ArticleHPB : the official journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association2013
N-acetylcysteine administration does not improve patient outcome after liver resection.
Article in HPB : the official journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- The E-AHPBA-ESSO-Innsbruck consensus recommendations on peri- and postoperative management following liver resection.The British journal of surgery · 2025Guideline
- Pharmacological Management for Prevention and Treatment of Posthepatectomy Liver Failure.Digestive surgery · 2025Review
- Is prolonged operative time associated with postoperative complications in liver surgery? An international multicentre cohort study of 5424 patients.Surgical endoscopy · 2024Article
- Perioperative N-acetylcysteine: evidence and indications.Pain management · 2024Review
- Review
- Reactive Oxygen Species Induce Fatty Liver and Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Promoting Inflammation and Cell Death.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Combating Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury with Micronutrients and Natural Compounds during Solid Organ Transplantation: Data of Clinical Trials and Lessons of Preclinical Findings.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Effects of the Usage of l-Cysteine (l-Cys) on Human Health.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Review
- ROS homeostasis, a key determinant in liver ischemic-preconditioning.Redox biology · 2017Review
- Sirtuin 1 Stimulation Attenuates Ischemic Liver Injury and Enhances Mitochondrial Recovery and Autophagy.Critical care medicine · 2016Article
- Post hepatectomy liver failure: concept of management.Journal of gastrointestinal cancer · 2014Review
- Use of Pharmacologic Agents for Modulation of Ischaemia-Reperfusion Injury after Hepatectomy: A Questionnaire Study of the LiverMetSurvey International Registry of Hepatic Surgery Units.HPB surgery : a world journal of hepatic, pancreatic and biliary surgery · 2014Article
- The effect of intravenous infusion of N-acetyl cysteine in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver resection: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of anaesthesiology, clinical pharmacologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPost-operative hepatic dysfunction is a major cause of concern when undertaking a liver resection. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a result of hepatic ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury can result in hepatocellular injury. Experimental evidence suggests that N-acetylcysteine may ameliorate ROS-mediated liver injury.
methodsA cohort of 44 patients who had undergone a liver resection and receiving peri-operative N-acetylcysteine (NAC) were compared with a further cohort of 44 patients who did not. Liver function tests were compared on post-operative days 1, 3 and 5. Peri-operative outcome data were retrieved from a prospectively maintained database within our unit.
resultsAdministration of NAC was associated with a prolonged prothrombin time on the third post-operative day (18.4 versus 16.4 s; P = 0.002). The incidence of grades B and C liver failure was lower in the NAC group although this difference did not reach statistical significance (6.9% versus 14%; P = 0.287). The overall complication rate was similar between groups (32% versus 25%; P = ns). There were two peri-operative deaths in the NAC group and one in the control group (P = NS).
conclusionIn spite of promising experimental evidence, this study was not able to demonstrate any advantage in the routine administration of peri-operative NAC in patients undergoing a liver resection.
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