N-Acetylcysteine in the Management of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis
Adjunctive N-Acetylcysteine in the Management of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is one of the most serious infectious complications of liver cirrhosis and ascites. It affects approximately 10-30% of hospitalized patients with decompensated cirrhosis and carries an in-hospital mortality of 20-40% despite appropriate antimicrobial therapy. SBP results from bacterial translocation across the intestinal mucosa together with cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction, leading to impaired bacterial clearance and exaggerated systemic inflammation. Current international guidelines recommend immediate empirical antibiotic therapy together with intravenous human albumin to reduce the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), hepatorenal syndrome, and mortality.
Although this strategy has substantially improved outcomes, treatment failure, persistent infection, renal dysfunction, acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), and early mortality remain common, indicating that currently available therapy does not adequately address all pathogenic mechanisms of SBP. Increasing evidence suggests that oxidative stress is a central contributor to the progression of bacterial infections in cirrhosis. Excessive production of reactive oxygen species aggravates hepatocellular injury, endothelial dysfunction, immune dysregulation, and renal impairment, thereby amplifying systemic inflammatory responses during SBP. Consequently, therapeutic strategies targeting oxidative stress may improve host defense while limiting organ injury.
N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a precursor of glutathione and one of the most extensively studied antioxidant agents in clinical medicine. Besides restoring intracellular glutathione stores, NAC exerts anti-inflammatory, endothelial-protective, and immunomodulatory effects through inhibition of oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. On the other hand, experimental studies have further demonstrated that NAC can inhibit bacterial biofilm formation, enhance antibiotic penetration, and potentiate antimicrobial activity against several clinically important bacterial pathogens.
Despite these promising biological properties, the therapeutic role of NAC in active SBP has not been established. Previous data have primarily evaluated NAC for hepato- or renal protection in liver disease. While its potential role as an adjunctive antibacterial therapy during active SBP has not been investigated in adequately designed randomized controlled trials. Therefore, the present study will evaluate whether adjunctive NAC improves early treatment response and reduces subsequent organ dysfunction and short-term adverse outcomes.
Studienübersicht
Status
Status
Bedingungen
Bedingungen
Intervention / Behandlung
Intervention / Behandlung
Studientyp
Studientyp
Einschreibung (Geschätzt)
Einschreibung
Phase
Phase
- Phase 2
- Phase 1
Teilnahmekriterien
Zulassungskriterien
Zulassungskriterien
Studienberechtigtes Alter
- Erwachsene
- Älterer Erwachsener
Akzeptiert gesunde Freiwillige
Beschreibung
Inclusion Criteria: Adult patients (≥18 years) with liver cirrhosis, confirmed by clinical, radiological, or histopathological findings, who are newly diagnosed with SBP based on an ascitic fluid polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocyte count ≥250 cells/mm³ according to the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) criteria (2). Eligible participants were required to have undergone diagnostic paracentesis for ascitic fluid analysis and to provide informed consent prior to enrollment.
Exclusion Criteria
- Secondary bacterial or fungal peritonitis.
- Recent abdominal surgery or requiring immediate surgical intervention.
- Known hypersensitivity to NAC.
- Pregnancy or lactation.
- Septic shock, established HRS-AKI requiring rescue therapy, or renal replacement therapy at enrollment.
- Advanced malignancy or terminal illness.
- Previous NAC administration during the current SBP episode.
- Inability to receive oral study medication.
- Participation in another interventional trial that may affect study outcomes.
Studienplan
Wie ist die Studie aufgebaut?
Designdetails
- Hauptzweck: Behandlung
- Zuteilung: Zufällig
- Interventionsmodell: Parallele Zuordnung
- Maskierung: Doppelt
Anzahl der Arme
Waffen und Interventionen
Teilnehmergruppe / ArmTeilnehmergruppe / Arm |
Intervention / BehandlungIntervention / Behandlung |
|---|---|
|
Placebo-Komparator: KONTROLLE
|
Standard-of-care SBP therapy + matching placebo twice daily for 7 days.
|
|
Aktiver Komparator: NAC
|
Standard-of-care SBP therapy + NAC 600 mg orally twice daily for 7 days.
|
Was misst die Studie?
Primäre Ergebnismessungen
Primäre Ergebnismessungen
Ergebnis Maßnahme |
Maßnahmenbeschreibung |
Zeitfenster |
|---|---|---|
|
Percentage change in ascitic-fluid polymorphonuclear (PMN) count from baseline to 48 hours after initiation of treatment
Zeitfenster: 48 H
|
Primary Outcome: Percentage change in ascitic-fluid polymorphonuclear (PMN) count from baseline to 48 hours after initiation of treatment. % change = [(48-h PMN - baseline PMN) / baseline PMN] × 100 |
48 H
|
Mitarbeiter und Ermittler
Sponsor
Sponsor
Studienaufzeichnungsdaten
Haupttermine studieren
Studienbeginn (Geschätzt)
Studienbeginn
Primärer Abschluss (Geschätzt)
Primärer Abschluss
Studienabschluss (Geschätzt)
Studienabschluss
Studienanmeldedaten
Zuerst eingereicht
Zuerst eingereicht
Zuerst eingereicht, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt hat
Zuerst eingereicht, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt hat
Zuerst gepostet (Tatsächlich)
Zuerst gepostet
Studienaufzeichnungsaktualisierungen
Letztes Update gepostet (Tatsächlich)
Letztes Update gepostet
Letztes eingereichtes Update, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt
Letztes eingereichtes Update, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt
Zuletzt verifiziert
Zuletzt verifiziert
Mehr Informationen
Begriffe im Zusammenhang mit dieser Studie
Andere Studien-ID-Nummern
Andere Studien-ID-Nummern
- N-Acetylcysteine
Arzneimittel- und Geräteinformationen, Studienunterlagen
Studiert ein von der US-amerikanischen FDA reguliertes Arzneimittelprodukt
Studiert ein von der US-amerikanischen FDA reguliertes Geräteprodukt
Diese Informationen wurden ohne Änderungen direkt von der Website clinicaltrials.gov abgerufen. Wenn Sie Ihre Studiendaten ändern, entfernen oder aktualisieren möchten, wenden Sie sich bitte an register@clinicaltrials.gov. Sobald eine Änderung auf clinicaltrials.gov implementiert wird, wird diese automatisch auch auf unserer Website aktualisiert .