Direct-acting antiviral therapy reduces variceal rebleeding and improves liver function in hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis: A multicenter retrospective cohort study

Table 6 Propensity score matching analysis

Variable	Before matching (Group A)	Before matching (Group B)	After matching (Group A)	After matching (Group B)	P value (after matching)
Age (years)	48.7 ± 4.2	47.4 ± 4.6	48.5 ± 4.1	47.6 ± 4.5	0.210
BMI (kg/m2)	22.7 ± 1.6	23.2 ± 1.3	22.8 ± 1.5	23.1 ± 1.4	0.312
MELD score	9 (8-10)	9 (7-10)	9 (8-10)	9 (7-10)	0.189
Platelets (10³/μL)	156.1 ± 39.6	166.4 ± 37.5	158.2 ± 38.4	165.3 ± 36.8	0.401
Ascites, n (%)	5 (8)	2 (3)	4 (8)	3 (6)	0.678
Child-Pugh class B, n (%)	6 (10)	11 (18)	5 (10)	8 (16)	0.319

Data presented as mean ± SD, median (Q1-Q3). Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance baseline characteristics between Group A [Direct-acting antiviral (DAA)-treated] and Group B (non-DAA-treated). After matching, all standardized mean differences (SMD) were < 0.1, indicating good balance. PSM was conducted using nearest neighbor matching without replacement with a caliper width of 0.2 (on the logit scale) and a 1:1 matching ratio, resulting in 50 matched patients per group. Covariates included in the propensity score model were: Age, model for end-stage liver disease score, Child-Pugh class, platelet count, body mass index, serum bilirubin, serum albumin, INR, and presence of ascites. After matching, all SMD were < 0.1, indicating excellent covariate balance between the DAA-treated (Group A) and non-treated (Group B) groups. MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; BMI: Body mass index.