The Efficacy of Lactulose for the Treatment of Hyperammonemic Encephalopathy Due to Severe Heart Failure

Koichi Narita; Eisuke Amiya; Nobutaka Kakuda; Hidehiro Kaneko; Masaru Hatano; Issei Komuro

doi:10.3390/diagnostics10020070

The Efficacy of Lactulose for the Treatment of Hyperammonemic Encephalopathy Due to Severe Heart Failure

Diagnostics (Basel). 2020 Jan 27;10(2):70. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics10020070.

Authors

Koichi Narita¹, Eisuke Amiya^{1

2}, Nobutaka Kakuda¹, Hidehiro Kaneko^{1

3}, Masaru Hatano^{1

2}, Issei Komuro¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
² Department of Therapeutic Strategy for Heart Failure, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
³ The Department of Advanced Cardiology, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.

Abstract

Hyperammonemic encephalopathy secondary to heart failure is rare and there had been little reports about effective treatment. Organ hypoperfusion or congestion by heart failure may lead to various organ dysfunctions, and liver and intestinal circulatory impairment might cause ammonia metabolic failure. Here, we report on the case of a patient with hyperammonemic encephalopathy that was secondary to heart failure, which was effectively treated by lactulose.

Keywords: congestion; heart failure; hyperammonemic encephalopathy; lactulose.