Efficacy of the Combination of Simvastatin Plus Rifaximin in Patients With Decompensated Cirrhosis to Prevent ACLF Development

Worsening of ascitis will be defined as increased diuretic dosage or need for large-volume parecentesis in patients who had never been treated with this procedure

Renal function impairment will be defined by AKI criteria, following criteria of the "EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of patients with decompensated cirrosis"

The aim of this secondary endpoint is to identify phylogenetic and functional composition in the gut microbiota of patients at different stages of liver disease by analysis of microbial genes and signature.

As treatment with rifaximin has been associated to changes in microbiota composition in patients with cirrhosis, we will analyze the changes in microbiota signature and composition in patients under treatment with simvastatin and rifaximin at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months

MELD score is a system developed to evaluate the severity of chronic liver disease, and it involves serum bilirubin, creatinine and international normalized ratio values

CLIF-AD score is a system created to evaluate the prognosis of patients with decompensated cirrosis, and it involves age, white cell count, creatinine, international normalized ratio and sodium

Child Pugh is a score created to evaluate the prognosis of patients with cirrosis based on clinical and analytical values. It involves serum bilirubin, coagulation, albumin and the presence of clinical complications of cirrhosis, as hepatic encephalopathy and ascites

Evaluated by patient administration. CLDQ questionnaire contains 29 items divided into six domains: "Fatigue" which includes perceptions of decreased energy and sleepiness; "Emotional Function" which measures mood and insomnia; "Worry" assessing concerns regarding disease progression and family; "Activity" considering eating habits and movement of heavy objects; and finally, 2 symptom domains, "Abdominal Symptoms" and "Systemic Symptoms". All items refer to the previous 2 weeks on a 7 point Likert scale, with 1 corresponding to the maximum frequency ("all of the time") and 7 to the minimum ("none of the time"). Scores range from 1 (worst) to 7 (least severe), in which higher scores indicate a minimum frequency of symptoms and, consequently, a better quality of life

Liver Frailty Index questionnaire is an objectively measure "physical frailty" (a term that we believe embodies these extrahepatic manifestations of cirrhosis) in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) and quantify its impact on health-related outcomes. It's composed by (1) Gender (Male or Female); (2) Dominant hand grip strength (kg), the means of three measures; (3) Chair stands (sec), time that it takes a patient to stand up and sit down in a chair 5 times without using their arms; and (4) Balance (sec), seconds holding 3 position balance tested in 3 positions for 10 seconds each the positions are side by side, semi tandem and tandem.

Liver Frailty Index is calculated as: (-0:330 * gender-adjusted grip strength) + (-2:529 * number of chair stands per second) + (-0:040 * balance time) + 6.

The questionnaire does not have a minimum value and a maximum value.

The PHES is a questionnaire used in the diagnosis of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and can be used to assess motor speed, motor accuracy, concentration, attention, visual perception, visual-spatial orientation, visual construction and memory, which are related to most of neuropsychological impairments in MHE. The PHES is composed of five tests, number connection test-A (NCT-A), number connection test-B (NCT-B), serial dotting test (SDT), line tracing test (LTT) and digit symbol test (DST). This questionnaire measures the time that the patient spends doing the five exercises.

The questionnaire does not have a minimum value and a maximum value, but as the score increases there is a worsening of outcome.

Evaluated by patient administration. This questionnaire quantifies the presence of stigma among patients with cirrhosis. The questionnaire gives a total of 19 stigma-related questions with answer choices based on a four point Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree). The questions are divided in four categories 1) discrimination, 2) stereotypes, 3) social isolation and 4) shame. The questionnaire does not have a minimum value and a maximum value, because is only a descriptive questionnaire that values patient perception regarding the disease.

Appearance of muscle toxicity at baseline, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months as defined using a specific statin-associated myopathy questionnaire. This questionnaire consists of four questions that patients can answer yes or no. The patients met the study definition for "appearance of muscle toxicity" if one of the three of the following occurred: 1) They reported new or increased muscle pain, cramps, or aching, unassociated with exercise; 2) Symptoms persisted for at least 2 weeks; 3) Symptoms resolved within 2 weeks of stopping the study drug; and 4) Symptoms reoccurred within 4 weeks of restarting the study medication.