Do branched chain amino acids improve hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis?

There is controversy about the effectiveness of branched chain amino acids for treatment of hepatic encephalopathy. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening multiple databases, we identified seven systematic reviews including 32 randomized controlled trials, of which 30 address the question of this article. We extracted results, combined the evidence using meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings following the GRADE approach. We concluded branched chain amino acids might improve hepatic encephalopathy, but they probably lead to little or no effect on mortality.