No difference in incidence of end-point events, but more adverse events, seen in targeted albumin group versus standard-care group<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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<\/em>MONDAY, March 8, 2021 (HealthDay News) — For patients hospitalized with decompensated cirrhosis, albumin infusions to raise the serum albumin level to a target of 30 g per liter or higher do not improve outcomes compared with standard care, according to a study published in the March 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Louise China, Ph.D., from the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health in London, and colleagues randomly assigned 777 hospitalized patients with decompensated cirrhosis with a serum albumin level of less than 30 g\/L at enrollment to receive either targeted 20 percent human albumin solution (for up to 14 days or until discharge for shorter hospitalizations) or standard care; treatment was initiated within three days after admission. A median total infusion of albumin of 200 g per patient was administered in the targeted albumin group versus 20 g per patient in the standard-care group.<\/p>\n The researchers observed no significant difference between the groups in the percentage of patients with a primary end-point event (new infection, kidney dysfunction, or death between days 3 and 15 after the initiation of treatment; 29.7 percent in the targeted albumin group versus 30.2 percent in the standard-care group; adjusted odds ratio, 0.98; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.71 to 1.33; P = 0.87). Compared with the standard-care group, the targeted albumin group had more severe or life-threatening serious adverse events.<\/p>\n “These data strongly support both the need to abandon the use of this costly therapy, and a reappraisal of our understanding of this complex condition,” a coauthor said in a statement.<\/p>\n One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n