title: Do branched chain amino acids improve hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis?
abstract: There is controversy about the effectiveness of branched chain amino acids for treatment of hepatic encephalopathy. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening multiple databases, we identified seven systematic reviews including 32 randomized controlled trials, of which 30 address the question of this article. We extracted results, combined the evidence using meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings following the GRADE approach. We concluded branched chain amino acids might improve hepatic encephalopathy, but they probably lead to little or no effect on mortality.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile. E-mail: radagabriel@epistemonikos.org. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Lira 63, Santiago Centro, Chile.
authors.forename: Maximiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vergara
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Castro-Gutiérrez
authors.affiliation: Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile; Programa de Salud Basada en Evidencia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Departamento de Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; GRADE working group; The Cochrane Collaboration.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rada
mesh_terms: D000597:Amino Acids, Branched-Chain / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D000597:Amino Acids, Branched-Chain