Effect of N-acetylcysteine on liver recovery after resection: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Patients randomized to postoperative NAC received no benefit. There was a trend toward a higher rate of overall complications and a significantly higher rate of delirium in the NAC group. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;114:446-450. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Current evidence for the use of N‐acetylcysteine following liver resection

“…showed no significant difference in morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing liver resection that had NAC infusion compared to patients that did not. Grendar et al . recently published their prospective randomized clinical trial investigating the effect of NAC on liver recovery after resection in 206 patients.…”

The effect of intravenous infusion of N-acetyl cysteine in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver resection: A randomized controlled trial

“…In contrast Grendar et al .,[ 9 ] and Khan et al .,[ 30 ] in their studies failed to show a benefit of NAC infusion in the setting of liver resection and liver transplantation, respectively. There was no significant difference in peak serum transaminases in both studies.…”

“…[ 5 6 7 ] N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) helps restore intrahepatic GSH stores and can downregulate adhesion molecules. [ 8 9 10 11 ]…”

Response to Letter to the Editor on “Effect of N‐acetylcysteine on liver recovery after resection. A randomized clinical trial”

“…Dear Editor, We would like to thank Drs. Mohamed, Krishnakumar, and Sudhindran for their insightful comments on our trial [1] and their experiences with N-acetylcysteine. They describe their institutional observations of much lower rates of postoperative delirium in patients undergoing donor hepatectomies who receive NAC (0.5% vs. 9% of resections in our study).…”