Table 1.
Clinical and Laboratory Findings of Study Patients
| Total | Sarcopenia Group | Non‐Sarcopenia Group | P Value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 52) | (n = 19) | (n = 33) | ||
| Age (years) | 72 (44‐85) | 74 (44‐84) | 65 (44‐85) | 0.248 |
| Sex (male/female) | 32/20 | 10/9 | 22/11 | 0.316 |
| Height (cm) | 159.3 (135.5‐174.8) | 157.0 (143.8‐174.8) | 160.4 (135.5‐174.0) | 0.767 |
| Body weight (kg) | 57.2 (36‐109.8) | 49.9 (37.9‐72.5) | 62.4 (36‐109.8) | 0.004 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 22.5 (17.1‐38.6) | 20.9 (17.1‐24.7) | 23.5 (17.6‐38.6) | 0.001 |
| SMI (cm2/m2) | 42.1 (32.2‐72.3) | 35.7 (32.2‐39.3) | 48.6 (38.2‐72.3) | <0.001 |
| Etiology of cirrhosis (HBV/HCV/alcohol/other) | 8/23/11/10 | 1/10/4/4 | 7/13/7/6 | |
| Child‐Pugh (A/B/C) | 14/29/9 | 7/8/4 | 7/21/5 | |
| Presence of HCC (yes/no) | 28/24 | 9/10 | 19/14 | 0.477 |
| Patients treated with BCAAs (n [%]) | 48 (92) | 19 (100) | 29 (88) | 0.151 |
| Dose of L‐carnitine (mg/day) | 1,274 (300‐3,000) | 1,596 (409‐3,000) | 1,083 (300‐3,000) | 0.017 |
| Duration of L‐carnitine treatment (days) | 348 (93‐744) | 298 (104‐744) | 361 (93‐742) | 0.464 |
| Leukocyte count (/μL ) | 3,920 (1,640‐10,270) | 4,650 (2,290‐10,270) | 3,450 (1,640‐6,690) | 0.008 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 10.6 (6.9‐16.2) | 10.6 (8.3‐13.8) | 10.6 (6.9‐16.2) | 0.334 |
| Platelet count (/μL) | 96,000 (30,000‐284,000) | 142,000 (41,000‐284,000) | 81,000 (30,000‐262,000) | 0.006 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dL) | 1.1 (0.5‐16.5) | 1.0 (0.5‐5.1) | 1.2 (0.5‐16.5) | 0.417 |
| AST (IU/L) | 37 (19‐219) | 46 (20‐219) | 36 (19‐87) | 0.155 |
| ALT (IU/L) | 25 (11‐175) | 27 (14‐175) | 25 (11‐67) | 0.331 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.4 (2.2‐4.4) | 3.2 (2.2‐4.4) | 3.4 (2.2‐4.4) | 0.925 |
| Ammonia (μg/dL) | 68 (13‐220) | 59 (13‐220) | 80 (20‐209) | 0.28 |
| BUN (mg/dL) | 19 (6.6‐52.8) | 21.1 (11.4‐52.8) | 17 (6.6‐38.1) | 0.095 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.81 (0.54‐6.66) | 0.81 (0.62‐6.66) | 0.80 (0.54‐2.28) | 0.268 |
| Fasting blood glucose (mg/dL) | 110 (71‐300) | 109 (72‐284) | 110 (71‐300) | 0.879 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.6 (3.9‐8.8) | 5.6 (4.1‐8.8) | 5.7 (3.9‐7.2) | 0.684 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 140 (78‐257) | 138 (78‐211) | 152 (93‐257) | 0.106 |
| Triglyceride (mg/dL) | 78 (18‐277) | 56 (18‐277) | 83 (44‐157) | 0.988 |
Values are presented as number of patients and median (range).
*
Comparison of clinical characteristics by BCAA supplementation. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi‐square test or nonpaired Student t test. Abbreviations: ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c.