Résumé
Purpose: Although a late-evening snack (LES) has been recommended to patients with chronic liver disease, the effects of long-term carbohydrate-enriched LES still remain debatable. The purpose of this study was to clarify the usefulness of the LES in outpatients with liver cirrhosis. Materials and Methods: A nutritional education using LES was given once every month during six months by registered dietitians and pharmacists to 23 outpatients with liver cirrhosis. Seventeen patients were graded A in light of Child classification, and six were graded B. The LES consisted of health foods such as rice balls and bread with 100-200 kcal carbohydrate. Serum AST, ALT, total bilirubin, total protein and albumin levels were evaluated before the nutritional education and 12 months after the start of the education. Results: The nutritional education was finished by 19 patients (82.9%). No significant differences were observed in AST, ALT, total bilirubin and total protein values between before and after the education. In 14 patients who were graded Child A and B after the education, with the exception of two patients graded Child C after the education, serum albumin concentrations after the education were significantly higher than those before the education. Conclusions: The long-term nutritional therapy with carbohydrate-enriched LES can be performed in the most efficient way on a large percentage of outpatients with liver cirrhosis. This nutritional therapy may be useful for liver cirrhosis patients so long as the liver functions fairly well.