Exercise Training in Liver Cirrhosis

STRUCTURED exercise training in liver cirrhosis improved functional capacity and muscle strength while demonstrating a favourable safety profile, according to a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

The review evaluated the efficacy and safety of physical exercise for adults with pre-transplant liver cirrhosis, focusing on muscle mass, strength and functional capacity. Researchers searched six databases and identified four randomised controlled trials involving 135 analysed patients with liver cirrhosis. Risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed using Risk of Bias 2 and GRADE, respectively.

Supervised exercise was associated with improvements in functional capacity and muscle strength compared with usual care. Six-minute walk test distance increased by up to 69 m, while cardiopulmonary effort time increased by 2.0 min.