Table 1.
Baseline demographic, disease and treatment characteristics
| Characteristic | Total sample (N=207) | Resource use cohort (N=145) |
|---|---|---|
| Gender (n, %) | ||
| Male | 127 (61%) | 89 (61%) |
| Female | 80 (39%) | 56 (39%) |
| Age (years) — mean (±SD) | ||
| At diagnosis of cirrhosis | 57.3 (±11.9) N=191 | 58.7 (±11.7) N=132 |
| At diagnosis of HE | 59.3 (±11.4) | 60.3 (±11.5) |
| At initiation of rifaximin-α | 60.0 (±11.4) | 60.9 (±11.5) |
| Baseline Child-Pugh score (n, %) | ||
| A | 12 (6%) | 7 (5%) |
| B | 58 (28%) | 36 (25%) |
| C | 44 (21%) | 24 (17%) |
| Not recorded | 93 (45%) | 78 (54%) |
| Baseline MELD score (n, %) | ||
| ≤10 | 29 (14%) | 19 (13%) |
| 11–18 | 76 (37%) | 43 (30%) |
| 19–24 | 25 (12%) | 14 (10%) |
| ≥25 | 29 (14%) | 19 (13%) |
| Not recorded | 48 (23%) | 50 (34%) |
| Time from cirrhosis diagnosis to initiation of rifaximin-α, months | ||
| Mean (SD) | 38.8 (49.2) N=191 | 33.9 (±46.6) N=132 |
| Median (IQR) | 22.4 (6.8–54.3) | 17.9 (4.7–47.3) |
| Time from HE diagnosis to initiation of rifaximin-α, months | ||
| Mean (SD) | 8.3 (17.5) | 7.5 (±15.1) |
| Median (IQR) | 1.6 (0.1–9.0) | 1.9 (0.1–9.2) |
| Underlying liver disease aetiology (not mutually exclusive) | ||
| Alcohol-related liver disease | 133 (64%) | 98 (68%) |
| Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis | 50 (24%) | 32 (22%) |
| Hepatitis B or C | 22 (11%) | 13 (9%) |
| Autoimmune hepatitis | 5 (2%) | 2 (1%) |
| Primary biliary cirrhosis | 1 (0.5%) | 0 (0%) |
| Haematochromatosis | 1 (0.5%) | 0 (0%) |
| Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease | 2 (1%) | 2 (1%) |
| Cryptogenic | 6 (3%) | 5 (3%) |
| Other | 7 (3%) | 6 (4%) |
| Not recorded | 2 (1%) | 2 (1%) |
| Rifaximin-α dose (n, %) | ||
| 1100 mg/day | 70 (34%) | 43 (30%) |
| 1200 mg/day | 126 (61%) | 93 (64%) |
| Other doses | 11 (5%) | 9 (6%) |
| Rifaximin-α initiated during an overt HE episode | 152 (73%) | 100 (69%) |
| Patients drinking alcohol at rifaximin-α initiation (n, %) | ||
| Yes | 35 (17%) | 26 (18%) |
| No | 143 (69%) | 102 (70%) |
| Unknown | 29 (14%) | 17 (12%) |
| Concomitant lactulose use (n, %) | 174 (84%) | 119 (82%) |
| Listed for liver transplantation (n, %) | 19 (9%) | 7 (5%) |
There were no significant differences between the total sample and the resource use cohort in gender distribution (χ2 test, p=0.996), age (t-test, p=0.2961 (at diagnosis of cirrhosis), p=0.402 (at diagnosis of HE), p=0.4681 (at initiation of rifaximin-α)) or baseline MELD score (χ2 test, p=0.221). Remaining characteristics not compared.
HE, hepatic encephalopathy; MELD, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease.