Table 2.
The Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Normal and Abnormal Digit Symbol Test Results.
| Characteristics | DST-Nor Mean±SD or n (%) |
DST-Abn Mean±SD or n (%) |
p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of cases | 45 | 14 | |
| Age (years) | 66.5±11.3 | 64.6±8.8 | p=0.52 |
| Sex (Man/Woman) | 29/16 | 7/7 | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.9±4.8 | 24.5±4.4 | p=0.65 |
| Number of cases with reduced muscle volume | 6 (13.3) | 4 (28.6) | p=0.24 |
| Child-Pugh score | 6.1±1.3 | 8.8±2.9 | p=0.0052 |
| Child-Pugh classification (A/B/C) | 33/10/2 | 4/4/6 | |
| MELD score | 8.6±4.3 | 11.6±5.7 | p=0.095 |
| Complication | |||
| HCC | 25 (55.6) | 6 (42.9) | p=0.542 |
| Ascites | 6 (13.3) | 6 (42.9) | p=0.026 |
| Number of cases using BCAA supplementation | 20 (44.4) | 7 (50.0) | p=0.776 |
| BCAA granules, three sachets daily | 10 (22.2) | 3 (21.4) | |
| BCAA powder mix, one/two/three packages daily | 9 (20.0)/0 (0)/0 (0) | 2 (14.3)/1 (7.1)/2 (14.3) | |
| Concomitant medications | |||
| Lactulose | 2 (4.4) | 3 (21.4) | p=0.081 |
| Antibiotics | 2 (4.4) | 3 (21.4) | p=0.081 |
| Zinc sulfate | 3 (6.7) | 0 (0.0) | p=1.00 |
| <Laboratory findings> | |||
| ALT (U/L) | 36.2±25.1 | 48.3±45.7 | p=0.36 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 3.5±0.5 | 3.0±0.5 | p=0.0043 |
| Total-bilirubin (mg/dL) | 1.2±0.5 | 2.6±1.7 | p=0.0071 |
| Platelet (×104/μL) | 11.4±5.5 | 11.9±7.4 | p=0.80 |
| Prothrombin time (%) | 76.7±14.3 | 62.4±20.9 | p=0.028 |
| Na (mmol/L) | 140.0±2.6 | 137.6±3.5 | p=0.035 |
| NH3 (μg/dL) | 56.8±28.5 | 54.1±24.7 | p=0.73 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 0.4±0.6 | 0.7±0.7 | p=0.122 |
| Amino acids, standard value | |||
| Valine (nmol/L), 158.4-287.7 | 226.9±49.0 | 168.6±60.9 | p=0.0016 |
| Leucine (nmol/L), 80.9-154.3 | 122.3±31.2 | 87.1±36.2 | p=0.0078 |
| Isoleucine (nmol/L), 41.3-84.9 | 69.0±17.0 | 49.5±19.1 | p=0.0022 |
| Methionine (nmol/L), 19.2-32.7 | 34.9±10.6 | 43.4±21.6 | p=0.215 |
| Tyrosine (nmol/L), 50.2-82.6 | 103.3±29.5 | 115.8±35.3 | p=0.284 |
| Phenylalanine (nmol/L), 45.7-76.5 | 86.8±22.1 | 93.0±38.2 | p=0.825 |
| Histidine (nmol/L), 67.9-97.1 | 90.7±15.4 | 83.2±16.3 | p=0.175 |
| Tryptophan (nmol/L), 41.4-65.5 | 51.8±13.2 | 46.8±18.6 | p=0.364 |
| Ornithine (nmol/L), 43.2-95.7 | 104.0±32.7 | 85.6±21.9 | p=0.112 |
| Lysine (nmol/L), 118.7-257.0 | 180.8±46.9 | 165.7±34.8 | p=0.376 |
| Arginine (nmol/L), 46.0-121.7 | 82.3±28.6 | 74.1±28.1 | p=0.339 |
| BTR | 4.3±1.6 | 2.8±1.1 | p=0.00025 |
DST-Nor: normal digit symbol test, DST-Abn: abnormal digit symbol test, BMI: body mass index, MELD: model for end-stage liver disease, 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 acids to tyrosine ratio