Dr. Nick Sheron of the University of Southampton found drinking status was the most important factor determining long–term survival in alcohol–related cirrhosis of the liver.
The 7–year survival rate was 72 percent for the abstinent patients against 44 percent for the patients continuing to drink. Abstinence from alcohol at one month after diagnosis of cirrhosis was an even more important factor determining survival than the degree of cirrhosis as determined by biopsy.
The study, published in the journal Addiction, rated liver biopsies from 100 patients from 1995–2000 using the Laennec score for severity of cirrhosis. Mortality data was taken from the National Health Service Strategic Tracing Service.
“These findings illustrate the critical significance of stopping alcohol intake, in alcohol–related cirrhosis but unfortunately the services needed to help these patients stay alcohol free simply do not exist in Britain,” Sheron said in a statement.
“This study clearly confirms the common sense knowledge amongst hepatologists that the single most important determinant of long–term prognosis in alcohol–induced cirrhosis is for the patient to stop drinking.”
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Source: UPI.com