Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study subjects in the two treatment groups
| Characteristics | N-Acetylcysteine group (group 1, n = 47) | Control group (group 2, n = 44) | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male gender | 26 (55.3%) | 24 (54.5%) | 0.941 |
| Age (years) | 27.74 ± 11.79 | 37.52 ± 18.82 | 0.004 |
| Prothrombin time (s) | 59.55 ± 36.07 | 53.05 ± 30.57 | 0.357 |
| Bilirubin (mg/dl) | 20.63 ± 11.03 | 14.36 ± 8.90 | 0.004 |
| Serum albumin (mg/dl) | 2.73 ± 0.55 | 2.70 ± 0.75 | 0.820 |
| Alanine aminotransferase (mg/dl) | 1926 ± 1374.2 | 1457.2 ± 1467.8 | 0.342 |
| Interval between jaundice and hepatitis E (days) | 8.87 ± 9.47 | 13 ± 18.24 | 0.175 |
| Creatinine at admission (mg/dl) | 1.39 ± 0.82 | 1.57 ± 0.90 | 0.312 |
| Presence of ascites | 10 (21.3%) | 16 (36.4%) | 0.111 |
| Pregnancy with acute hepatitis E | 8 (17%) | 1 (2.3%) | 0.031a |
| Hepatic encephalopathy | |||
| Grade I | 6 (12.8%) | 6 (13.6%) | |
| Grade II | 9 (19.1%) | 18 (40.9%) | 0.128 |
| Grade III | 15 (31.9%) | 9 (20.5%) | |
| Grade IV | 17 (36.2%) | 11 (25.0%) | |
aFisher exact test