Effectiveness of intravenous albumin therapy to prevent spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, renal dysfunction and death in adults with cirrhosis: a protocol for a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Use of albumin therapy is recommended for management of disease complications in cirrhosis. The effectiveness of albumin to prevent specific disease complications and death, however, is less clear.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Controlled Trials Register and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for published reports on randomised controlled trials and observational studies on the effectiveness of intravenous albumin therapy to prevent spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, renal dysfunction and death in cirrhotic patients. Two independent reviewers will screen the studies for eligibility, extract data and assess risk of bias and quality of evidence using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Random effects meta-analyses will be performed when appropriate.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: As no primary data will be collected, a formal ethical approval is not required. We plan to publish the results of this study in a relevant peer-reviewed journal or journals. The study results may also be presented at relevant conferences and meetings.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018100798.