title: [The prognostic factors and evolution of the quality of life in primary biliary cirrhosis].
abstract: The prognostic factors and the evolution of the quality of life were evaluated in 38 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (94.7% females, mean age 52.6 +/- 2.0 years) followed up for more than 36 months (mean 65.3 +/- 3.7 months). Karnofsky's index significantly declined during follow up (p less than 0.05) in a parallel fashion to modified Child's hepatic functional class (p less than 0.05) and to the days of hospital readmission (p less than 0.05). Eleven patients (28.9%) died, and the median survival was 88.7 months. The comparison of the actuarial curves showed the following to be significant poor prognostic factors at the time of diagnosis: a) clinical: more than one associated autoimmune disease, weight loss of more than 10% of the ideal weight, jaundice, upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with portal hypertension, portal-systemic encephalopathy and a modified Child's hepatic functional class of 9 or more; b) biochemical: serum albumin lower than 3.5 g/dl and bilirubin higher than 2 mg/dl; c) histological: Total histological activity index of 10 or more and erosive necrosis index of 2 or more (Knodell et al.), lobular granulomas, and stage IV (Ludwig et al). A significant correlation was found (p less than 0.001) between the R index of the Mayo Clinic and the mean survival time of our patients. As a temporary policy, we indicate hepatic transplant when R is 9.2 or higher (life expectancy lower than 24 months), awaiting our own probabilistic prognostic model with the inclusion of quality of life criteria.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moreno Sánchez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cassinello Ogea
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Medina Asensio
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Castilla Castellano
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castellano Tortajada
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Solís Herruzo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D016019:Survival Analysis
vernacular_title: Factores pronósticos y evolución de la calidad de vida en la cirrosis biliar primaria.