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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 May 22;8(7):611–622. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(23)00098-5

Table 2:

Comparison between patients in low/low middle, upper middle and high-income countries

% (Freq) (Unless specified) L/LMIC (n=714) UMIC (n = 1757) HIC (n = 1413) P value
Age (years) (Mean (Std)) 48.51 (13.43) 56.69 (12.80) 58.58 (12.38) <0.0001
Sex <0.0001
 Male 543 (76%) 1119 (63.7%) 831 (59%)
 Female 171 (24%) 638 (36%) 582 (41%)
 Diabetes 178 (25%) 472 (27%) 498 (35%) <0.0001
Cirrhosis etiology
 Hepatitis C 39 (5%) 156 (9%) 186 (13%) <0.0001
 Alcohol 315 (44%) 463 (26%) 811 (53%) <0.0001
 Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease 126 (18%) 169 (10%) 391 (24%) <0.0001
 Hepatitis B 129 (18%) 608 (35%) 68 (5%) <0.0001
 Cryptogenic 65 (9%) 178 (10%) 55 (4%) <0.0001
 Others 115 (16%) 331 (19%) 206 (15%) 0.01
Cirrhosis history
Prior LVP in 6M 104 (15%) 131 (7%) 191 (14%) <0.0001
Hospitalized in 6M 283 (40%) 845 (48%) 817 (58%) <0.0001
Prior HE in 6M 187 (26%) 377 (21%) 492 (35%) <0.0001
Variceal bleed in 6M 249 (35%) 523 (30%) 337 (24%) <0.0001
Transplant listed? 52 (7%) 178 (10%) 162 (11%) 0.01
Infected in the Past 6M 122 (17%) 298 (17%) 348 (25%) <0.0001
Prior HCC in 6M 24 (3%) 101 (6%) 72 (5%) 0.049
Prior hyponatremia 118 (17%) 219 (12%) 331 (24%) <0.0001
Prior ascites 470 (66%) 1038 (59.1%) 980 (69%) <0.0001
Admission Medications
 Betablockers 269 (38%) 466 (27%) 467 (33%) <0.0001
 Lactulose 448 (63%) 517 (29%) 662 (47%) <0.0001
 Rifaximin 291 (41%) 267 (15%) 401 (28%) <0.0001
 Diuretics 320 (45%) 894 (51%) 818 (58%) <0.0001
 Proton Pump Inhibitors 367 (51%) 513 (29%) 782 (55%) <0.0001
 Statins 26 (4%) 82 (5%) 273 (19%) <0.0001
 SBP Prophylaxis 209 (29%) 128 (7%) 172 (12%) <0.0001
 HBV antivirals 127 (18%) 497 (28%) 63 (4%) <0.0001
Admission details
Infection Admission 188 (26%) 362 (21%) 275 (19%) <0.0001
Liver Related Admission 672 (94%) 1653 (94.1%) 1202 (85.1%) <0.0001
MELD-Na (Median, IQR)) 27 (20, 32) 19 (13, 25) 21 (16, 27) <0.0001
Inpatient Outcomes
Acute kidney injury development 275 (42%) 489 (28%) 577 (42%) <0.0001
Intensive care unit transfer 252 (36%) 180 (10%) 290 (21%) <0.0001
Grade 3–4 Hepatic encephalopathy 130 (18%) 183 (10%) 171 (12%) <0.0001
Ventilation 109 (15%) 120 (7%) 150 (11%) <0.0001
Vasopressor use 129 (18%) 183 (10%) 133 (9%) <0.0001
Nosocomial Infection 108 (16%) 181 (11%) 165 (13%) 0.007
LOS (Median, IQR)) 8 (5, 12) 10 (6, 17) 8 (5, 16) <0.0001
Inpatient mortality 158 (22%) 182 (10%) 110 (8%) <0.0001
Hospice transfer 3 (0%) 28 (2%) 26 (2%) <0.0001
Inpatient LT 14 (2%) 28 (2%) 59 (4%) <0.0001
Discharge MELD-Na (Median, IQR)) 24 (13) 17 (11) 19 (11) <0.0001
30-day outcomes
Lost to Follow-Up at 30 Days 40 (6%) 201 (11%) 169 (12%) <0.0001
Readmissions 94 (18%) 337 (25%) 409 (36%) <0.0001
Liver transplant 16 (3%) 57 (4%) 110 (10%) <0.0001
Mortality 204 (30%) 267 (17%) 179 (14%) <0.0001

P-values indicate differences between the three groups, HCV: hepatitis C virus, NAFLD: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, HBV: hepatitis B virus, SBP: spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, LOS: length of stay, Std: standard deviation, MELD-Na: model for end-stage liver disease sodium, L/LMIC: low and lower middle income countries, UMIC: upper middle income countries, HIC: high income countries according to the World Bank classification.