Table 1.

Patient characteristics at time of recruitment.

No. of patients recruited	47
Male/female	31/16
Age	Mean 60.5 years (range 31–87 years)
Liver disease aetiology	31 alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) 5 non-alcoholic fatty liver disease 10 combination of causes 1 unknown
Carstairs deprivation score28	Mean 3.5; median 4 (1 = most affluent, 7 = most deprived)
Time since diagnosis of cirrhosis	Mean 2.7 years (range 0–12 years)
Hepatology clinical scoresa	MELD: mean 16; median 16 (range 6–29) Child–Pugh: mean 10; median 9 (range 6–12)
Cirrhosis-related complications requiring previous admissions	41 ascites 23 encephalopathy 20 bleeding varices
No. of ward admissions showing previous usage	In previous 5 years: mean 3.8; median 3 (range 1–17) In previous 12 months: mean 2.6; median 2 (range 0–9)
No. of inpatient days in the previous 12 months	Mean 22.8 days; median 16 (range 0–78 days)

MELD: Model for End-Stage Liver Disease.

^aDifferent scoring systems exist to predict the prognosis of patients with chronic liver disease and to determine the need for liver transplantation. MELD score is calculated from the patient’s serum bilirubin, serum creatinine and the international normalised ratio (INR) for prothrombin time. A score of 10–19 indicates a 6% 3-month mortality. Child–Pugh considers bilirubin, serum albumin, prothrombin time and prolongation, ascites and hepatic encephalopathy. A score of 10–15 indicates a 45% chance of 1-year survival.