Author information
1Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
2Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Elson Floyd College of Medicine, Spokane, Washington, USA.
3Department of Medicine, Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
4Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
5Salix Pharmaceuticals, Bridgewater, New Jersey, USA.
6Central Virginia Veterans Healthcare System, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Abstract
Background: The aim was to examine rifaximin plus lactulose efficacy in patients with cirrhosis at a risk of developing overt HE who were stratified by important baseline characteristics such as comorbid ascites or diabetes.
Methods: Pooled post hoc subgroup analysis of adults receiving rifaximin 550 mg twice daily plus lactulose or lactulose alone for 6 months in a phase 3 randomized, double-blind trial and a phase 4 open-label trial was conducted.
Results and conclusion: Rifaximin plus lactulose was more efficacious than lactulose alone for reducing the risk of overt HE recurrence and HE-related hospitalization in adults grouped by select baseline disease characteristics.