Prognostic value of serum alpha-fetoprotein kinetics in liver failure on artificial liver support

Table 8 Comparison of laboratory indicators (last time) among different alpha-fetoprotein level categories after treatment, mean ± SD

Parameter	Low AFP group	Medium AFP group	High AFP group	Overall P value (ANOVA)1	Post-hoc test (Tukey HSD)2
Blood ammonia (μmol/L)	125.6 ± 45.3	98.4 ± 30.2	75.8 ± 25.1	0.003	Low vs med: 0.045
					Low vs high: 0.001
					Med vs high: 0.357
Albumin (g/L)	28.3 ± 4.1	32.5 ± 3.8	35.6 ± 4.2	0.001	Low vs med: 0.003
					Low vs high: < 0.001
					Med vs high: 0.032
Total bilirubin (μmol/L)	68.5 ± 22.1	45.2 ± 18.3	28.7 ± 12.6	< 0.001	Low vs med: 0.001
					Low vs high: < 0.001
					Med vs high: 0.017
ALT (U/L)	180.5 ± 60.2	150.3 ± 55.6	120.8 ± 48.3	0.012	Low vs med: 0.213
					Low vs high: 0.006
					Med vs high: 0.058
AST (U/L)	155.4 ± 50.7	120.6 ± 45.2	95.3 ± 38.4	0.005	Low vs med: 0.045
					Low vs high: < 0.001
					Med vs high: 0.038
γ-GT (U/L)	320.6 ± 105.4	240.8 ± 90.5	185.2 ± 75.3	0.008	Low vs med: 0.041
					Low vs high: 0.002
					Med vs high: 0.128
PTA (%)	55.4 ± 10.2	35.2 ± 8.6	72.8 ± 12.4	< 0.001	Low vs med: < 0.001
					Low vs high: 0.032
					Med vs high: < 0.001

¹ANOVA was conducted to compare parameters across alpha-fetoprotein groups, followed by Tukey’s honestly significant difference post-hoc tests for pairwise comparisons. Overall P value indicates significant inter-group differences for the parameter.

²Post-hoc P values highlights significant differences between specified alpha-fetoprotein subgroups.

AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein; HSD: Honestly significant difference; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; γ-GT: γ-glutamyl transferase; PTA: Prothrombin activity; med: Medium.