Reviews
Hepatotoxicity of immune check point inhibitors: Approach and management
Therapeutic reversal of immune tolerance following immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPI) administration, has proven effective in prolonging survival of patients with a variety of solid and liquid tumors, often however at the expenses of discrete toxicities known as immune-related adverse events (AEs). Such reactions result from activation of the immune system and often present with generalized symptoms including fatigue or fever and, in some patients, may cause organ-specific damage. Skin, gut, endocrine, lung and musculoskeletal are the most frequent targets of ICPI toxicity whereas, cardiovascular, hematologic, renal, neurologic and ophthalmologic AEs occur much less frequently.Proton pump inhibitor therapy and its association with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis incidence and mortality: A meta-analysis
Previous meta-analyses reported proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy is associated with increased incidence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in cirrhotic patients. However, this conclusion was based on case–control studies. Moreover, the association between PPI use and mortality of SBP has not yet been confirmed.Response to exercise in patients with liver cirrhosis: Implications for liver transplantation
End-stage liver cirrhosis is a systemic disease carrying a short-term desperate prognosis without liver transplantation. Given the discrepancy between the growing number of candidates and the limited available liver grafts, the pre-transplantation screening process has become a challenging task. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing, by measuring maximal oxygen consumption at peak exercise, provides a global integrative approach of the health status of an individual. In the setting of liver cirrhosis, decreased oxygen consumption at peak exercise may result from a combination of multiple extra-hepatic complications, including deconditioning, malnutrition-associated muscle weakness, anaemia, cirrhotic cardiomyopathy, and hepato-pulmonary syndrome for instance.Bleeding and thrombosis in cirrhotic patients: What really matters?
Bleeding complications, particularly in the gastro-intestinal tract, may complicate the clinical course of liver cirrhosis. Coexistence of abnormal global tests exploring the platelet and clotting systems generated the hypothesis that cirrhotic patients have “coagulopathy” predisposing to bleeding complications. Using more sophisticated laboratory methods this hypothesis has been partly confuted as cirrhotic patients actually disclose an ongoing prothrombotic state in the portal and systemic circulation that could predispose to thrombosis.Allocation priority in non-urgent liver transplantation: An overview of proposed scoring systems
Given the lack of donors, a correct organ allocation system for candidates to liver transplantation is essential to increase graft and patient survival. The most used organ allocation tools are Child–Turcotte–Pugh and model for end-stage liver disease. It is generally accepted that model for end-stage liver disease score is superior to the Child–Turcotte–Pugh classification in predicting the short-term survival of cirrhotic patients awaiting liver transplantation. Since 2002, model for end-stage liver disease is widely used for liver allocation.Neurological complications after orthotopic liver transplantation
The number of orthotopic liver transplantation performed each year is increasing due to increased safety and logistic facilities. Therefore, the importance of reducing adverse events is progressively growing.Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy
Decompensated liver cirrhosis is characterized by a peripheral vasodilation with a low-resistance hyperdynamic circulation. The sustained increase of cardiac work load associated with such a condition may result in an inconstant and often subclinical series of heart abnormalities, constituting a new clinical entity known as “cirrhotic cardiomyopathy”. Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy is variably associated with baseline increase in cardiac output, defective myocardial contractility and lowered systo-diastolic response to inotropic and chronotropic stimuli, down-regulated β-adrenergic function, slight histo-morphological changes, and impaired electric “recovery” ability of ventricular myocardium.Total parenteral nutrition-related gastroenterological complications
Total parenteral nutrition is a life saving therapy for patients with chronic gastrointestinal failure, being an effective method for supplying energy and nutrients when oral or enteral feeding is impossible or contraindicated. Clinical epidemiological data indicate that total parenteral nutrition may be associated with a variety of problems. Herein we reviewed data on the gastroenterological tract regarding: (i) total parenteral nutrition-related hepatobiliary complications; and (ii) total parenteral nutrition-related intestinal complications.
