Table 3.
Model for end-stage liver disease-adjusted average biomarker levels
| Biomarker (μmol/L) | Cirrhosis with acute decompensation from etiologies other than alcohol (n = 23) | Alcoholic hepatitis (n = 25) | P-value |
| Choline | 5.8 (4.7, 7.2) | 7.0 (5.7, 8.6) | 0.22 |
| TMAO | 0.74 (0.34, 1.6) | 0.87 (0.42, 1.8) | 0.76 |
| Carnitine | 37.2 (32.1, 43.1) | 32.6 (28.3, 37.5) | 0.2 |
| Betaine | 83.6 (64.7, 108.2) | 134.0 (104.7, 171.5) | 0.012a |
| Butyrobetaine | 1.6 (1.3, 1.8) | 1.7 (1.4, 2.0) | 0.46 |
| Crotonobetaine | 0.12 (0.10, 0.15) | 0.14 (0.12, 0.18) | 0.35 |
| Creatinine | 92.0 (75.0, 112.9) | 59.3 (48.8, 72.1) | 0.003b |
| Ornithine | 71.6 (59.1, 86.9) | 62.0 (51.5, 74.6) | 0.29 |
| Lysine | 131.3 (112.7, 153.1) | 134.8 (116.4, 156.2) | 0.81 |
| Methyl-lysine | 4.0 (2.9, 5.6) | 3.4 (2.5, 4.7) | 0.46 |
| Argine | 61.7 (52.0, 73.2) | 61.8 (52.4, 72.8) | 0.99 |
| Citrulline | 40.2 (33.2, 48.6) | 23.7 (19.7, 28.5) | < 0.001b |
| MMA | 0.24 (0.20, 0.27) | 0.21 (0.19, 0.24) | 0.32 |
| Homocitrulline | 0.73 (0.55, 0.97) | 0.37 (0.28, 0.48) | 0.001b |
| Leucine | 52.8 (44.0, 63.4) | 48.8 (40.9, 58.1) | 0.54 |
| Iso-leucine | 27.1 (21.7, 33.8) | 28.0 (22.6, 34.6) | 0.83 |
| Valine | 115.4 (100.4, 132.7) | 101.8 (89.1, 116.4) | 0.2 |
| Phenylalanine | 90.4 (78.0, 104.7) | 60.2 (52.3, 69.3) | < 0.001b |
| Tyrosine | 166.0 (126.8, 217.3) | 107.4 (83.0, 139.1) | 0.025a |
| Acetyl-carnitine | 17.8 (14.9, 21.1) | 16.9 (14.3, 20.0) | 0.69 |
| Propionyl-carnitine | 1.02 (0.76, 1.4) | 1.2 (0.88, 1.5) | 0.5 |
| Butyryl-carnitine | 2.0 (1.6, 2.5) | 2.2 (1.8, 2.7) | 0.58 |
| Trimethyl-Lysine | 1.00 (0.81, 1.2) | 1.1 (0.92, 1.4) | 0.42 |
| SDMA | 0.81 (0.65, 1.02) | 0.58 (0.47, 0.72) | 0.042a |
| Dimethyl-Lysine | 0.92 (0.72, 1.2) | 0.74 (0.59, 0.94) | 0.22 |
| ADMA | 0.90 (0.78, 1.03) | 0.82 (0.72, 0.93) | 0.32 |
| Pentanoyl-carnitine | 0.25 (0.20, 0.31) | 0.27 (0.22, 0.34) | 0.48 |
| Hexanoyl-carnitine | 0.69 (0.56, 0.85) | 0.61 (0.50, 0.74) | 0.38 |
| Octenoyl-carnitine | 0.05 (0.02, 0.12) | 0.01 (0.00, 0.02) | 0.009b |
Values presented as mean (95%CI) and P-values obtained from analysis of covariance. The natural logarithm of each biomarker was modeled as the outcome variable with disease group and MELD as the independent variables.
a
P < 0.05,
b
P < 0.01. ADMA: Asymmetric dimethylarginine; SDMA: Symmetric dimethylarginine; MMA: Monomethylarginine; TMAO: Trimethylamine N-oxide.