Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy in Patients With Alcohol-Related Liver Disease: A Scoping Review.

Introduction

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is one of the most common causes of cirrhosis. Pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder (AUD) can improve abstinence rates in patients with cirrhosis, however, there is limited data on how these therapies affect liver-related outcomes.

Methods

A scoping review was completed using multiple electronic search databases. Articles exploring pharmacotherapy for AUD and outcomes for ALD were included. The primary outcome of this study was liver outcomes after receiving pharmacotherapy for AUD, including decompensated cirrhosis, mortality, progression of ALD, and need for liver transplantation.

Results

A total of 2521 studies were screened and 3 were selected. A total of 45,948 patients were included, 43,863 (98%) of patients were male, and the mean age was 58.7. Only 2299 (5%) of patients received AUD pharmacotherapy. Receipt of AUD pharmacotherapy was found to be associated with decreased hepatic decompensation and mortality in 2 out of 3 studies.

Conclusion

There are limited studies that explore AUD pharmacotherapy and ALD outcomes. Medications AUD may improve hepatic outcomes; however, further prospective studies need to be completed to explore this association.