Novel Therapies in Moderately Severe Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis

Exclusion criteria

• . Hypotension with BP \< 80/50 after volume repletion
• . Pregnancy; incarceration; inability to provide consent or lack of appropriate family member
• . Signs of systemic infection: Fever \> 38o C and positive blood or ascites cultures on appropriate antibiotic therapy for \> 3 days within 3 days of inclusion
• . Acute gastrointestinal bleeding requiring \> 2 units blood transfusion within the previous 4 days
• . Undue risk from immunosuppression: Positive HBsAg; a positive skin PPD skin test or history of treatment for tuberculosis; history of any malignancy including hepatocellular carcinoma; known HIV infection
• . Treatment with corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive medications including specific anti-TNF therapy (not including pentoxifylline), calcineurin inhibitors for \> 3 days within the previous 3 months.
• . Evidence of acute pancreatitis: CT evidence and/or amylase or lipase \> 5 X upper limit of normal
• . Serious cardiac, respiratory or neurologic disease or evidence of autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, Wilsons disease, hemochromatosis, secondary iron overload due to chronic hemolysis, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency