Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28614215›Full record

Observational studyMedicine2017

Effects of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) on the progression of advanced liver disease: A Korean nationwide, multicenter, retrospective, observational, cohort study.

Jung Gil Park, Won Young Tak, Soo Young Park, Young Oh Kweon, Se Young Jang, Yu Rim Lee, Si Hyun Bae, Jae Young Jang, Do Young Kim, June Sung Lee and 8 more

Abstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Guideline
  2. Guideline
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Review
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  8. [Assessment and management of malnutrition in patients with cirrhosis combined with hepatic encephalopathy].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2025
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. [Sarcopenia in Chronic Liver Disease].The Korean journal of gastroenterology = Taehan Sohwagi Hakhoe chi · 2023
    Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Jung Gil ParkDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul Department of Internal Medicine, Ilsan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Goyang Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Chuncheon Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Chonbuk National University, Chungju Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, Gyeongju Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Pusan Medical Research Collabration Center in KNUH and School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
Won Young Tak
Soo Young Park
Young Oh Kweon
Se Young Jang
Yu Rim Lee
Si Hyun Bae
Jae Young Jang
Do Young Kim
June Sung Lee
Ki Tae Suk
In Hee Kim
Heon Ju Lee
Woo Jin Chung
Byoung Kuk Jang
Jeong Ill Suh
Jeong Heo
Won Kee Lee

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Evidence of the potential benefits of long-term oral branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation in reducing the severity of liver disease is limited.Patients who were diagnosed with liver cirrhosis with a Child-Pugh (CP) score of 8-10 were included. The BCAA group consumed BCAAs daily for at least 6 months, and the control group consumed a diet without BCAA. We analyzed the improvements based on the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, CP score, incidence of cirrhosis-related complications, and event-free survival over 2 years. Among the 867 recruited patients, 307 (166 in the BCAA group and 141 in the control group) were analyzed. The BCAA group was divided into 3 subgroups, whose patients consumed 4.15 g, 8.3 g, or 12.45 g of BCAAs daily for the analysis. There were significant differences in the CP score, albumin, and hepatic encephalopathy between the 2 groups at baseline. After matching the propensity scores, we analyzed patients in the BCAA-12.45 g group (12.45 g of BCAAs daily, n = 41) and matched control group (n = 41). The MELD score significantly improved in the BCCA-12.45 g group compared to the matched control group (P = .004). The changes in the serum bilirubin level (P = .014) and CP score (P = .033) over time also differed significantly between the 2 groups. The incidence rates of cirrhosis-related complications (P = .973) and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (2 cases each) did not differ significantly between the 2 groups.Long-term oral BCAA supplementation has beneficial effects in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis. A further large-scale prospective study is needed to delineate these beneficial effects.

Indexed as

Administration, OralAmino Acids, Branched-ChainBilirubinCarcinoma, HepatocellularDietary SupplementsDisease-Free SurvivalDisease ProgressionFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansIncidenceLiver CirrhosisMaleMiddle AgedPropensity ScoreRepublic of KoreaAmino Acids, Branched-ChainBilirubin

Identifiers

PMID28614215
PMCPMC5478300

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.