Treatment of Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis With Corticoids Plus N Acetyl Cysteine Versus Corticoids Alone
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2009-09-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
35% of Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis patients (AAH) do not respond to corticoids and died after 6
months. Chronic alcohol abuse depletes glutathione in the hepatocytes and makes the latter
more sensitive to excessive TNFα levels. Re-establishment of a stock of antioxidants by
administration of a precursor (N-acetyl cysteine, NAC) in combination with corticoids (C)
could make the hepatocytes more resistant and improve survival. The investigators' study's
primary endpoint was improvement of survival at 6 months. The secondary endpoints were
survival at 1 and 3 months, tolerance of NAC and a drop in blood bilirubin levels at D7