Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor does not improve mortality in severe alcoholic hepatitis: a single-center experience from the United States

To assess the role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) in the patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH) using real world experience in the United States.

There are few effective treatments for severe alcoholic hepatitis, which has a significant fatality rate. GCSF has been associated with improved survival in a small number of Indian studies, while there is a dearth of information from other parts of the globe.

We performed a single-center retrospective study of consecutive patients admitted to a tertiary care, liver transplant center with severe alcoholic hepatitis from May 2015 to February 2019. The patients receiving GCSF (5μg/kg subcutaneously every 12 hours for 5 consecutive days) (n=12) were compared to the patients receiving standard of care (n=42).

Thirty-day, 90-day and 1-year mortality rates was similar among groups (25% vs. 17%, P=0.58; 41% vs 29%, P=0.30; 41% vs 47%, P=0.44, respectively). There was no difference in liver transplant listing and orthotopic transplantation among groups.

In this real-world, United States-based study, GCSF does not improved survival in the patient with several alcoholic hepatitis compared to standard of care.