Immune fingerprinting of infections in cirrhosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Immune fingerprinting of bacterial infections in decompensated cirrhosis
IRAS ID
235693
Contact name
Thomas P I Pembroke
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research and Innovation Services, Cardiff University
Duration of Study in the UK
10 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Cirrhosis is advanced scarring of the liver that results from liver inflammation and is associated with increased risk of infections. Bacterial infections in cirrhosis are associated with life threatening kidney failure and two thirds of patients may die from bacterial infections complicated by renal failure. Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis (SBP) is a common bacterial infection in affecting ascites, fluid in abdominal cavity caused by advanced cirrhosis. The risk of kidney failure in SBP is greatly reduced by transfusing human albumin solution. Albumin is a the most abundant protein in the blood and is produced by the liver. However, recent studies suggest that in infections caused by similar bacteria at different sites (i.e. pneumonia or urinary tract infections) albumin is associated with an increased mortality. The reasons for this are not clear. \n\nWe are recruiting patients with cirrhosis with and without infections including SBP and other infections. We believe identifying the underlying responses of the immune system may enable us to diagnose infections earlier, identify patients who will benefit most from albumin therapy and develop new therapeutic strategies.\n\nWe will be looking in detail at the immune cells and the specialised hormones that they use to co-ordinate the immune response (cytokines) in the peripheral blood, ascitic fluid and within the liver. The amount of blood taken will not exceed 50ml (5 table spoons) at one time, ascitic fluid samples are taken routinely from this group of patients and only excess samples will be used. The liver samples are taken by fine needle aspiration which is safe technique that we have extensive experience of in Cardiff and is generally acceptable to patients. These strategies will increase our understanding of the disease process and lead to personalised therapies and potential new treatment approaches.\n
REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
18/WA/0072
Date of REC Opinion
14 May 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion