Controlled trial of methylprednisolone therapy in severe acute alcoholic hepatitis

The efficacy of methylprednisolone (1 g daily or three days), which is effective in reversing transplant rejection, was assessed in a randomised controlled trial of 55 patients with severe acute alcoholic hepatitis, 34 of whom had encephalopathy. The clinical progress, frequency of bleeding and seps...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gut 1982-01, Vol.23 (1), p.75-79
Main Authors: Theodossi, A, Eddleston, A L, Williams, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute Disease
Clinical Trials as Topic
Female
Hepatitis, Alcoholic - drug therapy
Hepatitis, Alcoholic - mortality
Humans
Male
Methylprednisolone - therapeutic use
Prognosis
Random Allocation
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Summary:The efficacy of methylprednisolone (1 g daily or three days), which is effective in reversing transplant rejection, was assessed in a randomised controlled trial of 55 patients with severe acute alcoholic hepatitis, 34 of whom had encephalopathy. The clinical progress, frequency of bleeding and sepsis, and cause of death were similar in the treatment (27 patients) and control groups (28 patients). There was no significant difference in mortality rate between the two groups: 57% of the control group and 63% of the treatment group died during the study. Patients' survival depended on the presence of absence of the following features: encephalopathy, serum bilirubin concentration more than 340 micromol/l, serum creatinine concentration more than 250 micromol/l, and histological evidence of cirrhosis as well as severe acute alcoholic hepatitis.
ISSN:0017-5749
1468-3288
1458-3288
DOI:10.1136/gut.23.1.75