Effect of thrombocytopenia and platelet transfusion on outcomes of acute variceal bleeding in patients with chronic liver disease

Table 1 Comparison of baseline characteristics of cirrhosis patients with platelet counts < 20 × 10⁹/L, 20-50 × 10⁹/L and > 50 × 10⁹/L

Characteristics	Total (n = 913)	Platelet count < 20 × 109/L (n = 23)	Platelet count 20-50 × 109/L (n = 168)	Platelet count > 50 × 109/L (n = 722)	P value
Age (years)	45 (35-54)	42.0 (33-46)	43 (34-53)	45 (36-54)	0.068
Sex (Males:Female)	762 (83.5): 151 (16.5)	20 (87.0): 3 (13.0)	136 (81.0): 32 (19.0)	606 (83.9): 116 (16.1)	0.581
Heart rate (per minute)	96 (86-110)	94 (86-100)	94 (85-110)	96 (86-110)	0.397
MAP (mm of Hg)	82 (74-89)	81 (74-84)	81 (75-88)	82 (73-89)	0.771
Hemoglobin (g/dl)	7.6 (6.1-9.4)	8.3 (5.7-9.6)	7.4 (6.0-8.7)	7.8 (6.1-9.5)	0.168
TLC (×109/L)	6.5 (3.8-9.2)	6.9 (3.7-9.6)	5.1 (3.1-7.9)	6.8 (4.2-9.7)	< 0.001b
Platelet count (×109/L)	96 (55-135)	12.0 (10.0-15.0)	40.0 (34.0-46.0)	118.0 (80.0-150.0)	< 0.001b,c
INR	1.5 (1.3-1.9)	1.7 (1.3-2.0)	1.6 (1.3-1.9)	1.5 (1.3-1.9)	0.337
Serum urea (mg/dL)	37 (24-64)	45 (22-101)	36 (23-55)	37 (25-66)	0.298
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.8 (0.6-1.2)	1.1 (0.7-2.0)	0.8 (0.6-1.1)	0.8 (0.6-1.3)	0.010a
Sodium (meq/L)	139 (135-142)	137 (131-141)	140 (136-143)	139 (135-142)	0.065
Bilirubin (mg/dL)	1.6 (0.9-3.1)	2.1 (1.0-7.7)	1.7 (0.9-3.4)	1.6 (0.9-2.9)	0.317
AST (IU/L)	51 (34-86)	49.0 (35.0-103.0)	56.0 (38.0-82.0)	50.0 (33.0-87.0)	0.410
ALT (IU/L)	35 (23-55)	36.0 (23.0-120.0)	37.0 (24.0-56.0)	34.0 (22.0-54.0)	0.500
Albumin (g/dL)	3.2 (2.7-3.8)	2.8 (2.1-3.7)	3.1 (2.7-3.8)	3.2 (2.7-3.8)	0.146
CTP	7 (6-9)	8.0 (7.0-10.0)	7.0 (6.0-10.0)	7.0 (6.0-9.0)	0.044c
MELD scores	14.7 (11.1-20.3)	17.2 (10.0-28.3)	14.4 (11.3-19.6)	14.8 (11.1-20.3)	0.551
Ascites	456 (49.9)	12 (52.2)	97 (57.7)	347 (48.1)	0.076
HCC	35 (3.8)	0	8 (4.8)	27 (3.7)	0.515
HE	93 (10.2)	2 (8.7%)	22 (13.1)	69 (9.6)	0.382
Endotherapy					0.815
No therapy	202 (22.1)	7 (30.4)	34 (20.2)	161 (22.3)
Glue	105 (11.5)	1 (4.3)	19 (11.2)	85 (11.8)
Ethoxysclerol	43 (4.7)	2 (8.7)	6 (3.6)	35 (4.8)
EVL	537 (58.8)	12 (52.2)	102 (60.7)	423 (58.6)
APC	2 (0.2)	0	1 (0.6)	1 (0.1)
Glue and EVL	24 (2.6)	1 (4.3)	6 (3.6)	17 (2.4)
Child Class					0.047
A	374 (41.0)	5 (21.7)	65 (38.7)	304 (42.1)
B	361 (39.5)	10 (43.5)	61 (36.3)	290 (40.2)
C	178 (19.5)	8 (34.8)	42 (25.0)	128 (17.7)
Etiology					0.772
Alcohol	393 (43.0)	9 (39.1)	76 (45.2)	308 (42.7)
Others	520 (57.0)	14 (60.9)	92 (54.8)	414 (57.3)
RBC					0.548
0	542 (59.4)	12 (52.2)	91 (54.2)	439 (60.8)
1	143(15.7)	4 (17.4)	29 (17.3)	110 (15.2)
≥2	228 (25.0)	7 (30.4)	48 (28.6)	173 (24.0)
FFP transfusion	108 (11.8)	3 (13.0)	23 (13.7)	82 (11.4)	0.689
Number of FFP transfusion	3 (3-4)	3 (3-3)	3 (3-4)	3 (3-4)	0.728
Platelets transfusion	91 (10.0)	10 (43.5)	53 (31.5)	28 (3.9)	< 0.001a
Number of platelet transfusion	3 (3-3)	3 (2.7-3.2)	3 (3-3)	3 (3-3.7)	0.728
Rescue therapy (Radiological intervention)	17 (1.9)	2 (8.7)	7 (4.2)	8 (1.1)	0.001a
Grade of varices low:high	128 (14.0): 785 (86.0)	4 (17.4): 19 (82.6)	24 (14.3): 144 (85.7)	100 (13.9): 622 (86.1)	0.885
Cause of bleed variceal					0.898
Esophageal	789 (86.4)	21 (91.3)	148 (88.1)	620 (85.9)
Fundal	55 (6.0)	1 (4.3)	9 (5.4)	45 (6.2)
Esophageal and Fundal	69 (7.6)	1 (4.3)	11 (6.5)	57 (7.9)

^a20 × 10⁹/L vs 20-50 × 10⁹/L.

^b20-50 × 10⁹/L vs > 50 × 10⁹/L.

^c< 20 × 10⁹/L vs > 50 × 10⁹/L. All values are represented as n (%) or median (IQR).

APC: Argon plasma Coagulation, AST: Aspartate Transaminase, ALT: Alanine Transaminase, CTP: Child-Turcotte-Pugh score, INR: Internationalized Normalized Ratio, EVL: Endoscopic Variceal Ligation, FFP: Fresh Frozen Plasma, HE: Hepatic Encephalopathy, HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma, MAP: Mean Arterial Pressure, MELD: Model for End Stage Liver Disease, RBC: Red blood cells, TLC: Total Leucocyte Count