Efficacy of long-term rifaximin treatment for hepatic encephalopathy in the Japanese

Table 2 Risk factors for insufficient improvement of serum ammonia after rifaximin treatment

Category	HR (95%CI)	P value
Univariate analysis
Age (yr at MRE)
< 70	1
≥ 70	2.2 (0.56-8.7)	0.26
Sex
female	1
male	0.491 (0.128-1.88)	0.30
BMI (kg/m2)
< 28	1
≥ 28	0.42 (0.094-1.85)	0.25
AST (IU/L)
< 36	1
≥ 36	0.372 (0.094-1.47)	0.16
ALT (IU/L)
< 30	1
≥ 30	0.43 (0.11-1.7)	0.23
GGTP (IU/L)a
< 42	1
≥ 42	0.71 (0.18-2.87)	0.64
Albumin (g/dL)
≥ 3.0	1
< 3.0	3.3 (0.83-13)	0.091
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)
< 1.4	1
≥ 1.4	3.0 (0.76-12)	0.12
Platelet count (×103/μL)
≥ 6.8	1
< 6.8	4.1 (0.67-25)	0.13
Prothrombin activity (%)
< 58	1	0.13
≥ 58	3.0 (0.72-13)
AFP (ng/mL)
< 6.5	1
≥ 6.5	3.25 (0.55-19)	0.20
DCP (mAU/mL)
< 18	1
≥ 18	3.6 (0.57-23)	0.17
Ascites
Absent	1	0.16
Present	2.5 (0.70-8.8)
Esophageal varices
Absent	1	0.42
Present	1.8 (0.43-7.5)
History of hepatic encephalopathy
Absent	1	0.11
Present	3.6 (0.77-16)
HCC1
Absent	1	0.72
Present	0.75 (0.16-3.6)
Sarcopenia
Absent	1	0.49
Present	1.64 (0.41-6.6)
Child-Pugh Score		0.061
< 7	1
≥ 7	3.9 (0.94-16)
ALBI Score
< -1.6	1
≥ -1.6	5.3 (1.1-25)	0.033
MELD Score
< 12	1	0.13
≥ 12	3.0 (0.72-13)
Fibrosis 4 index
< 8.3	1
≥ 8.3	0.42 (0.094-1.9)	0.25
MRE (kPa)
< 5.0	1	0.43
≥ 5.0	1.63 (0.40-8.3)
SWE (kPa)
< 17.7	1
≥ 17.7	3.0 (0.65-14)	0.16
Max diameter of portosystemic shunt
< 8.0	1
≥ 8.0	6.8 (1.4-33)	0.017
Number of portosystemic shunt systems
0,1	1	0.68
2-4	1.36 (0.32-5.9)
Multivariate analysis
Max diameter of portosystemic shunt
< 8.0	1
≥ 8.0	5.5 (1.1-28)	0.039
ALBI Score		0.16
< -1.6	1
≥ -1.6	3.3 (0.62-18)

BMI: Body mass index; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; GGTP: Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase; AFP: Alpha fetoprotein; DCP: Des-gamma carboxyprothrombin; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; MELD Score: Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score; ALBI Score: Albumin-bilirubin score; MRE: Magnetic resonance elastography; SWE: Shear wave elastography.