Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the 32 cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites and untreated hepatocellular carcinoma
| Variable | Average (range) | |
|---|---|---|
| Demographics | Age (years) | 74 (47–86) |
| Sex (male/female) | 25/7 | |
| Body weight (kg) | 63.3 (45.3–102.1) | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.2 (18.5–36.6) | |
| Etiology (HBV/HCV/alcohol/others) | 6/15/6/5 | |
| Child–Pugh class (A/B/C) | 0/11/21 | |
| Child–Pugh score (points) | 10.0 (8–13) | |
| MELD score (points) | 13.5 (6–24) | |
| ALBI grade (1/2/3) | 0/9/23 | |
| Laboratory data | Serum albumin (g/dl) | 2.5 (1.8–3.6) |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dl) | 1.97 (0.43–17.19) | |
| Prothrombin time (%) | 65.0 (26.9–105.9) | |
| Blood urea nitrogen (mg/dl) | 26.7 (11.9–80.2) | |
| Serum creatinine (mg/dl) | 1.06 (0.53–4.45) | |
| eGFR (ml/min) | 43.8 (11.6–116.1) | |
| NH3 (mg/dl) | 61 (20–199) | |
| Serum Na (mEq/l) | 133.5 (125–143) | |
| Serum osmolality (mOsm/l) | 284 (262–305) | |
| Urine osmolality (mOsm/l) | 443 (269–742) | |
| Alpha-fetoprotein (mg/ml) | 320 (1–376514) | |
| Des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (mAU/ml) | 361 (10–75000) | |
| Platelet count (×103/μl) | 10.2 (1.9–36.2) | |
| Initial dose of diuretic drugs | Tolvaptan (3.75/7.50 mg/day) | 10/22 |
| Furosemide (mg/day) | 20 (0–80) | |
| Spironolactone (mg/day) | 25 (0–75) | |
| Tumor-related factors | UICC TNM stage (I/II/III/IV) | 7/12/9/4 |
| UICC T-factor (1/2/3/4) | 7/12/12/1 | |
| Portal vein tumor thrombus (Vp0/1/2/3/4) | 25/0/0/2/5 | |
| Extrahepatic tumor spread (yes/no) | 4/28 | |
| BCLC staging (A/B/C/D) | 3/5/3/21 |
ALBI, albumin–bilirubin; BCLC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCV, hepatitis C virus; MELD, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease; UICC, Union for International Cancer Control.