Table 1.
The Clinical Characteristics and Laboratory Findings of the Enrolled Patients.
| Characteristics | All patients (n=59) Mean±SD or n (%) |
|---|---|
| Age (years) | 66.1±10.7 |
| Sex (Man/Woman) | 36/23 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 24.0±4.7 |
| BMI>25 | 19 (32.2) |
| Number of cases with reduced muscle volume | 10 (16.9) |
| Etiology | |
| HBV | 4 (6.8) |
| HCV | 24 (40.7) |
| Alcohol | 17 (34.7) |
| NASH | 6 (10.2) |
| others | 8 (13.6) |
| Child-Pugh score | 6.8±2.1 |
| Child-Pugh classification (A/B/C) | 37/14/8 |
| MELD score | 9.3±4.8 |
| Complication | |
| HCC | 31 (52.5) |
| Ascites | 12 (20.3) |
| Number of cases using BCAA supplementation | 27 (45.8) |
| BCAA granules, three sachets daily | 13 (22.0) |
| BCAA powder mix, one/two/three packages daily | 11 (18.6)/1 (1.7)/2 (3.4) |
| Concomitant medications | |
| Lactulose | 5 (8.5) |
| Antibiotics | 5 (8.5) |
| Zinc sulfate | 3 (5.1) |
| L-Carnitine | 0 (0.0) |
| Molecular-targeted agents for HCC | 0 (0.0) |
| <Laboratory findings> | |
| ALT (U/L) | 39.1±31.2 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.4±0.5 |
| Total-bilirubin (mg/dL) | 1.5±1.1 |
| Platelet (×104/μL) | 11.5±5.9 |
| Prothrombin time (%) | 73.3±17.0 |
| Na (mmol/L) | 139.4±3.0 |
| NH3 (μg/dL) | 56.2±27.4 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 0.44±0.64 |
| Amino acids, standard value | |
| Valine (nmol/L), 158.4-287.7 | 212.6±57.4 |
| Leucine (nmol/L), 80.9-154.3 | 113.7±35.5 |
| Isoleucine (nmol/L), 41.3-84.9 | 64.2±19.3 |
| Methionine (nmol/L), 19.2-32.7 | 37.0±14.3 |
| Tyrosine (nmol/L), 50.2-82.6 | 106.3±31.1 |
| Phenylalanine (nmol/L), 45.7-76.5 | 88.3±26.6 |
| Histidine (nmol/L), 67.9-97.1 | 88.9±15.8 |
| Tryptophan (nmol/L), 41.4-65.5 | 50.5±14.6 |
| Ornithine (nmol/L), 43.2-95.7 | 99.5±31.2 |
| Lysine (nmol/L), 118.7-257.0 | 177.1±44.4 |
| Arginine (nmol/L), 46.0-121.7 | 80.3±28.4 |
| BTR | 3.9±1.6 |
SD: standard deviation, BMI: body mass index, HBV: hepatitis B virus, HCV: hepatitis C virus, NASH: nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, MELD score: model for end-stage liver disease score, HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma, BCAAs: branched-chain amino acids, ALT: alanine transaminase, Na: serum sodium, NH3: serum ammonia, CRP: C-reactive protein, BTR: branched-chain amino acid to tyrosine ratio