Rifaximin improves survival in cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites: A real-world study

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients, n (%)

Characteristic	Rifaximin group (n = 50)	Control group (n = 25)	P value
Age	54.60 ± 9.05	59.04 ± 10.01	0.057
Sex (male/female)	42/8	18/7	0.221
Etiology
HBV	14 (28)	9 (36)	0.479
HCV	3 (6)	0 (0)	0.546
Alcohol	22 (44)	7 (28)	0.180
HBV/alcohol	7 (14)	3 (12)	1.000
NASH	1 (2)	3 (12)	0.105
AIH	1 (2)	0 (0)	1.000
PBC	0 (0)	1 (4)	0.333
Cryptogenic	2 (4)	2 (8)	0.597
Child-Pugh grade (B/C)	21/29	16/9	0.072
MELD score	10 (6-13)	8 (6-10)	0.094
Furosemide (mg/d)	80 (40-80)	80 (40-80)	0.246
Spironolactone (mg/d)	160 (80-160)	160 (100-160)	0.315
Ascites (grade 1/2)	38/12	20/5	0.978
AKI	3 (6)	2 (8)	1.000
SBP	19 (38)	9 (36)	0.866
Hypertension	7 (14)	5 (20)	0.738
Diabetes mellitus	19 (38)	9 (36)	0.866
Biochemistry
ALT (U/L)	24.85 (13.75-42.58)	20.50 (16.40-34.95)	0.673
Alb (g/L)	28.40 ± 5.30	27.68 ± 3.79	0.526
TBil (μmol/L)	43.80 (25.88-93.78)	24.70 (18.75-55.55)	0.039
Scr (μmol/L)	70.20 (57.00-93.53)	64.20 (53.10-74.35)	0.256
Urea (mmol/L)	7.17 ± 4.70	6.68 ± 3.32	0.641
eGFR (mL/min 1.73 m2)	95.49 (76.17-114.81)	98.80 (86.80-109.37)	0.897
Coagulation
PTA (%)	54.00 (45.00-68.50)	64.00 (56.50-74.50)	0.030
INR	1.53 ± 0.39	1.37 ± 0.26	0.074
Routine blood test
WBC (109/L)	4.38 (3.41-6.04)	3.87 (3.26-6.78)	0.955
HGB (g/L)	101.22 ± 25.91	98.36 ± 23.03	0.642
PLT (109/L)	77 (54-102)	101 (56-172)	0.069

Values are given as the mean ± SD if they follow a normal distribution, otherwise given as medians (interquartile range). HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; NASH: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; AIH: Autoimmune hepatitis; PBC: Primary biliary cirrhosis; AKI: Acute kidney injury; SBP: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis; eGFR: Estimate glomerular filtration rate; PTA: Prothrombin activity; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease.