Early Abstinence, Barriers, and Survival in Decompensated Alcohol-Related Cirrhosis: A Real-Worl

We read with great interest the landmark study by Hofer et al.[1], which demonstrated that sustained alcohol abstinence enables Baveno VII-defined hepatic recompensation in one third of patients with decompensated alcohol-related cirrhosis (ARC) within 5 years, and that early abstinence (within 1 month of index decompensation) doubles the likelihood of recompensation and reduces all-cause mortality by 75%. This pivotal work establishes the critical role of timely alcohol abstinence in reversing the progression of alcohol-related cirrhosis (ARC), yet its study cohort is predominantly recruited from high-income regions, with scarce real-world clinical data from mainland China.