ArticleAlimentary pharmacology & therapeutics2026
Impact of Evolving Evidence on Pharmacological Therapy for Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis in Alberta: A Population-Based Study of Practice Trends and MELD-Stratified Effectiveness of Corticosteroids.
Article in Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Impact of Evolving Evidence on Pharmacological Therapy for Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis in Alberta: A Population-Based Study of Practice Trends and MELD-Stratified Effectiveness of Corticosteroids.Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsRandomised trials such as the STOPAH trial questioned the efficacy of pentoxifylline (PTX) and provided mixed evidence for corticosteroids (CS) in alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH). We aimed to assess temporal trends in the use of PTX and CS in Alberta and to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of CS using a target trial emulation approach. APPROACH AND
resultsWe conducted a population-based cohort study using linked administrative, laboratory and pharmaceutical data from Alberta, Canada. Adults hospitalised with AH between 2012 and 2023 who met National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) criteria were included. Joinpoint regression evaluated changes in medication use and mortality trends. A sequence of emulated target trials estimated the effect of initiating CS within 7 days on 30- and 90-day mortality. Among 2706 admissions (2138 patients), PTX use declined sharply after 2014 and was nearly absent after 2016. CS use increased modestly during the same period. Thirty-day mortality decreased gradually after 2016, while 90-day mortality remained stable. In 1365 patients with MELD ≥ 20, CS use was associated with a non-significant 2% absolute reduction in 30-day mortality (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.73-1.03), with no effect at 90 days. No benefit was observed in patients with MELD > 35.
conclusionsRCT evidence led to a rapid reversal in PTX prescribing prior to formal guideline updates. Real-world data support a modest short-term benefit of CS and illustrate the potential of target trial emulation to assess treatment effectiveness in specific groups of patients.
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Registered trials
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