system
Medical AI Inquiry: You were designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.
user
Antibiotic of choice in cirrhotic patient to prevent encephalopathy:
assistant
The correct answer is  Treatment of hepatic encephalopathy 1. Correct precipitating factors 2. Use lactulose- results in colonic acidification. 2. Poorly absorbed antibiotics- neomycin and metronidazole. More recently, rifaximin at 550 mg twice daily has been very effective in treating encephalopathy without the known side effects of neomycin or metronidazole.