Positive Results From a Simple Change
Commenting on the study, Nancy S. Reau, MD, section chief, hepatology and associate director of organ transplantation at Rush Medical College in Chicago, said, “My biggest concern is making sure patients are ingesting enough quality protein and calories because anorexia is a common complication in cirrhosis, and sarcopenia is associated with poor outcomes.
“You don’t want to suggest a change that will result in eating less or skipping a meal,” she said. So, “it is encouraging to see that suggesting a small change, just one meal a day, that may not impact calorie intake could have positive results.”
Dr. Reau added that “it is great to see evidence that this small change also could be a way of decreasing the risk of HE while not compromising on patient nutrition.”
Larger studies with outcome data showing that this approach could prevent readmission in patients hospitalized for HE would be helpful, she said.
The study was partly supported by the ACG Clinical Research Award, VA Merit Review 2I01CX001076, I01CX002472, and NIAAA RO1AA29398. Dr. Bajaj and Dr. Reau reported no conflicts of interest.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.