Characteristics of patients with ascites at the time of listing for liver transplantation subdivided according to the presence or absence of NSBB
| Prematch | Propensity risk score matched | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSBB (n:159) | Non-NSBB (n:163) | p Value | NSBB (n:104) | Non-NSBB (n:104) | p Value | Effect size | |
| Age (years) | 55.0 (8.6) | 53.2 (10.6) | 0.107 | 54.7 (9.1) | 53.4 (10.2) | 0.375 | 0.134 |
| Male gender | 97 (61.0) | 112 (68.7) | 0.147 | 74 (71.2) | 70 (67.3) | 0.659 | 0.128 |
| Blood group | |||||||
| O | 70 (44.6) | 69 (42.9) | 47 (46.1) | 48 (47.1) | 0.020 | ||
| A | 66 (42.0) | 66 (41.0) | 40 (39.1) | 39 (38.2) | 0.018 | ||
| B/AB | 21 (13.4) | 26 (16.1) | 0.783 | 15 (14.7) | 15 (14.7) | 0.860 | 0.000 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 27.2 (4.9) | 28.3 (6.1) | 0.067 | 27.2 (4.8) | 27.5 (5.1) | 0.720 | 0.061 |
| Diagnosis* | |||||||
| Alcohol | 60 (37.7) | 62 (38.0) | 0.956 | 42 (40.4) | 41 (39.4) | 1.000 | 0.020 |
| Hepatitis C | 30 (18.9) | 33 (20.2) | 0.755 | 24 (23.1) | 21 (20.2) | 0.743 | 0.070 |
| Cholestatic | 31 (19.5) | 36 (22.1) | 0.567 | 18 (17.3) | 22 (21.2) | 0.597 | 0.099 |
| Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease | 22 (13.8) | 20 (12.3) | 0.676 | 10 (9.6) | 13 (12.5) | 0.664 | 0.093 |
| Hepatocellular carcinoma | 15 (9.4) | 23 (14.1) | 0.193 | 11 (10.6) | 12 (11.5) | 1.000 | 0.029 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 38 (23.9) | 37 (22.7) | 0.799 | 24 (23.1) | 23 (22.1) | 1.000 | 0.024 |
| Blood parameters at listing | |||||||
| Bilirubin (μmol/L) | 51 (30–98) | 55 (33–116) | 0.164 | 53 (31–107) | 54 (32–114) | 0.722 | 0.043 |
| Albumin (g/L) | 31 (6) | 31 (6) | 0.803 | 30 (6) | 31 (6) | 0.138 | 0.167 |
| INR | 1.4 (1.2–1.7) | 1.4 (1.2–1.7) | 0.453 | 1.5 (1.2–1.8) | 1.4 (1.2–1.6) | 0.397 | 0.091 |
| Creatinine (μmol/L) | 89 (27) | 88 (26) | 0.681 | 91 (27) | 91 (26) | 0.902 | 0.000 |
| eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 75 (61–98) | 78 (64–107) | 0.266 | 74 (62–97) | 76 (61–99) | 0.930 | 0.028 |
| Sodium (mmol/L) | 136 (6) | 134 (5) | 0.016 | 135 (5) | 135 (5) | 0.814 | 0.000 |
| MELD score | 16 (5) | 17 (5) | 0.168 | 17 (5) | 17 (5) | 0.810 | 0.000 |
| UKELD score | 56 (6) | 57 (5) | 0.014 | 57 (6) | 57 (6) | 0.960 | 0.000 |
| Previous variceal haemorrhage | 64 (40.3) | 40 (24.5) | 0.003 | 29 (27.9) | 29 (27.9) | 1.000 | 0.000 |
| Refractory ascites | 56 (35.2) | 61 (37.4) | 0.681 | 39 (37.5) | 37 (35.6) | 0.885 | 0.039 |
| Hepatorenal syndrome (type 2) | 7 (4.4) | 8 (4.9) | 0.830 | 5 (4.8) | 6 (5.8) | 1.000 | 0.045 |
| Prophylactic antibiotics | 37 (23.3) | 43 (26.4) | 0.518 | 21 (20.1) | 23 (22.1) | 0.871 | 0.049 |
p Value in bold indicates statistical significance.
Values expressed as mean (SD), median (IQR) and number (per cent) where appropriate.
*Some patients had more than one aetiology of liver disease.
eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; INR, international normalised ratio; MELD, model for end-stage liver disease; NSBB, non-selective β-blockers; UKELD, UK Score for Patients with End-Stage Liver Disease.