Demographics and clinical parameters of patients with SC, CD and AD and HCs
| Parameter | HCs (n=20) | SC (n=28) | CD (n=20) | AD (n=50) |
| Age—years | 38.00 (32.00–50.50) | 58.00† (49.50–63.50) | 55.50† (47.25–62.00) | 49.50 (42.00–58.00) |
| Gender—n (%) | ||||
| Male | 14/20 (70%) | 21/28 (75%) | 14/20 (70%) | 37/50 (74%) |
| Female | 6/20 (30%) | 7/28 (25%) | 6/20 (30%) | 13/50 (26%) |
| Aetiology—n (%) | ||||
| Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) | NA | 19/28 (67.8%) | 12/20 (60%) | 32/50 (64%) |
| Hepatitis C** | NA | 2/28 (7.14%) | – | 3/50 (6%) |
| Hepatitis C+ALD | NA | – | – | 1/50 (2%) |
| Autoimmune hepatitis | NA | – | 2/20 (10%) | 2/50 (4%) |
| NAFLD | NA | 3/28 (10.7%) | – | 6/50 (12%) |
| Cryptogenic | NA | 3/28 (10.7%) | – | 3/50 (6%) |
| Other†† | NA | 1/28 (3.5%) | 6/20 (30%) | 3/50 (6%) |
| White cell count—×109/L | NA | 4.65‡*** (3.75–6.03) | 4.415§*** (2.648–6.155) | 8.52‡***§*** (6.30–15.14) |
| Neutrophils—×109/L | NA | 2.92‡*** (2.10–4.20) | 2.50§*** (1.88–4.01) | 6.20‡***§*** (3.78–10.52) |
| Monocytes—×109/L | NA | 0.410‡*** (0.30–0.60) | 0.33§*** (0.21–0.487) | 0.87‡***§*** (0.47–1.20) |
| Lymphocytes—×109/L | NA | 1.19 (0.82–1.61) | 0.93 (0.70–1.41) | 1.10 (1.57–0.61) |
| MELD score | NA | 10.90‡***¶* (7.85–15.68) | 16.53¶* (10.92–23.13) | 26.10‡*** (15.8–33.00) |
| SOFA score (CLIF-SOFA score in ACLF) | NA | NA | 3.50§*** (3.00–4.00) | 12.00§*** (8.50–14.50) |
| CLIF AD score (in AD) CLIF ACLF (in ACLF) | NA | NA | NA | 54.50 (45.75–62.13) 58.90 (52.00–64.10) |
| Child-Pugh score | NA | 8.00‡*** (6.00–9.00) | 8.50§** (7.00–10.00) | 11.00‡***§** (9.00–12.00) |
| Creatinine—µmol/L | NA | 72.00¶*** (57.75–88.75) | 66.50§***¶*** (54.00–88.75) | 78.50*** (58.5–131.8) |
| Bilirubin—µmol/L | NA | 26.5¶*** (16.50–50.25) | 2.54§***¶*** (1.50–7.58) | 59.00§*** (26.0–154.0) |
| CRP—mg/L | NA | 5.05‡*** (2.40–15.58) | 13.60§*** (6.60–17.80) | 33.80‡***§*** (16.90–68.00) |
| INR | NA | 1.28‡*** (1.10–1.60) | 1.36§* (1.190–1.783) | 1.72‡***§* (1.46–2.02) |
| Ammonia—µmol/L | NA | ND | 56.00§*** (46.00–111.0) | 133.80§*** (126.0–136.0) |
| Type of precipitating events—n (%)‡‡ | ||||
| GI bleed | 19 (38%) | |||
| Infection | 13 (26%) | |||
| Acute alcohol injury | NA | NA | NA | 3 (6%) |
| Any of the events in combination | 7 (14%) | |||
| Unknown | 8 (16%) | |||
| Number of precipitating events—n (%) | ||||
| 1 | 35 (70%) | |||
| ≥2 | 7 (14%) | |||
| Mortality from enrolment—n (%) | NA | NA | NA | 24 (48%) |
| 90-day mortality | ||||
Values represent medians (IQR) unless otherwise stated.
Multiple comparison testing between more than two groups was carried out using Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s test post hoc intergroup comparison. Mann-Whitney U test used for comparison between two groups.
*P<0.0005 and ***p<0.0001.
†Significant differences in age compared with HCs, p=0.0005.
‡Comparison between AD and SC.
§Comparison between AD and CD.
¶Comparison between SC and CD.
**Treated hepatitis C.
††Other aetiologies include Wilson’s disease, Alagille syndrome, chronic Budd-Chiari syndrome and primary sclerosing cholangitis.
‡‡Numbers and percentages presented are in GI bleed alone versus infection alone versus acute alcohol injury alone. Seven patients (14%) had more than one type of event (three patients presented with infection and GI bleed/two with acute alcohol injury and infection, one with GI bleed and acute alcohol injury and one with the three precipitating events).
ACLF, acute-on-chronic-liver failure; AD, acute decompensation of cirrhosis; CD, chronic decompensated cirrhosis; CLIF-SOFA, chronic liver failure-sequential organ failure assessment; CRP, C reactive protein; HCs, healthy controls; INR, international normalised ratio; MELD, model for end-stage liver disease; NA, not applicable; NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; ND, not determined; SC, stable cirrhosis.