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  • Title: Antioxidants versus corticosteroids in the treatment of severe alcoholic hepatitis--a randomised clinical trial.
    Author: Phillips M, Curtis H, Portmann B, Donaldson N, Bomford A, O'Grady J.
    Journal: J Hepatol; 2006 Apr; 44(4):784-90. PubMed ID: 16469404.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND/AIMS: Severe alcoholic hepatitis is associated with high morbidity and short-term mortality. Corticosteroids are the only widely used therapy but established contraindications to treatment or the risk of serious side-effects limit their use. The perceived need for alternative treatments together with the theoretical benefits of anti-oxidant therapy triggered the design of a randomised clinical trial comparing these treatment modalities. METHODS: One hundred and one patients were randomized into a clinical trial of corticosteroids or a novel antioxidant cocktail with a primary endpoint of 30-day mortality. RESULTS: At 30 days there were 16 deaths (30%) in the corticosteroid treated group compared with 22 deaths (46%) in the antioxidant treated group (P=0.05). The odds of dying by 30 days were 2.4 greater for patients on antioxidants (95% confidence interval 1.0-5.6). A diagnosis of sepsis was made more frequently in the AO group (P=0.05), although microbiologically proven episodes of infection occurred more often in the CS group (P<0.01). The survival advantage for corticosteroid treated patients was lost at 1 year of follow-up (P=0.43). CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown that corticosteroids in the form of prednisolone 30 mg daily are superior to a broad antioxidant cocktail in the treatment of severe alcoholic hepatitis.
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