Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| Characteristic | Ventura-Cots et al.9 | Fagan et al.10 | Sharma et al.8 | Simon-Talero et al.7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Author and YOP | 2021 | 2023 | 2017 | 2013 |
| Country | Switzerland | Virginia | India | Spain |
| Sample size | 82 | 48 | 120 | 56 |
| Intervention | Albumin (n=40) | Albumin (n=24) | Lactulose + (n=60) | Albumin (n=26) |
| Control | Isotonic saline (n=42) | Isotonic saline (n=24) | Lactulose (n=60) | Isotonic saline (n=30) |
| Age (median/mean/frequency)a | 66.5 (59.9–73.6) vs. 69.1 (63.3–75.3) | 62.21±8.59 vs. 63.83±6.99 | 42.5±8.7 vs. 38.4±9.6 | 63.7±11.3 vs. 66.3±9.7 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 55 (67) | 43 (89.5) | 100 (83.3) | 42 (75) |
| Aetiology, n (%) | ||||
| Viral hepatitis | 11 (13.4) | 7 (14.5) | 36 (30) | 19 (33.9) |
| Alcohol | 41 (50) | 22 (45.8) | 67 (55.8) | 24 (42.9) |
| Other | 12 (14.6) | 2 (4.2) | 17 (14.2) | 13 (23.2) |
| MELD scorea | 17 (15–20) vs. 17 (16–20) | 11.75±3.78 vs. 10.46±3.36 | 26.4±5.8 vs. 25.8±5.1 | 16.8±3.8 vs. 16.1±5.1 |
| Duration of treatment | 3 days | 5 weeks | 10 days | 3 days |
| Severity of HE; n (%)a | ||||
| Grade II–III | 40 (100) vs. 41 (97.6) | -b | 41 (68.3) vs. 43 (71.6) | 22 (84.6) vs. 24 (80) |
| Grade IV | 0 vs. 1 (2.4) | -b | 19 (31.7) vs. 17 (28.4) | 4 (15.4) vs. 6 (20) |
HE, hepatic encephalopathy; MELD, model for end-stage liver disease; MHE, minimal hepatic encephalopathy; YOP, year of publication.
a
Intervention group compared to the control group, non-significant.
b
All patients had MHE (Grade 0).