Nitazoxanide Plus Lactulose Versus Lactulose Alone Treatment of Hepatic Encephalopathy

Summary

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a reversible neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with chronic and acute liver dysfunction. It is characterized by cognitive and motor deficits of varying severity. Treatment options include lactulose administered orally or by nasogastric tube or enema, non-absorbable antibiotics, and protein-restricted diets. Nitazoxanide is an oral agent indicated for the treatment of infectious diarrhea caused by Crytpsporidiumparvum and Giardia lamblia. Basu and colleagues presented a pilot prospective study at the 2008 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases meeting showing clinical improvement in HE among cirrhotic patients who received nitazoxanide and lactulose.

Timeline

Start

2016-01

Primary completion

2017-12

Completion

2017-12

Drugs

Indications