Long-term use of albumin in the cirrhotic patient. Systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52784/27112330.164Keywords:
liver cirrhosis, albumins, serum albumin, treatment outcome.Abstract
Introduction. Cirrhosis is the final stage of chronic liver disease, has a high mortality and can be due to different etiologies. Albumin has three well-established indications: prevention of circulatory dysfunction induced by paracentesis, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, and hepatorenal syndrome, however, its long-term use is controversial. The objective of this review was to identify if the prolonged use of albumin has beneficial effects in the treatment of cirrhotic patients. Methodology. PubMed database was searched using the following terms: ("Liver Cirrhosis"[Mesh]) AND ("Serum Albumin"[Mesh] OR "Serum Albumin, Human"[Mesh]). Articles that did not meet the topic and those that were more than 5 years old were excluded, except for those relevant to the review. Results. It has been shown in several studies within the previous 4 years, that prolonged administration of albumin reduces mortality in cirrhotic patients. In addition, it results in a decrease in hospital admissions due to complications of cirrhosis, a decrease in the need for paracentesis and less use of albumin for other established indications, which offsets the costs derived from therapy. Conclusion. It is concluded based on the evidence presented, that the long-term use of albumin could be beneficial in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. However, other aspects of the therapy need to be addressed in further studies.
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