Rifaximin treatment is associated with reduced risk of cirrhotic complications and prolonged overall survival in patients experiencing hepatic encephalopathy

Abstract

Background: Rifaximin might decrease the risk of portal hypertension-related complications by controlling small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Aim: To evaluate whether rifaximin was associated with the risk of death and cirrhotic complications. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study that included 1042 patients experiencing hepatic encephalopathy (HE): 421 patients without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; the non-HCC cohort) and 621 patients with HCC (the HCC cohort). The primary endpoint was overall survival and secondary endpoints were recurrence of HE and the development of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) and variceal bleeding. Results: In the non-HCC cohort, 145 patients received rifaximin plus lactulose (the rifaximin group) and 276 patients received lactulose alone (the control group). The multivariate analysis revealed that rifaximin was significantly associated with lower risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.697; P =.024) and reduced the risk of recurrent HE (aHR, 0.452; P