D7.5 Second patient and layman event

The COMBAT-trial: A novel COMBinATorial therapy with albumin and enoxaparin in patients with decompensated cirrhosis at high-risk of poor outcome.' Under this title, on March, 6th, an event was organized dedicated to patients (Fig. 1). In 2013, cirrhosis was responsible for 1.2 million deaths worldwide. While most cirrhosis patients initially do not show symptoms, acute decompensation of cirrhosis, defined as the body’s inability to cope with the progressing dysfunctionality of the liver, leads to severe symptoms. Decompensation is characterized by the develop­ment of ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, jaundice, or gastrointestinal haemorrhage and is often a turning point for cirrhosis. The EU-funded research project DECISION strives to understand better the pathophysiology of decom­pen­sated cirrhosis leading to acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) at the systems level by taking advantage of already existing large and clinically well-characterized patient cohorts. The ultimate goal is to significantly reduce mortality through combinatorial therapies tailored to individual patients' specific needs. This endeavour aims to develop a reliable prognostic test and a robust response test. During the meeting, the “COMBAT-trial”, which is part of the project, was presented. How to best collaborate between patients’ organisations and recruitment centres was also discussed.