Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Clinical Review State of the Art Review

Hepatorenal syndrome: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management

BMJ 2020; 370 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2687 (Published 14 September 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;370:m2687

Rapid Response:

Re: Hepatorenal syndrome: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management

Dear Editor,

The authors state that "albumin infusion is essential for effective management of AKI-HRS". This seems like a strong recommendation, and should be backed by high quality evidence. But the authors do not cite a single high-quality RCT to back their opinion. Instead, we are fed a litany of circumstantial evidence and one referenced non-randomised trial of 21 vs 13 pts (Terlipressin +/- albumin). Another study compares albumin to starches, which are now widely recognised to be nephrotoxic. This is hardly supportive of strong claims.

Competing interests: No competing interests

21 September 2020
Jon H Laake
Senior Consultant
Oslo University Hospital
Oslo, Norway