Table 1 |.
Patient characteristics
| Characteristic | Adequate ultrasound quality (n = 750) | Inadequate ultrasound quality (n = 191) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 56.5 ± 9.8 | 56.9 ± 10.2 | 0.60 |
| Gender (% male) | 466 (62.1%) | 133 (70.0%) | 0.04 |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| Non-Hispanic Caucasian | 192 (25.6%) | 50 (26.3%) | 0.15 |
| Black | 260 (34.7%) | 39 (20.5%) | |
| Hispanic | 261 (34.8%) | 96 (50.5%) | |
| Other/unknown | 37 (4.9%) | 5 (2.7%) | |
| BMI | |||
| Normal (BMI <25) | 243 (32.5%) | 25 (13.2%) | <0.001 |
| Overweight (BMI 25–29.99) | 242 (32.4%) | 53 (28.0%) | |
| Obesity class II (BMI 30–34.99) | 152 (20.3%) | 45 (23.8%) | |
| Obesity class II (BMI 35–39.99) | 60 (8.0%) | 33 (17.5%) | |
| Morbid obesity (BMI ≥40) | 51 (6.8%) | 33 (17.5%) | |
| Aetiology of liver disease | |||
| Hepatitis C | 383 (51.15%) | 64 (33.7%) | 0.08 |
| Hepatitis B | 44 (5.9%) | 8 (4.2%) | |
| Alcohol-related | 116 (15.5%) | 53 (27.9%) | |
| Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis | 72 (9.6%) | 38 (20.0%) | |
| Cryptogenic | 99 (13.2%) | 23 (12.0%) | |
| Other* | 36 (4.8%) | 4 (2.1%) | |
| Child Pugh class | |||
| Child Pugh A | 541 (72.1%) | 104 (54.5%) | <0.001 |
| Child Pugh B | 167 (22.3%) | 60 (31.4%) | |
| Child Pugh C | 42 (5.6%) | 27 (14.1%) | |
| Presence of hepatic encephalopathy (%) | 113 (15.1%) | 46 (24.2%) | 0.003 |
| Presence of ascites (%) | 211 (28.1%) | 81 (42.6%) | <0.001 |
| In-patient status (%) | 152 (20.3%) | 54 (28.3%) | 0.02 |
| Platelet count (*109/L) | 158.2 ± 82.7 | 138.5 ± 89.1 | 0.004 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.1 ± 1.2 | 0.9 ± 0.5 | 0.05 |
| AST (U/L) | 63.7 ± 58.4 | 60.5 ± 52.4 | 0.54 |
| ALT (U/L) | 56.1 ± 73.6 | 44.9 ± 36.8 | 0.04 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.7 ± 0.7 | 3.5 ± 0.8 | <0.001 |
| Bilirubin (mg/dL) | 1.1 ± 1.5 | 1.2 ± 3.2 | <0.001 |
| INR | 1.2 ± 0.4 | 1.3 ± 0.5 | 0.01 |
BMI, body mass index; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; INR, international normalised ratio.
*
Other aetiology category includes 22 patients with autoimmune hepatitis, seven primary biliary cirrhosis, five cardiac cirrhosis, three primary sclerosing cholangitis, one hemochromatosis, one sarcoidosis, and one parasitic infection.