BOSTON – Terlipressin, an investigational vasopressin analogue, improved renal function and reversed hepatorenal syndrome type 1 (HRS-1) among patients with progressive advanced liver disease in a randomized trial, according to investigators.
Compared with albumin alone, terlipressin plus albumin significantly reversed worsening of renal function in cirrhotic patients, including those meeting systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria, said investigators, led by Florence Wong, MD, from the University of Toronto.
“This response was durable and associated with less need for early renal replacement therapy,” said Dr. Wong and coauthors of an abstract describing the study, which will be presented in a late-breaking study session here at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
The North American randomized, controlled trial, known as CONFIRM, was designed to confirm the safety and efficacy of terlipressin/albumin as a treatment for HRS-1, a serious but potentially reversible type of acute kidney injury seen in patients with cirrhosis and ascites, investigators said in their communication.
Patients in CONFIRM had “well-defined” HRS-1, based on diagnostic criteria as outlined by the International Club of Ascites, investigators said.
A total of 300 participants were randomized, 199 to terlipressin 1 mg IV every 6 hours and 101 to placebo, with both groups also receiving albumin, for up to 14 days of treatment. According to the report, 132 subjects (44%) met SIRS criteria.
Verified HRS reversal was documented in 29.1% of terlipressin-treated patients versus just 15.8% of the placebo group (P less than .012), investigators reported in their abstract. Among the SIRS patients, verified HRS reversal was seen in 33.3% and 6.3% of the terlipressin- and placebo-treated groups, respectively (P less than .001).
As the primary endpoint of the study, verified HRS reversal is an outcome that combines improvement in renal function, short-term survival following improvement, and avoidance of renal replacement therapy, investigators explained in their report.
Liver transplantation occurred in 23.1% of the terlipressin group and 28.7% of the placebo group, investigators also reported in their abstract.
Ischemia-associated adverse events were seen in 4.5% of the terlipressin arm and 0% for placebo, though in general the rate of adverse events were similar for the treatment and control arms, Dr. Wong and colleagues noted in their report.
The CONFIRM study is supported by Mallinckrodt. Dr. Wong provided disclosures related to Mallinckrodt, Ferring, and Sequana.