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N-Acetylcysteine in the Management of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis

3. september 2026 oppdatert av: Khadija Ahmed Mhrose Glal, Tanta University

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.

Studieoversikt

Status

Har ikke rekruttert ennå

Forhold

Intervensjon / Behandling

Studietype

Intervensjonell

Registrering (Antatt)

60

Fase

  • Fase 2
  • Fase 1

Deltakelseskriterier

Forskere ser etter personer som passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kalt kvalifikasjonskriterier. Noen eksempler på disse kriteriene er en persons generelle helsetilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.

Kvalifikasjonskriterier

Alder som er kvalifisert for studier

  • Voksen
  • Eldre voksen

Tar imot friske frivillige

Nei

Beskrivelse

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.

Studieplan

Denne delen gir detaljer om studieplanen, inkludert hvordan studien er utformet og hva studien måler.

Hvordan er studiet utformet?

Designdetaljer

  • Primært formål: Behandling
  • Tildeling: Randomisert
  • Intervensjonsmodell: Parallell tildeling
  • Masking: Dobbelt

Våpen og intervensjoner

Deltakergruppe / Arm
Intervensjon / Behandling
Placebo komparator: KONTROLL
Standard-of-care SBP therapy + matching placebo twice daily for 7 days.
Aktiv komparator: NAC
Standard-of-care SBP therapy + NAC 600 mg orally twice daily for 7 days.

Hva måler studien?

Primære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Tiltaksbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Percentage change in ascitic-fluid polymorphonuclear (PMN) count from baseline to 48 hours after initiation of treatment
Tidsramme: 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

Samarbeidspartnere og etterforskere

Det er her du vil finne personer og organisasjoner som er involvert i denne studien.

Sponsor

Studierekorddatoer

Disse datoene sporer fremdriften for innsending av studieposter og sammendragsresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter og rapporterte resultater gjennomgås av National Library of Medicine (NLM) for å sikre at de oppfyller spesifikke kvalitetskontrollstandarder før de legges ut på det offentlige nettstedet.

Studer hoveddatoer

Studiestart (Antatt)

10. september 2026

Primær fullføring (Antatt)

1. september 2027

Studiet fullført (Antatt)

1. september 2027

Datoer for studieregistrering

Først innsendt

31. august 2026

Først innsendt som oppfylte QC-kriteriene

31. august 2026

Først lagt ut (Faktiske)

4. september 2026

Oppdateringer av studieposter

Sist oppdatering lagt ut (Faktiske)

8. september 2026

Siste oppdatering sendt inn som oppfylte QC-kriteriene

3. september 2026

Sist bekreftet

1. september 2026

Mer informasjon

Begreper knyttet til denne studien

Andre studie-ID-numre

  • N-Acetylcysteine

Legemiddel- og utstyrsinformasjon, studiedokumenter

Studerer et amerikansk FDA-regulert medikamentprodukt

Nei

Studerer et amerikansk FDA-regulert enhetsprodukt

Nei

Denne informasjonen ble hentet direkte fra nettstedet clinicaltrials.gov uten noen endringer. Hvis du har noen forespørsler om å endre, fjerne eller oppdatere studiedetaljene dine, vennligst kontakt register@clinicaltrials.gov. Så snart en endring er implementert på clinicaltrials.gov, vil denne også bli oppdatert automatisk på nettstedet vårt. .