title: Prognostic index of liver cirrhosis with ascites with and without hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In Japan, the incidence of liver cirrhosis caused by hepatitis viruses is higher, and cirrhosis is more likely to be complicated by hepatocellular carcinoma, than in Western countries. The aim of this study was to predict the outcome in liver cirrhosis with ascites with and without hepatocellular carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 146 patients with liver cirrhosis complicated by ascites. Forty-six factors were evaluated concerning clinical laboratory parameters and extracted prognostic factors using the Cox proportional hazards model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean duration of the follow-up period was 634.9 days, during which 89 (61%) of the patients died, 27 (18.5%) survived, and 30 (20.6%) were lost to follow-up. The cumulative survival rate after the onset of ascites was 59.7% after 1 year, 44.5% after 2 years, and 29.5% after 5 years. Multivariate analysis indicated 9 factors, i.e. age, total bilirubin (T-Bil), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), gastrointestinal bleeding, infection, and portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT), as independent prognostic factors. The prognostic index (PI) was calculated by the following formula using these 9 factors. PI = 0.045 x age + 0.180 x T-Bil + 0.088 x ALP + 0.020 x BUN + 0.467 x AFP + (-0.022 x MAP) + 0.662 x gastrointestinal bleeding + 0.521 x infections + 0.882 x PVTT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prediction of the outcome using PI based on the 9 factors provides additional information for the determination of the therapeutic approach in cirrhotic patients with ascites with and without hepatocellular carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Health Service Center, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan. yoneyama@med.showa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoneyama
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kiuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitamura
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001201:Ascites / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D015996:Survival Rate