Table 1. Characteristics of patients included in cohort A.
| Patient characteristics | All patients, n = 50 |
Patients with grade 3 ascites, n = 25 |
Patients without ascites, n = 25 |
p
-Value
(patients with grade 3 ascites vs. without ascites) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y | 57.8 ± 11.9 | 57.3 ± 15 | 58.3 ± 8 | 0.775 |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 37 (74%) | 4 (16%) | 9 (36%) | 0.196 |
| Female | 13 (26%) | 21 (84%) | 16 (64%) | |
| Etiology | ||||
| Viral | 15 (30%) | 5 (20%) | 10 (40%) | 0.012 |
| ALD | 22 (44%) | 16 (64%) | 6 (24%) | |
| NAFLD or cryptogenic | 10 (20%) | 2 (8%) | 8 (32%) | |
| Other | 3 (6%) | 2 (8%) | 1 (4%) | |
| Varices | 39 (78%) | 20 (80%) | 19 (76%) | 0.733 |
| History of variceal bleeding | 12 (24%) | 5 (20%) | 7 (28%) | 0.508 |
| Hepatic encephalopathy | 20 (40%) | 17 (68%) | 3 (12%) | <0.001 |
| HVPG, mmHg | 20.6 ± 4.4 | 21.4 ± 4.8 | 19.9 ± 4 | 0.229 |
| MELD, points | 13 (11–15) | 13 (12–17) | 12 (10–15) | 0.281 |
| CTP score, points | 8 (6–10) | 9 (9–11) | 6 (6–7) | <0.001 |
| A | 13 (26%) | 0 (0%) | 13 (52%) | <0.001 |
| B | 23 (46%) | 13 (52%) | 10 (40%) | |
| C | 14 (28%) | 12 (48%) | 2 (8%) | |
| Albumin, g/L | 32.7 ± 5.21 | 30.9 ± 4.1 | 34.5 ± 5.6 | 0.013 |
| Bilirubin, mg/dL | 1.47 (0.99–2.5) | 2.02 (1.09–3.45) | 1.41 (0.94–2.12) | 0.281 |
| INR | 1.4 (0.2) | 1.4 (1.3–1.5) | 1.5 (1.25–1.65) | 0.281 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 0.76 (0.668–0.915) | 0.89 (0.72–1.09) | 0.72 (0.605–0.775) | 0.016 |
| CRP, mg/L | 0.68 (0.275–1.29) | 1.15 (0.645–2.09) | 0.32 (0.105–0.745) | 0.001 |
| IL-6, µg/mL | 14.8 (7.8–36.7) | 29.9 (20.1–46.4) | 8.02 (3.57–13.3) | <0.001 |
| LBP, µg/mL | 7.84 ± 3.68 | 9.31 ± 3.48 | 6.37 ± 3.31 | 0.004 |
Abbreviations: ALD, alcoholic liver disease; CRP, C-reactive protein; CTP, Child–Turcotte–Pugh score; HVPG, hepatic venous pressure gradient; IL-6, interleukin 6; INR, international normalized ratio; LBP, lipopolysaccharide binding protein; MELD, model for end-stage liver disease; NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Note: Categorical variables are reported as numbers and proportions of patients, while continuous variables are shown as mean ± standard deviation or median (interquartile range [IQR]), as appropriate.