CLIF-SOFA score and SIRS are independent prognostic factors in patients with hepatic encephalopathy due to alcoholic liver cirrhosis

Hematological ratios in patients with acute decompensation and acute-on-chronic liver failure: prognostic factors

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is the most severe form of acutely decompensated cirrhosis and is characterized by the presence of intense systemic inflammation. Leucocyte quantification can serve as an indirect indicator of systemic inflammation. In our study, we investigated the predictive value of hematological ratios (neutrophils to lymphocytes, monocyte to lymphocytes, platelets to lymphocytes, lymphocytes to C-reactive protein, and neutrophils to lymphocytes and platelets) in acute decompensation (AD) and ACLF patients and their relation to disease severity and early mortality.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We included 60 patients with ACLF and AD, and 30 cirrhotic controls. Clinical data were collected, and survival was followed for 1 and 6 months. Blood samples were analyzed at admission for differential leucocytes and assessed for liver and renal function tests. The leukocyte ratios were calculated and compared, and their correlation with liver function indicators and prognosis was assessed.

RESULTS

All ratios were significantly higher in AD and ACLF patients compared to control (except for lymphocyte to C-reactive protein ratio which was significantly lower), and were positively correlated with Child-Pugh score, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD)-Na, and ACLF severity scores. Multivariate regression revealed that neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, monocyte to lymphocyte ratio, and MELD-Na were independent prognostic factors of 1-month and 6-month mortality. A unique prognostic nomogram incorporating MELD-Na, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, and monocyte to lymphocyte ratio could be proposed for predicting prognosis in AD and ACLF patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Cheap, easy, and noninvasive hematological ratios are introduced as a tool for early identification and risk stratification of AD and ACLF patients.

Antibiotics With or Without Rifaximin for Acute Hepatic Encephalopathy in Critically Ill Patients With Cirrhosis: A Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled (ARiE) Trial

INTRODUCTION

Critically ill patients with cirrhosis admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) are usually on broad-spectrum antibiotics because of suspected infection or as a hospital protocol. It is unclear if additional rifaximin has any synergistic effect with broad-spectrum antibiotics in ICU patients with acute overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE).

METHODS

In this double-blind trial, patients with overt HE admitted to ICU were randomized to receive antibiotics (ab) alone or antibiotics with rifaximin (ab + r). Resolution (or 2 grade reduction) of HE, time to resolution of HE, in-hospital mortality, nosocomial infection, and changes in endotoxin levels were compared between the 2 groups. A subgroup analysis of patients with decompensated cirrhosis and acute-on-chronic liver failure was performed.

RESULTS

Baseline characteristics and severity scores were similar among both groups (92 in each group). Carbapenems and cephalosporin with beta-lactamase inhibitors were the most commonly used ab. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, 44.6% (41/92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 32-70.5) in ab-only arm and 46.7% (43/92; 95% CI, 33.8-63) in ab + r arm achieved the primary objective ( P = 0.84).Time to achieve the primary objective (3.65 ± 1.82 days and 4.11 ± 2.01 days; P = 0.27) and in-hospital mortality were similar among both groups (62% vs 50%; P = 0.13). Seven percent and 13% in the ab and ab + r groups developed nosocomial infections ( P = 0.21). Endotoxin levels were unaffected by rifaximin. Rifaximin led to lower in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio: 0.39 [95% CI, 0.2-0.76]) in patients with decompensated cirrhosis but not in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (hazard ratio: 0.99 [95% CI, 0.6-1.63]) because of reduced nosocomial infections.

DISCUSSION

Reversal of overt HE in those on ab was comparable with those on ab + r.

Clinical Features of Hepatic Manifestations among Adult Patients with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis: A Retrospective Study

INTRODUCTION

Liver dysfunction is common in patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). However, whether the severity of liver injury is associated with the prognosis of patients with HLH remains to be determined. This study aims to assess the association of the severity of liver involvement with short-term prognosis among adult patients with HLH.

METHODS

A retrospective study was performed from January 2012 to December 2020, including 150 patients with newly diagnosed HLH and liver injury.

RESULTS

The majority of our cohort suffered from mild to moderate hepatic damage, presenting with Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class A (55, 36.7%) or B (74, 49.3%). The prevalence of acute liver failure (ALF) was 9.3% in our cohort. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 49.3% among the study population. HLH patients with ALF showed an extremely adverse prognosis, with a mortality rate as high as 92.9%. In a multivariate analysis, age ≥60 years (p = 0.016), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) ≥7 μmol/L (p < 0.001), and malignancy-associated HLH (p < 0.001) at the diagnosis of HLH were identified as being strongly correlated with 30-day prognosis. An excellent predictive power was found. Among the predictive scores used to assess early death of HLH patients with liver injury, the prognostic efficiency of chronic liver failure-sequential organ failure assessment (CLIF-SOFA) (AUROC: 0.936 ± 0.0211) and SOFA score (0.901 ± 0.026) were significantly better than those of the APACHE II (p < 0.001), model for end-stage liver disease score (p < 0.001) and CTP scores (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Patients with old age, elevated BUN, and malignancy had inferior survival. CLIF-SOFA and SOFA enable more accurate prediction of early death in HLH patients with liver injury than other liver-specific and general prognostic models.

Using machine learning methods to predict 28-day mortality in patients with hepatic encephalopathy

BACKGROUND

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is associated with marked increases in morbidity and mortality for cirrhosis patients. This study aimed to develop and validate machine learning (ML) models to predict 28-day mortality for patients with HE.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-IV database. Patients from MIMIC-IV were randomized into training and validation cohorts in a ratio of 7:3. Training cohort was used for establishing the model while validation cohort was used for validation. The outcome was defined as 28-day mortality. Predictors were identified by recursive feature elimination (RFE) within 24 h of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. The area under the curve (AUC) and calibration curve were used to determine the predictive performance of different ML models.

RESULTS

In the MIMIC-IV database, 601 patients were eventually diagnosed with HE. Of these, 112 (18.64%) experienced death within 28 days. Acute physiology score III (APSIII), sepsis related organ failure assessment (SOFA), international normalized ratio (INR), total bilirubin (TBIL), albumin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), acute kidney injury (AKI) and mechanical ventilation were identified as independent risk factors. Validation set indicated that the artificial neural network (NNET) model had the highest AUC of 0.837 (95% CI:0.774-0.901). Furthermore, in the calibration curve, the NNET model was also well-calibrated (P = 0.323), which means that it can better predict the 28-day mortality in HE patients. Additionally, the performance of the NNET is superior to existing scores, including Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Sodium (MELD-Na).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the NNET model demonstrated better discrimination in predicting 28-day mortality as compared to other models. This developed model could potentially improve the early detection of HE with high mortality, subsequently improving clinical outcomes in these patients with HE, but further external prospective validation is still required.

CLIF-SOFA and CLIF-C scores for the prognostication of acute-on-chronic liver failure and acute decompensation of cirrhosis: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a syndrome characterized by decompensation in individuals with chronic liver disease, generally secondary to one or more extra-hepatic organ failures, implying an elevated mortality rate. Acute decompensation (AD) is the term used for one or more significant consequences of liver disease in a short time and is the most common reason for hospital admission in cirrhotic patients. The European Association for the Study of Liver-Chronic-Liver Failure (EASL-CLIF) Group modified the intensive care Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score into CLIF-SOFA, which detects the presence of ACLF in patients with or without AD, classifying it into three grades.

AIM

To investigate the role of the EASL-CLIF definition for ACLF and the ability of CLIF-SOFA, CLIF-C ACLF, and CLIF-C AD scores for prognosticating ACLF or AD.

METHODS

This study is a literature review using a standardized search method, conducted using the steps following the guidelines for reporting systematic reviews set out by the PRISMA statement. For specific keywords, relevant articles were found by searching PubMed, ScienceDirect, and BioMed Central-BMC. The databases were searched using the search terms by one reviewer, and a list of potentially eligible studies was generated based on the titles and abstracts screened. The data were then extracted and assessed on the basis of the Reference Citation Analysis (https://www.referencecitationanalysis.com/).

RESULTS

Most of the included studies used the EASL-CLIF definition for ACLF to identify cirrhotic patients with a significant risk of short-term mortality. The primary outcome in all reviewed studies was mortality. Most of the study findings were based on an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) analysis, which revealed that CLIF-SOFA, CLIF-C ACLF, and CLIF-C AD scores were preferable to other models predicting 28-d mortality. Their AUROC scores were higher and able to predict all-cause mortality at 90, 180, and 365 d. A total of 50 articles were included in this study, which found that the CLIF-SOFA, CLIF-C ACLF and CLIF-C AD scores in more than half of the articles were able to predict short-term and long-term mortality in patients with either ACLF or AD.

CONCLUSION

CLIF-SOFA score surpasses other models in predicting mortality in ACLF patients, especially in the short-term. CLIF-SOFA, CLIF-C ACLF, and CLIF-C AD are accurate short-term and long-term mortality prognosticating scores.

Management of Decompensated Cirrhosis in the Surgical ICU: an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee Clinical Consensus Document

Management of decompensated cirrhosis (DC) can be challenging for the surgical intensivist. Management of DC is often complicated by ascites, coagulopathy, hepatic encephalopathy, gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatorenal syndrome, and difficulty assessing volume status. This Clinical Consensus Document created by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee reviews practical clinical questions about the critical care management of patients with DC to facilitate best practices by the bedside provider.

The Significant Morbidity and Mortality Indicators in Patients of Cirrhosis

Background: Cirrhosis progression varies greatly from patient to patient due to a variety of factors, including hepatic reserve, cirrhosis etiology, and the presence of hepatocellular cancer. As a result, determining a prognosis in a patient with cirrhosis remains a difficult task. For nearly three decades, the Child-Pugh score (CPS) has been the gold standard for determining the prognosis of cirrhosis. In the last two decades, many prognostic models and scores like a model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), chronic liver failure-sequential organ failure assessment (CLIF-SOFA) score, peripheral blood lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) have been presented to predict prognosis in patients with cirrhosis and to choose the best therapy option. The aim of our study is to determine which score is more effective in predicting three-month mortality and whether these scores are equally effective in predicting short-term outcomes.

Materials & methods: In this hospital-based longitudinal study, we analyzed 140 patients with cirrhosis of liver visiting All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhopal between July 2019 and July 2020. All the 140 patients were followed up for three months to establish short-term outcomes. The blood investigations were done at the time of presentation from all the patients and after three months in the survivors. Various scores were calculated.

Results: The majority of patients (47%) were in Child-Pugh class C. Mean MELD score was 13.54, LMR score was 1.96 and CLIF-SOFA score was 5. The total bilirubin, serum creatinine, international normalized ratio (INR), total leukocyte count, absolute monocyte count, CPS, MELD, CLIF-SOFA were significantly higher in a non-surviving group as compared to the surviving group, whereas the albumin and LMR significantly decreased in the non-surviving group. On performing multivariate regression, LMR and CLIF-SOFA were significant independent risk factors of mortality after adjusting for confounding factors. All the parameters had significant discriminatory power to predict mortality. Discriminatory power of CLIF-SOFA (AUC 0.808; 95% CI: 0.733 to 0.870) was excellent and discriminatory power of CPS (AUC 0.792; 95% CI: 0.716 to 0.856), MELD score (AUC 0.765; 95% CI: 0.685 to 0.832) and LMR (AUC 0.75; 95% CI: 0.669 to 0.819) was acceptable. Among all the parameters, CLIF-SOFA was the best predictor of mortality at a cut-off point of >5 with 80.80% chances of correctly predicting mortality.

Conclusion: The significant morbidity and mortality indicators are high total bilirubin, high creatinine, high INR, high TLC, low platelet count, and low albumin. Among the various scores, CLIF-SOFA is a better predictor of mortality and morbidity. Low LMR and high CLIF-SOFA are significant independent risk factors of mortality at three months.

Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Decompensation of Cirrhosis

BACKGROUND

Although recently challenged, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria are still commonly used in daily practice to define sepsis. However, several factors in liver cirrhosis may negatively impact its prognostic ability. Goals. To investigate the factors associated with the presence of SIRS, the characteristics of SIRS related to infection, and its prognostic value among patients hospitalized for acute decompensation of cirrhosis. Study. In this cohort study from two tertiary hospitals, 543 patients were followed up, up to 90 days. Data collection, including the prognostic models, was within 48 hours of admission.

RESULTS

SIRS was present in 42.7% of the sample and was independently associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGB), ACLF, infection, and negatively related to beta-blockers. SIRS was associated with mortality in univariate analysis, but not in multiple Cox regression analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival probability of patients without SIRS was 73.0% and for those with SIRS was 64.7%. The presence of SIRS was not significantly associated with mortality when considering patients with or without infection, separately. Infection in SIRS patients was independently associated with Child-Pugh C and inversely related to UGB. Among subjects with SIRS, mortality was independently related to the presence of infection, ACLF, and Child-Pugh C.

CONCLUSIONS

SIRS was common in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis and was of no prognostic value, even in the presence of infection.

Predicting outcome in liver patients admitted to intensive care: A dual-centre non-specialist hospital external validation of the Liver injury and Failure evaluation score

Background

Acute hepatic dysfunction in the critically ill population with pre-existing liver cirrhosis is associated with a high mortality. Several prediction models have been developed to risk stratify patients with liver disease.

Methods

This UK dual-centre non-specialist hospital retrospective study (2015-2019) externally validated the Liver injury and Failure evaluation score (incorporating lactate, bilirubin and International Normalised Ratio), alongside two other general intensive care unit prediction models (Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II). Inclusion criteria matched a recent UK-wide study including at least one of biopsy proven cirrhosis, imaging suggestive of cirrhosis, hepatic encephalopathy or portal hypertension.

Results

One hundred and ninety-nine admissions met inclusion criteria over the study period (n = 169), mean age 57( ±13). In-hospital mortality was 40% in this cohort compared to 18% of all intensive care unit individuals during the same period. Variceal bleeding was associated with a lower short-term (18% versus 47%, P < 0.001, odds ratio 0.3 (95% confidence interval 0.1-0.5)) and longer-term mortality (log rank P = 0.015). In-patient mortality was higher in cases requiring renal replacement therapy (82% versus 29%, odds ratio 11.1 (95% confidence interval 4.6-26.9), P < 0.001) or ventilation (47% versus 32%, odds ratio 1.9 (1.1-3.4), P = 0.03). For in-patient mortality, area under the receiver operating characteristic curves were Liver injury and Failure evaluation 0.69 (95% confidence interval 0.62-0.77), Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre 0.80 (0.74-0.86) and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II 0.73 (0.65-0.81). Forty-one per cent of cases were alive at one-year follow-up. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for one-year survival were Liver injury and Failure evaluation 0.69 (0.61-0.77), Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre 0.75 (0.67-0.82) and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II 0.69 (0.61-0.77).

Conclusion

This first Liver injury and Failure evaluation score validation in a UK non-specialist hospital setting suggests this parsimonious, easy to calculate model may have utility in prediction of short-term and one-year mortality. As with previous studies variceal haemorrhage was associated with lower mortality.

Cirrhosis and frailty assessment in elderly patients: A paradoxical result

The frailty represents a key determinant of elderly clinical assessment, especially because it allows the identification of risk factors potentially modifiable by clinical and therapeutic interventions. The frailty assessment in elderly patients usually is made by using of Fried criteria. However, to assess the frailty in cirrhotic patients, multiple but different tools are used by researchers. Thus, we aimed to compare frailty prevalence in elderly patients with well-compensated liver cirrhosis and without cirrhosis, according to Fried criteria.Among 205 elderly patients screened, a total of 148 patients were enrolled. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the presence/absence of well-compensated liver cirrhosis.After clinical examination with conventional scores of cirrhosis, all patients underwent anthropometric measurements, nutritional, biochemical, comorbidity, and cognitive performances. Frailty assessment was evaluated according to Fried frailty criteria.Unexpectedly, according to the Fried criteria, non-cirrhotic patients were frailer (14.2%) than well-compensated liver cirrhotic patients (7.5%). The most represented Fried criterion was the unintentional weight loss in non-cirrhotic patients (10.1%) compared to well-compensated liver cirrhotic patients (1.4%). Moreover, cumulative illness rating scale -G severity score was significantly and positively associated with frailty status (r = 0.234, P < .004). In a multivariate linear regression model, only female gender, body mass index and mini nutritional assessment resulted associated with frailty status, independently of other confounding variables.Despite the fact that elderly cirrhotic patients are considered to be frailer than the non-cirrhotic elderly patient, relying solely on "mere visual appearance," our data show that paradoxically non-cirrhotic elderly patients are frailer than elderly well-compensated liver cirrhotic patients. Thus, clinical implication of this finding is that frailty assessment performed in the well-compensated liver cirrhotic patient can identify those cirrhotic patients who may benefit from tailored interventions similarly to non-cirrhotic elderly patients.

Outcomes of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Cirrhosis

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

To better describe the outcomes of acute respiratory distress syndrome in mechanically ventilated patients with cirrhosis.

Management of the critically ill liver failure patient: surpassing our limitations to reach transplantation

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Patients with liver failure and liver-related diseases are often critically ill. Here, we review advances in donor organ management, tools for patient selection and highlight ICU management of liver transplant (LT) recipients. A focused discussion on the impact each of these factors have on critical care management of liver failure patients is presented.

RECENT FINDINGS

Artificial liver assist devices to increase donor organ utilization are broadening the potential for transplantation of critically ill patients. Additionally, prognostication tools continue to improve and identify patients salvageable with transplantation despite severely deranged physiology. Most importantly, early recognition of liver failure combined with proactive critical care management reduces the incidence of failure-to-rescue and increases the likelihood of transplantation.

SUMMARY

Liver transplantation is often the only hope for cure, and despite the presence of profound physiologic disturbances surgery remains the goal. In this review, we cover topics key in ICU management of LT recipients. A focused discussion on development of artificial liver assist devices to increase donor organs, prognostic scoring systems to define appropriate transplant recipients, critical care management of liver failure physiology, and bridging modalities and supportive measures are presented.

Establishment and evaluation of a model for predicting 3-month mortality in Chinese patients with hepatic encephalopathy

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious complication of liver disease. To establish a model for predicting 3-month mortality in patients with HE in China. This retrospective study included 609 patients with HE admitted to the Peoples' Hospital, Liaocheng City, China (August 2006 to January 2016). Patients were allocated to a modeling (n = 409) or validation (n = 200) group. Demographic/clinical characteristics, laboratory test results, Model for End Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score were extracted from medical records. A model for predicting death within 3 months after admission was established using logistic regression analysis (modeling group). Model validity (validation group) was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. 270/409(66.0%) patients died in the modeling group and 142/203(70.0%) died in the validation group. Compared with survivors, patients who died had more severe HE, and higher MELD score, CTP score, incidence of complications including hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) and upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and values for laboratory parameters including red blood cell count(RBC) and total bilirubin(TBIL)(P < 0.05). Regression analysis revealed RBC, TBIL, HE stage, HRS and upper gastrointestinal bleeding as independent factors associated with death (P < 0.05). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the model was 0.931.The model had a higher Youden index than MELD or CTP scores and predicted death in the validation group with a sensitivity of 83.1% and specificity of 93.4%. The established model has superior performance to MELD and CTP scores for predicting mortality in patients with HE.

Association of serum albumin level with incidence and mortality of overt hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis during hospitalization

BACKGROUND

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious complication of cirrhosis. Decreased serum albumin (ALB) level may facilitate the development of HE and accelerate the death of cirrhotic patients with HE. Recent evidence also suggests that human albumin infusion may reduce the incidence of HE and improve the outcomes of cirrhotic patients. This study aimed to explore the association of serum ALB level with the development of overt HE and HE-associated mortality during hospitalization.

METHODS

Cirrhotic patients admitted to our hospital between January 2010 and February 2019 were screened. Independent predictors for HE were identified by logistic regression analyses. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was calculated. Area under curve (AUC) was calculated by receiver operator characteristic curve analyses.

RESULTS

Of the 2376 included patients with cirrhosis but without HE at admission, 113 (4.8%) developed overt HE during hospitalizations. ALB level (OR = 0.878, 95% CI = 0.834-0.924) was an independent risk factor for development of overt HE. AUC of ALB level for predicting the development of overt HE was 0.770 (95% CI = 0.752-0.787, p < 0.0001), and the best cut-off value was ⩽31.6 g/l. Of the 183 included patients with cirrhosis and overt HE at admission, 20 (10.9%) died during hospitalizations. ALB level (OR = 0.864, 95% CI = 0.771-0.967) was an independent risk factor for death from overt HE. The AUC of ALB level for predicting death from overt HE was 0.737 (95% CI = 0.667-0.799, p = 0.0001), and the best cut-off value was ⩽22.8 g/l.

CONCLUSIONS

Decreased serum ALB level may be associated with higher risk of overt HE and HE-associated mortality during hospitalizations in cirrhosis.

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome and model for end-stage liver disease score accurately predict the in-hospital mortality of black African patients with decompensated cirrhosis at initial hospitalization: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) predict short-term mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Prediction of mortality at initial hospitalization is unknown in black African patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

Aim

This study aimed to look at the role of MELD score and SIRS as the predictors of morbidity and mortality at initial hospitalization.

Patients and methods

In this retrospective cohort study, we enrolled 159 patients with cirrhosis (median age: 49 years, 70.4% males). The role of Child–Pugh–Turcotte (CPT) score, MELD score, and SIRS on mortality was determined by the Kaplan–Meier method, and the prognosis factors were assessed with Cox regression model.

Results

At initial hospitalization, 74.2%, 20.1%, and 37.7% of the patients with cirrhosis showed the presence of ascites, hepatorenal syndrome, and esophageal varices, respectively. During the in-hospital follow-up, 40 (25.2%) patients died. The overall incidence of mortality was found to be 3.1 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.2–4.1] per 100 person-days. Survival probabilities were found to be high in case of patients who were SIRS negative (log-rank test= 4.51, p=0.03) and in case of patients with MELD score ≤16 (log-rank test=7.26, p=0.01) compared to the patients who were SIRS positive and those with MELD score >16. Only SIRS (hazard ratio (HR)=3.02, [95% CI: 1.4–7.4], p=0.01) and MELD score >16 (HR=2.2, [95% CI: 1.1–4.3], p=0.02) were independent predictors of mortality in multivariate analysis except CPT, which was not relevant in our study. Patients with MELD score >16 experienced hepatorenal syndrome (p=0.002) and encephalopathy (p=0.001) more frequently than that of patients with MELD score ≤16. SIRS was not useful in predicting complications.

Conclusion

MELD score and SIRS can be used as tools for the prediction of mortality in black African patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

Preoperative Recipient Parameters Allow Early Estimation of Postoperative Outcome and Intraoperative Transfusion Requirements in Liver Transplantation

CONTEXT

Liver transplantation is a complex intervention, and early anticipation of personnel and logistic requirements is of great importance. Early identification of high-risk patients could prove useful. We therefore evaluated prognostic values of recipient parameters commonly available in the early preoperative stage regarding postoperative 30- and 90-day outcomes and intraoperative transfusion requirements in liver transplantation.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

All adult patients undergoing first liver transplantation at Hannover Medical School between January 2005 and December 2010 were included in this retrospective study. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data as well as clinical courses were recorded. Prognostic values regarding 30- and 90-day outcomes were evaluated by uni- and multivariate statistical tests. Identified risk parameters were used to calculate risk scores.

RESULTS

There were 426 patients (40.4% female) included with a mean age of 48.6 (11.9) years. Absolute 30-day mortality rate was 9.9%, and absolute 90-day mortality rate was 13.4%. Preoperative leukocyte count >5200/μL, platelet count <91 000/μL, and creatinine values ≥77 μmol/L were relevant risk factors for both observation periods ( P < .05, respectively). A score based on these factors significantly differentiated between groups of varying postoperative outcomes and intraoperative transfusion requirements ( P < .05, respectively).

CONCLUSION

A score based on preoperative creatinine, leukocyte, and platelet values allowed early estimation of postoperative 30- and 90-day outcomes and intraoperative transfusion requirements in liver transplantation. Results might help to improve timely logistic and personal strategies.

Chronic liver failure-consortium acute-on-chronic liver failure and acute decompensation scores predict mortality in Brazilian cirrhotic patients

AIM

To validate prognostic scores for acute decompensation of cirrhosis and acute-on-chronic liver failure in Brazilian patients.

METHODS

This is a prospective cohort study designed to assess the prognostic performance of the chronic liver failure-consortium (CLIF-C) acute decompensation score (CLIF-C AD) and CLIF-C acute-on-chronic liver failure score (CLIF-C ACLF), regarding 28-d and 90-d mortality, as well as to compare them to other prognostic models, such as Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), MELD Sodium (MELD-Na), Child-Pugh (CP) score, and the CLIF-C Organ Failure score (CLIF-C OF). All participants were adults with acute decompensation of cirrhosis admitted to the Emergency Department of a tertiary hospital in southern Brazil. Prognostic performances were evaluated by means of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, area under the curves (AUC) and 95%CI.

RESULTS

One hundred and thirteen cirrhotic patients were included. At admission, 18 patients had acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and 95 individuals had acute decompensation (AD) without ACLF, of which 24 eventually developed ACLF during the course of hospitalization (AD evolving to ACLF group). The AD group had significantly lower 28-d (9.0%) and 90-d (18.3%) mortality as compared to the AD evolving to ACLF group and to the ACLF group (both P < 0.001). On the other hand, 28-d and 90-d mortalities were not significantly different between AD evolving to ACLF group and ACLF group (P = 0.542 and P = 0.708, respectively). Among patients with ACLF, at 28 d from the diagnosis, CLIF-C ACLF was the only score able to predict mortality significantly better than the reference line, with an AUC (95%CI) of 0.71 (95%CI: 0.54-0.88, P = 0.021). Among patients with AD, all prognostic scores performed significantly better than the reference line regarding 28-d mortality, presenting with similar AUCs: CLIF-C AD score 0.75 (95%CI: 0.63-0.88), CP score 0.72 (95%CI: 0.59-0.85), MELD score 0.75 (95%CI: 0.61-0.90), MELD-Na score 0.76 (95%CI: 0.61-0.90), and CLIF-C OF score 0.74 (95%CI: 0.60-0.88). The same occurred concerning AUCs for 90-d mortality: CLIF-C AD score 0.70 (95%CI: 0.57-0.82), CP score 0.73 (95%CI: 0.62-0.84), MELD score 0.71 (95%CI: 0.59-0.83), MELD-Na score 0.73 (95%CI: 0.62-0.84), and CLIF-C OF score 0.65 (95%CI: 0.52-0.78).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that CLIF-C ACLF is the best available score for the prediction of 28-d mortality among patients with ACLF. CLIF-C AD score is also useful for the prediction of mortality among cirrhotic patients with AD not fulfilling diagnostic criteria for ACLF, but it was not superior to other well-established prognostic scores.