Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the included studies
| Studies | Design | Type | Case (n) | Age (years) | Sex (n, M:F) | Type of HE | Etiology | Severity | Comparison | Treatment duration (days) | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gao 201213 | RCT | Full-text | 31/31 | 58/61 | 22:9/19:12 | HE | Cirrhosis | Not reported | RA 1,100 mg + LA 60 mL/LC | 10–15 | 10–15 |
| Neff et al 201314 | OCT | Abstract | 40/352 | / | / | HE | Cirrhosis | MELD: 13.1/10.2 | RA 1,100 mg + LC/LC | Not reported | Not reported |
| Sharma et al 201315 | RCT | Full-text | 63/57 | 40.4±8.5/37.5±10.5 | 47:16/42:15 | Overt HE | Alcohol: 40/32; HBV: 22/10; HCV: 7/3; Other: 19/10 | CPT: 9.9±2.8/9.4±2.5; MELD: 24.9±6.6/23.8±5.18 HE grade (2/3/4): 22/40/58 | RA 1,200 mg + LA 90–180 mL/placebo + LA | ≤10 | During hospital stay |
| Gill et al 201416 | RCT | Abstract | 100/100 | 40 | 70:30/70:30 | Overt HE | Cirrhosis | HE grade (2/3/4): 60/70/70 | RA 1,100 mg + LA 60–180 mL/placebo + LA | 10 | During hospital stay |
| Miu et al 201417 | OCT | Full-text | 80/80 | 41±8.9 | 89:71 | Overt HE | Alcohol: 3; HBV: 7; HCV: 139; Other: 11 | CTP (A/B/C): 1/49/110; HE grade (1/2/3/4): 3/29/51/77 | RA 1,100 mg + LA 90 mL/LA | ≤7 | 7 days |
| Courson et al 201518 | RCT | Full-text | 62/87 | 58±11/59±12 | 22:40/47:40 | Acute HE | Alcohol: 52/27; HBV: 4/1; HCV: 16/6; Other: 35/37 | MELD: 18/21 | RA 1,100 mg + LA/LA | ≤10 | 180 days |
| Kang et al 201719 | OCT | Full-text | 145/276 | 58.6±11.5/60.2±12.0 | 92:53/167:109 | HE | Alcohol: 55/90 Viral: 64/126 Others: 26/60 | CTP (A/B/C): 15/174/232 | Same as Ref 15 | Not reported | 540 days |
| Kang et al 201719 | 173/448 | 63.28±9.8/64.23±9.9 | 143:30/351:97 | Alcohol: 134/353 Viral: 24/59 Others: 15/36 | CTP (A/B/C): 14/170/337 | ||||||
| Ahire and Sonawale 201720 | OCT | Full-text | 32/28 | 49.5±9.7/53.9±10.2 | 28:5/26:2 | Overt HE | Alcohol: 23/15; HBV: 5/5; HCV: 4/4; | CTP (A/B/C): 2/15/43; HE grade (2/3/4): 23/29/8 | Same as Ref 15 | 8 | Not reported |
| Hasan et al 201821 | RCT | Full-text | 45/46 | 44.7±10.6/44.9±10.1 | 36:9/38:8 | Overt HE | Alcohol: 42/39 Others: 3/7 | Not reported | RA 1,200 mg + LA 60–120 mL/placebo + LA | ≤10 | 10 days |
Abbreviations: CTP, Child–Turcotte–Pugh score; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HE, hepatic encephalopathy; LA, lactulose (the amount of lactulose was 667 mg/mL); MELD, model for end-stage liver disease; OCT, observational controlled trials; RA, rifaximin; RCT, randomized controlled trial.