Published online Oct 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i30.10984
Peer-review started: July 18, 2022
First decision: August 6, 2022
Revised: August 19, 2022
Accepted: September 19, 2022
Article in press: September 19, 2022
Published online: October 26, 2022
Processing time: 94 Days and 12.2 Hours
Liver cirrhosis (LC) mainly includes increasing dietary intake, food intake time and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). Despite the recommendation of BCAAs in some guidelines, adverse effects have been reported in studies so the efficacy and safety of BCAAs remain controversial.
We performed a meta-analysis to determine the effects of BCAAs in patients with LC.
To determine the effects of BCAAs in patients with LC.
Nine studies were finally included. The primary outcome was complications of LC. The secondary outcomes were nutritional status and liver function. This meta-analysis used the Review Manager, version 5 statistical package (Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, England) for analysis.
BCAAs reduced the rate of complications in LC patients (Risk ratio: 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.56-0.88, P = 0.002) and improved patients’ albumin levels [std mean difference SMD: 0.26, 95%CI: 0.12-0.40, P = 0.0002]. Meanwhile, BCAAs significantly ameliorated the levels of alanine transaminase (SMD: -2.03, 95%CI: -2.52 to -1.53, P < 0.00001) and aspartate aminotransferase (SMD: -1.8, 95%CI: -2.14 to -1.46, P < 0.00001). Meanwhile, glucose in the LC was significantly increased in BCAA-treated patients (MD: 13.04, 95%CI: 6.81-19.89, P = 0.0002).
Branched-chain amino acids could reduce the incidence of complications in patients with liver cirrhosis and ameliorate nutritional status.
Our results provide a reference for the nutritional treatment of patients with LC which is helpful for clinical and nursing applications. We hope that there will be better nutritional support treatment plans for LC patients in the future.