Nutritional support in liver disease.

Protein-energy malnutrition is highly prevalent in patients with chronic liver disease, especially in those with advanced cirrhosis, and seems to influence their survival. Enteral and parenteral approaches to the treatment of alcoholic hepatitis have yielded controversial results. The use of polyunsaturated lecithin might be a promising alternative for the future. Enteral nutrition is the preferred way of providing artificial nutrition to patients with advanced cirrhosis. In some trials, it appears to improve the short-term survival of these patients. The long-term use of oral nutritional supplements may widen the scope of enteral nutrition in cirrhotic patients.