Table 1. Demographics and details of enrolled subjects with and without cirrhosis.
| Mean ± SD unless stated otherwise | Healthy controls (n = 40) | Cirrhosis (n = 147) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Without Prior HE (n = 62) | Prior HE (n = 85) | ||
| Age | 55.1 ± 13.4 | 54.2 ± 11.6 | 56.2 ± 13.5 |
| Gender (men/women) | 23/17 | 46/16 | 16/69 |
| Serum sodium | 142 ± 6.8 | 137.9 ± 4.2† | 134.7 ± 5.9*** |
| Venous Ammonia | 24.7 ± 14.6 | 41.2 ± 18.6†† | 57.5 ± 29.9*** |
| 24 hour caloric intake | 2340 ± 462 | 2365 ± 737 | 2235 ± 389 |
| Cirrhosis details | |||
| Etiology (HCV/Alcohol/HCV+ Alcohol/NASH/Other) | – | 21/15/3/15/8 | 27/16/20/12/10 |
| MELD score | – | 11.0 ± 4.2 | 15.5 ± 5.2*** |
| Lactulose use | – | – | 85 (100%) |
| Rifaximin use | – | – | 52 (62%) |
| Inflammatory markers | |||
| Endotoxin (EU/ml) | 0.1 | 1.2†† | 3.4*** |
| IL-1b (pg/ml median) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7* |
| IL-6 (pg/ml median) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.2*** |
| TNF(pg/ml median) | 3.5 | 5.7 | 8.2* |
| Cognitive tests | |||
| Number connection-A (seconds) | 24.6 ± 20.5 | 35.3 ± 11.8† | 53.2 ± 34.8*** |
| Number connection-B (seconds) | 79.1 ± 46.1 | 89.4 ± 33.7 | 165 ± 121*** |
| Digit symbol (raw score) | 81.1 ± 14.2 | 57.3 ± 12.5† | 43.0 ± 17.3*** |
| Block design (raw score) | 43.3 ± 16.1 | 28.7 ± 12.5† | 20.8 ± 12.6*** |
| Line tracing time (seconds) | 101.2 ± 58.6 | 106.5 ± 46.5 | 137 ± 101* |
| Line tracing time (errors) | 27.3 ± 25.2 | 31.2 ± 29.8 | 44.0 ± 35.7* |
| Serial dotting time (seconds) | 46.3 ± 21.2 | 64.3 ± 24.7† | 91.7 ± 24.7*** |
| ICT lures (no. responded) | 6.7 ± 4.3 | 10.5 ± 8.3 | 15.5 ± 9.1** |
| ICT targets (% correct) | 97.8 ± 5.7 | 97.3 ± 3.7 | 88.1 ± 11.6*** |
*p < 0.05, ***p < 0.0001 in cirrhosis with HE compared to other groups, ††p < 0.01, †p < 0.05 in cirrhosis without HE compared to controls; A high score on Digit symbol and Block design tests and low value on the other tests indicate good cognitive performance†††.