Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial in Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2011-01-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The treatment of severe forms of alcoholic hepatitis (AH) constitutes a major challenge for
clinicians involved in the management of severe alcoholic liver disease. In patients with
Maddrey function higher than 32, compelling evidence from data has shown that corticosteroids
improve short-term survival. However, novel strategies or molecules are required in light of
the fact that approximately 40 % of patients continue to die at 6 months. A double-blinded
randomized controlled trial of 101 patients has showed that Pentoxifylline improves survival
of patients with severe AH, as compared to placebo. In terms of mechanisms, the effect of
pentoxifylline is related to prevention of hepatorenal function whereas corticosteroids
induce an early improvement in liver function. When considering these differences of
mechanisms, many clinicians suggest that the addition of pentoxyfilline to corticosteroids is
an attractive option that needs to be tested in patients with severe AH.