrhosis and CRKP infections were extracted and retrospectively analyzed.
UNASSIGNED: During the study period, 39 cirrhotic patients with confirmed invasive CRKP infections were enrolled. Overall, the median age was 60 years with a median MELD score of 16 points. Urinary tract infections were diagnosed in 46%, followed by pneumonia in 23%, and primary bacteremia in 18% of patients. Treatment failure was reported in 10 patients (26%), while in-hospital mortality in 15 patients (38%). A monotherapy was used in 8 patients (20.5%), while a combination therapy was required in 31 patients (79.5%). Ceftazidime-avibactam therapy was associated with lower rates of treatment failure (7% vs. 38%, P = 0.032) independent of severity of liver disease (Child Class) and mono or combination antibiotic therapy. Acute kidney injury, hepatorenal syndrome, and acute-on-chronic liver failure were the consequences more frequently observed in patients with treatment failure. In-hospital mortality was associated with treatment failure, and Ceftazidime-avibactam therapy improved in-hospital survival (log rank test: P = 0.035) adjusted for Child class and mono or combination therapy.
UNASSIGNED: Treatment including ceftazidime-avibactam was associated with a lower rate of treatment failure in cirrhotic patients with CRKP infections. Considering the favorable efficacy and outcomes of ceftazidime-avibactam, this drug should be considered for the treatment of these severe infections in patients with liver cirrhosis, though further investigation is required.