title: D-dimer level for predicting the in-hospital mortality in liver cirrhosis: A retrospective study.
abstract: The present study aimed to examine the correlation of D-dimer levels with the Child-Pugh and MELD scores, as well as to determine the predictive ability of D-dimer level for the in-hospital mortality of liver cirrhosis patients. All cirrhotic patients who were consecutively admitted to our hospital between January 2011 and June 2014, and underwent D-dimer tests on admission were retrospectively analyzed. Pearson's χ2tests were employed to evaluate the correlations of D-dimer levels with Child-Pugh and MELD scores. In addition, receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was employed to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of D-dimer levels for predicting the in-hospital mortality. In total, 703 cirrhotic patients were included in the study, with an in-hospital mortality of 5.4% (38/703). The D-dimer levels were correlated with Child-Pugh (correlation coefficient, 0.219; P<0.001) and MELD scores (correlation coefficient, 0.207; P<0.001). The highest D-dimer level was observed in the Child-Pugh class C patients, followed by the class B and A patients. Furthermore, D-dimer was significantly higher in the MELD score >15 group compared with the MELD score <15 group. The area under the ROC of D-dimer levels for predicting the in-hospital mortality of liver cirrhosis was 0.729 (P<0.0001), while the best cut-off D-dimer value was 0.28 µg/ml with a sensitivity of 86.84% and a specificity of 49.17%. In conclusion, the D-dimer level is significantly associated with the degree of liver dysfunction. Therefore, D-dimer testing could be employed for the prognostic stratification of liver cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China; Postgraduate College, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xingshun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China; Postgraduate College, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Junna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China; Postgraduate College, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China; Postgraduate College, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China; Postgraduate College, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, Shenyang, Liaoning 110840, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaozhong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
keywords: Child-Pugh; D-dimer; Model for End-Stage Liver Disease; liver cirrhosis; survival