Terlipressin vs. Somatostatin in Cirrhotic Patients With Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding and Acute Kidney Injury

Acute gastrointestinal bleeding (AGIB) is a common complication in the decompensated stage of liver cirrhosis, of which approximately 70% is acute variceal bleeding (AVB) caused by portal hypertension. Existing evidence suggests that both terlipressin and somatostatin can be used to control AVB in cirrhotic patients, but terlipressin may be the first-line treatment for cirrhotic patients with AGIB complicated by acute kidney injury (AKI). Herein, a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) has been designed to compare the efficacy of terlipressin and somatostatin in the treatment of cirrhotic patients with AGIB complicated by AKI.

Overall, 64 cirrhotic patients with a diagnosis of AGIB and AKI will be enrolled. They will be stratified according to the severity of AKI, and then randomly assigned to terlipressin group and somatostatin group at a ratio of 1:1. The primary endpoint is reversal of AKI after treatment on 5 days. Secondary endpoints include duration of AKI, recurrence of AKI, rates of renal replacement therapy, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) treatment, liver, and kidney transplantation, 6-week mortality, 6-week rebleeding rate, and incidence of adverse events.