Table 4.
Differences in patient characteristics among the three sites.
| Characteristics | VCUa (n=191) | VAb (n=56) | Mayo Clinic (n=102) | P value | |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 57.6 (10.6) | 62.8 (10.8) | 59.9 (12.6) | .006 | |
| Race, n (%) |
|
|
|
<.001 | |
|
|
Caucasian | 140 (73.3) | 34 (61) | 97 (95.1) |
|
|
|
African American | 44 (23.0) | 17 (30) | 1 (0.9) |
|
|
|
Other | 8 (4.2) | 5 (9) | 4 (3.9) |
|
| Men, n (%) | 103 (53.9) | 52 (93) | 58 (56.9) | <.001 | |
| Comorbidity, n (%) |
|
|
|
.03 | |
|
|
HCVc | 22 (11.5) | 7 (13) | 4 (3.9) |
|
|
|
HCV+alcohol-related | 74 (38.7) | 19 (34) | 50 (49.0) |
|
|
|
Alcohol-related | 16 (8.4) | 6 (11) | 2 (2.0) |
|
|
|
NAFLDd | 40 (20.9) | 18 (32) | 27 (26.5) |
|
|
|
Other | 39 (20.4) | 6 (11) | 19 (18.6) |
|
| Prior HEe, n (%) | 118 (61.8) | 37 (66) | 52 (51.0) | .11 | |
| Lactulose use, n (%) | 118 (61.8) | 33 (59) | 51 (50.0) | .15 | |
| Rifaximin use, n (%) | 72 (37.7) | 32 (57) | 37 (36.3) | .02 | |
| Taking psychoactive medications, n (%) | 51 (26.7) | 8 (14) | 10 (9.8) | .001 | |
| Taking opioids, n (%) | 50 (26.2) | 9 (16) | 23 (22.5) | .26 | |
| MELDf score on admission, mean (SD) | 19.3 (8.1) | 17.4 (7.1) | 18.2 (8.5) | .26 | |
| Reason for admission, n (%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Infection | 80 (41.9) | 24 (43) | 6 (5.9) | <.001 |
|
|
HE | 71 (37.2) | 21 (38) | 28 (27.5) | .21 |
|
|
Renal or metabolic disease | 98 (51.3) | 10 (18) | 18 (17.6) | <.001 |
|
|
Gastrointestinal bleeding | 40 (20.9) | 7 (13) | 31 (30.4) | .02 |
|
|
Other | 87 (45.5) | 23 (41) | 55 (53.9) | .23 |
aVCU: Virginia Commonwealth University
bVA: Rochester Veteran Affairs Medical Center.
cHCV: hepatitis C virus.
dNAFLD: nonalcholic fatty liver disease.
eHE: hepatic encephalopathy.
fMELD: Model for End-stage Liver Disease.