Effects of branched-chain amino acid granules on serum albumin level and prognosis are dependent on treatment adherence in patients with liver cirrhosis
Aim To test if the treatment adherence to branched‐chain amino acid (BCAA) granules influences the serum albumin level and prognosis in prospective 2984 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis who were prescribed BCAA granules containing 952 mg of L‐isoleucine, 1904 mg of L‐leucine and 1144 mg o...
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Published in | Hepatology research Vol. 43; no. 5; pp. 459 - 466 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Netherlands
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.05.2013
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Aim
To test if the treatment adherence to branched‐chain amino acid (BCAA) granules influences the serum albumin level and prognosis in prospective 2984 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis who were prescribed BCAA granules containing 952 mg of L‐isoleucine, 1904 mg of L‐leucine and 1144 mg of L‐valine at 4.15 g/sachet three times a day after meals.
Methods
The primary end‐point was the time to the event defined as “hospital admission due to progression of hepatic failure”, and factors affecting this outcome were explored. Changes in serum albumin level were evaluated as the secondary end‐point.
Results
Patients were divided into the good adherence group (those who reported to have taken “nearly all” prescribed doses) and the poor adherence group (those who reported to have taken “approximately half” or “less” doses), because such stratification was validated by treatment responses in plasma BCAA/tyrosine ratio. Factors related to the primary end‐point were age, drug adherence during 6 months of study treatment, previous hepatic cancer, current clinical manifestations, previous clinical manifestations, baseline serum albumin level, platelet count and total bilirubin level. The cumulative event‐free survival was significantly higher in the good adherence group. Increase in the serum albumin level was also greater in the good adherence group.
Conclusion
Higher BCAA treatment adherence better raised the serum albumin level, leading to improvement of event‐free survival. These results indicate the importance of patient instruction for the adequate use of BCAA granules. |
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Bibliography: | ark:/67375/WNG-QCGJTXPD-4 ArticleID:HEPR1097 istex:25ABCA23F578A0CF2333191E40CEDADA1AC8B113 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1386-6346 1872-034X |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1872-034X.2012.01097.x |