Engelmann C, Herber A, Franke A, et al. - Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) does not confer a significant beneficial therapeutic impact in acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) cases (an observation contrary to previous findings), and thus, it should not be given as a standard treatment for ACLF.

• In this first multicenter, randomized phase 2 trial, 176 ACLF cases were treated with G-CSF plus standard medical therapy (SMT) (n=88) or SMT alone.

• G-CSF failed to improve survival of patients.

• G-CSF neither reduced the rate of complications nor improved organ function.