Early treatment with terlipressin in patients with hepatorenal syndrome yields improved clinical outcomes in North American studies

Abstract

Hepatorenal syndrome type 1 (HRS-1) is a serious complication of advanced cirrhosis and a potentially reversible form of acute kidney injury that is associated with rapidly deteriorating kidney function. Liver transplantation remains the only curative treatment for decompensated cirrhosis. However, terlipressin, a vasopressin analog, successfully reverses HRS-1, and may improve patient survival while awaiting liver transplantation. Patients with higher baseline serum creatinine have a reduced response to treatment with terlipressin. These post hoc analyses examined pooled data from 352 patients with HRS-1 treated with terlipressin in 3 North American-centric, Phase III, placebo-controlled clinical studies (i.e. OT-0401, REVERSE, and CONFIRM)—across 3 serum creatinine subgroups (i.e. 5 mg/dL; p=0.01). Terlipressin-treated patients with HRS-1, with a lower baseline serum creatinine level, had a higher overall survival (p<0.001) and higher transplant-free survival at Day 90 (p=0.04). Patients with HRS-1 and lower serum creatinine levels who were treated with terlipressin had higher HRS reversal and survival outcomes, highlighting the significant need to identify and treat patients with HRS-1 early when they often have lower serum creatinine levels, and likely a greater response to terlipressin.