Table 1.
Comparison of baseline parameters of patients receiving pentoxifylline (group I) vs those receiving prednisolone (group II) in the treatment of severe alcoholic hepatitis (mean ± SD)
| Parameter | Group I (pentoxifylline) (n = 34) | Group II (prednisolone) (n = 34) | P value |
| Age (yr) | 47.53 ± 11.16 | 46.47 ± 9.67 | 0.68 |
| Male:female | 34:0 | 33:1 | - |
| Ascites | 31 | 33 | 0.37 |
| Encephalopathy | 20 | 23 | 0.61 |
| Varices | 23 | 22 | 0.80 |
| Maddrey DF score | 54.25 ± 16.24 | 57.78 ± 17.08 | 0.39 |
| MELD score | 23.14 ± 3.97 | 22.65 ± 3.33 | 0.58 |
| GAHS | 8.23 ± 1.07 | 7.94 ± 0.95 | 0.24 |
| Child’s score | 11.85 ± 1.62 | 12.15 ± 1.28 | 0.41 |
| Mean TLC (/cm3) | 13926.47 ± 3068.15 | 15225 ± 11836.18 | 0.5379 |
| Serum Na (mEq/L) | 135.26 ± 8.26 | 132.80 ± 6.90 | 0.1908 |
| Serum K (mEq/L) | 4.18 ± 0.72 | 4.293 ± 0.98 | 0.6207 |
| Urea (mg/dL) | 31.68 ± 27.63 | 25.74 ± 16.92 | 0.2889 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.42 ± 0.61 | 1.19 ± 0.32 | 0.057 |
| Bilirubin (mg/dL) | 5.40 ± 2.50 | 6.604 ± 3.90 | 0.1345 |
| Albumin (gm/dL) | 3.19 ± 0.67 | 3.040 ± 0.75 | 0.3870 |
| ALT (IU/L) | 54.88 ± 23.25 | 57.38 ± 20.50 | 0.6397 |
| INR | 1.97 ± 0.34 | 2.04 ± 0.31 | 0.3493 |
P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. TLC: Total leucocyte count.