Albumin for End-Stage Liver Disease

Albumin has been widely used in patients with cirrhosis in an attempt to improve circulatory and renal functions. The benefits of albumin infusions in preventing the deterioration in renal function associated with large-volume paracentesis, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, and established hepatorenal syndrome in conjunction with a vasoconstrictor are well established. While some of these indications are supported by the results of randomized studies, others are based only on clinical experience and have not been proved in prospective studies. The paucity of well-designed trials, the high cost of albumin, the lack of a clear-cut survival benefit, and fear of transmitting unknown infections make the use of albumin controversial. The recent development of the molecular adsorbent recirculating system, an albumin dialysis, is an example of the capacity of albumin to act by mechanisms other than its oncotic effect. Efforts should be made to define the indications for albumin use, the dose required, and predictors of response, so that patients gain the maximum benefit from its administration

Perioperative fluid and volume management: physiological basis, tools and strategies

Fluid and volume therapy is an important cornerstone of treating critically ill patients in the intensive care unit and in the operating room. New findings concerning the vascular barrier, its physiological functions, and its role regarding vascular leakage have lead to a new view of fluid and volume administration. Avoiding hypervolemia, as well as hypovolemia, plays a pivotal role when treating patients both perioperatively and in the intensive care unit. The various studies comparing restrictive vs. liberal fluid and volume management are not directly comparable, do not differ (in most instances) between colloid and crystalloid administration, and mostly do not refer to the vascular barrier's physiologic basis. In addition, very few studies have analyzed the use of advanced hemodynamic monitoring for volume management

Reporting bias in medical research - a narrative review

Reporting bias represents a major problem in the assessment of health care interventions. Several prominent cases have been described in the literature, for example, in the reporting of trials of antidepressants, Class I anti-arrhythmic drugs, and selective COX-2 inhibitors. The aim of this narrative review is to gain an overview of reporting bias in the medical literature, focussing on publication bias and selective outcome reporting. We explore whether these types of bias have been shown in areas beyond the well-known cases noted above, in order to gain an impression of how widespread the problem is. For this purpose, we screened relevant articles on reporting bias that had previously been obtained by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care in the context of its health technology assessment reports and other research work, together with the reference lists of these articles