Palliative Care and Symptom-Based Management in Decompensated Cirrhosis
AASLD develops evidence-based practice guidelines and practice guidances which are updated regularly by a multi-disciplinary panel of experts, including hepatologists, and include recommendations of preferred approaches to the diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive aspects of care.
Practice Guidance
Palliative care and symptom-based management in decompensated cirrhosis [February 2022]
Palliative care is defined as multidisciplinary, specialized medical care that addresses the physical, spiritual, and psychosocial needs of patients with serious illness and their caregivers. The benefits of palliative care are increasingly recognized across disease states and for patients with decompensated cirrhosis (DC). This American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) guidance to providing palliative care for patients with cirrhosis was developed with the support and oversight of the AASLD Practice Guidelines Committee. The AASLD Practice Guidelines Committee chose to commission a guidance, rather than a guideline, because of the paucity of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on this topic. AASLD guidelines are supported by systematic reviews of the literature, formal ratings of evidence quality and strength of recommendations, and, if appropriate, meta-analysis of results using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation system. In contrast, this document was developed by consensus of an expert panel and provides guidance statements based on formal review and analysis of the literature on the topics and questions related to the palliative care needs of patients with cirrhosis and their caregivers. Although palliative care can be considered regardless of the stage of cirrhosis, this guidance document predominantly addresses issues pertinent to adult patients with DC because this group bears considerable physical, psychosocial, and financial burden. We specifically focus on topics that are not covered in existing AASLD practice guidelines/guidance documents and thus refer the readers to the AASLD practice guidelines for specific recommendations for the diagnosis and management of ascites, hepatic encephalopathy (HE), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and portal hypertension. In addition, the complex palliative care needs for patients with HCC are not specifically addressed by this guidance, but are addressed by other guidelines.