Effects of Rifaximin in Patients With Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients ≥18 and \<70 years of age. * Active alcohol abuse and excessive alcohol consumption prior to admission defined as \> 50 g per day for men and\> 40 g per day for women. * Jaundice (Bilirubin \>2 mg/dl) for no more than 3 months. * Clinical suspicion of Alcoholic Hepatitis with a modified Maddrey's Discriminant Function \> 32 points. Exclusion Criteria: * Hypersensitivity to Rifaximin * Advanced Chronic or Terminal illness. Advanced Chronic illness will be defined as: all conditions evolved into a clinical stage to limit the patient's functional status (eg, heart failure NYHA\> II, COPD PCO2\> 50 mmHg or PO2 \<60 mmHg, stroke or other disabling neurological disease, disabling or uncontrolled oncological conditions, etc ...). Terminal illness will be defined as any clinical conditions with a survival expectancy less than 3 months * Hepatocellular carcinoma (previously diagnosed) beyond Milan's criteria. * Complete portal vein thrombosis (previously diagnosed). * Autoimmune liver disease. * Hepatitis B and C and HIV infection (anti-HCV, surface HBV antigen and anti-HIV positive). * Pregnancy or nursing. * Use of Rifaximin during the previous 2 months. * Treatment with Pentoxifylline. * Lack of informed consent. Removal criteria: * Lack of histological confirmation of Alcoholic Hepatitis during the first 7 days after inclusion. Because there are no non-diagnostic tools to diagnose alcoholic hepatitis, histological confirmation is required in all patients (preferably through a transjugular biopsy): alcoholic hepatitis will be diagnosed on the presence of the following histologic features: Hepatocellular damage (eg, hepatocyte ballooning and presence of Mallory-Denk bodies). Inflammatory infiltrate (predominantly polymorphonuclear cells). Pericellular or sinusoidal fibrosis. * Hepatocellular carcinoma beyond Milan's criteria diagnosed during the first 7 days after inclusion. * Complete portal vein thrombosis diagnosed during the first 7 days after inclusion. * Protocol violation. * Severe adverse event directly related with Rifaximin.