Clinical characteristics of the cohort including patients with cirrhosis, ACLF and ALF
| Parameter | Cirrhosis | ACLF | ALF |
| (n=22) | (n=41) | (n=30) | |
| Age (years) | 55 (46–62) | 48 (38–60)* | 35 (27–46) |
| Child-Pugh | 8 (6–9) | 12 (11–13)*† | 13 (11–13) |
| MELD | 10 (9–15) | 31 (22–39)*† | 40 (33.5–40) |
| CLIF-SOFA | 3.5 (2–5) | 13 (11–16)† | — |
| NACSELD | 0 | 2 (1–3)† | — |
| SOFA | NA | 13 (12–14) | 13 (11–16) |
| APACHE II | NA | 22 (19–26) | 20 (13–24) |
| SAPS II | NA | 36 (27–41.5) | 40 (28–50) |
| Transplantation, % (n) | 0% | 17.1% (7) | 23.3% (7) |
| 28-day mortality, % (n) | 0% | 43.9% (18) | 20% (6) |
| 28-day transplant-free survival, % (n) | 100% | 39% (16) | 56.6% (17) |
| Culture-positive infection at admission, % (n) | 0% (0) | 9.8% (4) | 6.6% (2) |
| Secondary infectious complications, % (n) | 5% (1) | 26.8% (11) | 16.6% (5) |
| Bacterial DNA at admission (pg/mL) | 3.5 (0.8) | 6.7 (5.9)† | NA |
| Antibiotic treatment at admission, % (n) | 5% (1) | 87.8% (36) | 96.6% (29) |
| Bilirubin (μmol/L) | 27 (19–52) | 152 (83–284)*† | 83 (49–169) |
| Albumin (g/L) | 34 (31–37) | 24 (21–28)*† | 25 (24–29) |
| INR | 1.3 (1.2–1.5) | 2.0 (1.7–2.7)*† | 4.0 (2.74–7.27) |
| ASAT (U/L) | 47 (31–66) | 115 (69–288)*† | 5250 (1329–7286) |
| Lactate (mmol/L) | NA | 1.8 (1.2–2.8)* | 3 (2.2–4.9) |
| WBC (×109/L) | 4.84 (3.45–7.36) | 9.82 (6.25–14.37)† | 10.97 (8.28–15.81) |
| Neutrophils | 3.03 (2.03–4.92) | 7.59 (4.69–12.11)† | 8.81 (6.8–14.79) |
| Monocytes (x109/L) | 0.42 (0.3–0.58) | 0.51 (0.33–0.88)* | 0.25 (0.16–0.51) |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 8.8 (5.7–22.4) | 50.5 (23.1–79.2)*† | 19.3 (7.4–40.5) |
| SIRS score | 0 (0–1) | 2 (1–2)† | 2 (1–3) |
All data are presented as median (IQR), unless otherwise specified in the corresponding rows.
*Significant difference comparing ACLF to ALF.
†Significant difference comparing ACLF to cirrhosis; p<0.05, Mann-Whitney U tests.
ACLF, acute-on-chronic liver failure; ALF, acute liver failure; APACHE II, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II; ASAT, aspartate aminotransaminase; CLIF, Consortium on Chronic Liver Failure; CRP, C-reactive protein; INR, international normalised ratio; MELD, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease; NA, not applicable; NACSELD, North American Consortium for Study of End-stage Liver Disease; SAPS II, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II; SIRS, systemic inflammatory response syndrome; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score; WBC, white blood cells.