Junna Dai

Anticoagulation for the treatment of portal vein thrombosis in liver cirrhosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

BACKGROUND & AIMS Systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of anticoagulation for the treatment of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in cirrhotic patients. METHODS The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect databases were searched. The rates of bleeding complications and portal vein recanalization in patients who received anticoagulant therapy were pooled. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to express the difference in the rate of portal vein recanalization between anticoagulation and non-anticoagulation groups. All meta-analyses were conducted by using a random-effects model. RESULTS Sixteen of 960 initially identified papers were included. Two studies reported a low incidence of major anticoagulation-related complications (4% [2/55] and 3% [1/33]), but no lethal complications occurred. The rate of anticoagulation-related bleeding ranged from 0% to 18% with a pooled rate of 3.3% (95% CI=1.1%-6.7%). The heterogeneity was not significant in the meta-analysis. The total rate of portal vein recanalization ranged from 37% to 93% with a pooled rate of 66.6% (95% CI=54.7%-77.6%). The rate of complete portal vein recanalization ranged from 0% to 75% with a pooled rate of 41.5% (95% CI=29.2%-54.5%). However, the heterogeneity was significant in the 2 meta-analyses. The rate of complete portal vein recanalization was significantly higher in anticoagulation group than in non-anticoagulation group (OR=4.16, 95% CI=1.88-9.20, P=0.0004). The heterogeneity was not significant in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSION Anticoagulation could achieve a relatively high rate of portal vein recanalization in cirrhotic patients with PVT. Given that only a small number of non-randomized comparative studies are reported, randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm the risk-to-benefit of anticoagulation in such patients, especially anticoagulation-related bleeding.

Serum Liver Fibrosis Markers for Predicting the Presence of Gastroesophageal Varices in Liver Cirrhosis: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Background and Aims. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the role of hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), amino-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP), and collagen IV (CIV) in predicting the presence of gastroesophageal varices (GEVs) in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods. We enrolled 118 patients with liver cirrhosis who underwent the tests for the four serum liver fibrosis markers and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at the same admissions. The predictive values of the four serum liver fibrosis markers were evaluated by the areas under the receiving operator characteristics curves (AUROCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. The prevalence of GEVs was 88% (104/118). The AUROCs for HA, LN, PIIINP, and CIV levels in predicting the presence of GEVs were 0.553 (95% CI: 0.458 to 0.644, P = 0.5668), 0.490 (95% CI: 0.397 to 0.584, P = 0.9065), 0.622 (95% CI: 0.528 to 0.710, P = 0.1099), and 0.560 (95% CI: 0.466 to 0.652, P = 0.4909). The PIIINP level at a cut-off value of 31.25 had a sensitivity of 73.1% and a specificity of 57.1%. Conclusions. The present study did not recommend HA, LN, PIIINP, and CIV levels to evaluate the presence of GEVs in liver cirrhosis.

Association between Portal Vein Thrombosis and Survival in Non-Liver-Transplant Patients with Liver Cirrhosis: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

A systematic review of the literature was performed to analyze the association between portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and survival in non-liver-transplant patients with liver cirrhosis. PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for all relevant papers which evaluated the prognostic value of PVT in predicting the survival of liver cirrhosis. Meta-analyses were not conducted because the ways of data expression and lengths of follow-up were heterogeneous among studies. Overall, 13 papers were included. The 5-day, 6-week, and 1-year mortality were investigated in 1, 3, and 1 studies, respectively; and all of them were not significantly different between cirrhotic patient with and without PVT. By comparison, the 3-year mortality was reported in 1 study; and it was significantly increased by the presence of PVT. The overall mortality was analyzed in 5 studies; and the association with overall mortality and PVT was significant in 4 studies, but not in another one. However, as for the cirrhotic patients undergoing surgical or interventional shunts, the overall mortality was not significantly associated with the presence of PVT in 4 studies. In conclusion, the presence of PVT might be associated with the long-term mortality in non-liver-transplant patients with liver cirrhosis, but not with the short-term mortality.

Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores for predicting the in-hospital mortality in cirrhotic patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure

ABSTRACT Objectives: Our study aimed to evaluate the discriminative abilities of Child-Pugh, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality in cirrhotic patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Methods: Cirrhotic patients with ACLF admitted between 2010 January and 2014 June were retrospectively reviewed. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results: One hundred patients were eligible for the Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) criteria. AUROCs of Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality was 0.63 (95%CI: 0.52–0.72, P = 0.05), 0.75 (95%CI: 0.65–0.83, P < 0.0001), and 0.53 (95%CI: 0.42–0.63, P = 0.69), respectively. Eighty-eight patients were eligible for the EASL/AASLD criteria. AUROCs of Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality were 0.59 (95%CI: 0.48–0.69, P = 0.14), 0.57 (95%CI: 0.46–0.68, P = 0.26), and 0.57 (95%CI: 0.46–0.67, P = 0.29), respectively. There was no significant difference among them. Conclusion: Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores might be ineffective in predicting the in-hospital mortality of cirrhosis with ACLF.

Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality in liver cirrhosis with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

1 Yilmaz B, Aydin H, Can G, Sentürk Z, Üstüner B, Yilmaz H, et al. The relationship between fibrosis level and blood neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in inactive hepatitis B carriers. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2014; 26:1325–1328. 2 Yayla C, Canpolat U, Akyel A, Gayretl Yayla K, Akboğa MK, Eyiol A, et al. Association of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio with impaired aortic elasticity in newly diagnosed and never-treated hypertensive patients. Blood Press Monit 2015. [Epub ahead of print]. 3 Buyukkaya E, Karakas MF, Karakas E, Akçay AB, Tanboga IH, Kurt M, Sen N. Correlation of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio with the presence and severity of metabolic syndrome. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost 2014; 20:159–163. 4 Tsai JC, Sheu SH, Chiu HC, Chung FM, Chang DM, Chen MP, et al. Association of peripheral total and differential leukocyte counts with metabolic syndrome and risk of ischemic cardiovascular diseases in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Metab Res Rev 2007; 23:111–118. 5 Shim WS, Kim HJ, Kang ES, Ahn CW, Lim SK, Lee HC, Cha BS. The association of total and differential white blood cell count with metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetic patients. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2006; 73:284–291. 6 European Association for the study of the liver. EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines: management of chronic hepatitis B. J Hepatol 2009; 50:227–242.

Splenectomy Causes 10-Fold Increased Risk of Portal Venous System Thrombosis in Liver Cirrhosis Patients.

Background Portal venous system thrombosis (PVST) is a life-threatening complication of liver cirrhosis. We conducted a retrospective study to comprehensively analyze the prevalence and risk factors of PVST in liver cirrhosis. Material/Methods All cirrhotic patients without malignancy admitted between June 2012 and December 2013 were eligible if they underwent contrast-enhanced CT or MRI scans. Independent predictors of PVST in liver cirrhosis were calculated in multivariate analyses. Subgroup analyses were performed according to the severity of PVST (any PVST, main portal vein [MPV] thrombosis >50%, and clinically significant PVST) and splenectomy. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported. Results Overall, 113 cirrhotic patients were enrolled. The prevalence of PVST was 16.8% (19/113). Splenectomy (any PVST: OR=11.494, 95%CI=2.152–61.395; MPV thrombosis >50%: OR=29.987, 95%CI=3.247–276.949; clinically significant PVST: OR=40.415, 95%CI=3.895–419.295) and higher hemoglobin (any PVST: OR=0.974, 95%CI=0.953–0.996; MPV thrombosis >50%: OR=0.936, 95%CI=0.895–0.980; clinically significant PVST: OR=0.935, 95%CI=0.891–0.982) were the independent predictors of PVST. The prevalence of PVST was 13.3% (14/105) after excluding splenectomy. Higher hemoglobin was the only independent predictor of MPV thrombosis >50% (OR=0.952, 95%CI=0.909–0.997). No independent predictors of any PVST or clinically significant PVST were identified in multivariate analyses. Additionally, PVST patients who underwent splenectomy had a significantly higher proportion of clinically significant PVST but lower MELD score than those who did not undergo splenectomy. In all analyses, the in-hospital mortality was not significantly different between cirrhotic patient with and without PVST. Conclusions Splenectomy may increase by at least 10-fold the risk of PVST in liver cirrhosis independent of severity of liver dysfunction.

D-dimer level for predicting the in-hospital mortality in liver cirrhosis: A retrospective study

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. Pearsons χ2 tests 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.

Association of umbilical hernia with volume of ascites in liver cirrhosis: a retrospective observational study

Umbilical hernia is a common abdominal complication in cirrhotic patients with ascites. Our study aimed to evaluate the correlation of umbilical hernia with the volume of ascites.