herapy improves nitrogen balance, decreases viral infection, and shows a trend to shortened intensive care unit stays with lowering of hospitalisation costs [77, 78].
7. Nutritional Recommendations for HE in End-Stage Liver Failure (Table 2)
7.1. General Considerations. Considering the high prevalence of malnutrition in cirrhotic patients together with the lack of simple and accurate methods of assessment of malnutrition in this patient population, it is reasonable to assume that malnutrition occurs in all patients. Nutritional requirements may vary according to the specific clinical situation. Multiple (5-6) small feedings with a carbohydrate-rich evening snack have been recommended with complex rather than simple carbohydrates used for calories. Lipids could provide 20%– 40% of caloric needs. Long-term nutritional supplements may be necessary to provide recommended caloric and protein requirements. Additional studies are needed in order to formulate specific recommendations for nutrients such as zinc, selenium, and carnitine.
7.2. Energy Requirements. The primary goal for a patient suffering from end-stage liver failure should be to avoid by all means possible intentional or unintentional weight loss and sustain a diet rich in nutrients. It has been suggested that patients with liver cirrhosis should receive 35–40 kcal/kg per day [25].
7.3. Low Protein Diet to Be Avoided. Restriction of dietary protein was long considered a mainstay in the management of liver disease and HE [79, 80]. In particular, protein restriction (0–40g protein/day) was shown to decrease encephalopathy grade in patients following surgical creation of a portal-systemic shunt, the only available therapy at one time for bleeding varices. Protein restriction (0–40g protein/day) was later extended to include all patients with cirrhosis who developed encephalopathy. However, more recently, studies have shown that protein restriction in these patients has no impact on encephalopathy grade and that it may even worsen their nutritional status [81]. The increased awareness of the progressive deterioration of nutritional sta- tus in liver cirrhosis combined with a better understanding of metabolic alterations in the disorder has questioned the practice of prolonged protein restriction in the management of HE [82]. In fact, protein requirements are increased in cirrhotic patients, and high protein diets are generally well tolerated in the majority of patients. Moreover, the inclusion of adequate protein in the diets of malnourished patients with end-stage liver failure is often associated with a sustained improvement in their mental status. Furthermore, protein helps preserve lean body mass; this is crucial in patients with liver failure in whom skeletal muscle makes a significant contribution to ammonia removal. The consensus of opinion nowadays is that protein restriction be avoided in all but a small number of patients with severe protein intolerance and that protein be maintained between 1.2 and 1.5 g of proteins per kg of body weight per day. In severely protein intolerant patients, particularly in patients in grades
Table 2: Nutritional recommendations for the management of HE in end-stage liver failure.