Role of ammonia in predicting the outcome of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure

Table 1 General cohort characteristics

Variable	Value
Age, median (IQR)	59 (50-65)
Male sex, n (%)	256 (57.4)
Etiology of liver disease, n (%)
Alcohol	351 (78.7)
Hepatitis C virus	50 (11.2)
Hepatitis B virus	28 (6.1)
Alcohol + hepatitis B virus	8 (1.8)
Alcohol + hepatitis C virus	6 (1.3)
Hepatitis B and C virus	3 (0.7%)
Albumin (g/dL), mean ± SD	2.38 ± 0.59
Bilirubin (mg/dL), median (IQR)	2.53 (1.41-4.82)
INR, median (IQR)	1.47 (1.29-1.74)
Platelets (× 109/L), median (IQR)	128 (90-178)
WBC (× 109/L), median (IQR)	7.41 (5.45-10.36)
CRP (mg/dL), median (IQR)	1.51 (0.82-3.1)
Venous ammonia (μmol/L), median (IQR)	103 (78-148)
Sodium (mmol/L), median (IQR)	134 (130-137)
Creatinine (mg/dL), median (IQR)	0.815 (0.63-1.27)
Lactate (mmol/L), median (IQR)	1.7 (1.2-2.1)
Child-Pugh score, median (IQR)	11 (10-12)
Child-Pugh class, n (%)
A	3 (0.7)
B	84 (19.2)
C	350 (80.1)
MELD, mean ± SD	19.13 ± 6.79
AARC score, median (IQR)	7 (6-8)
ACLF, n (%)
Grade I	296 (66.4)
Grade II	139 (31.2)
Grade III	11(2.5)
Ascites, n (%)	408 (91.5)
Grade I	37(9.1)
Grade II	112 (27.5)
Grade III	259 (63.5)
HE, n (%)	374 (83.9)
Grade I	127 (34)
Grade II	139 (37.2)
Grade III	88(23.5)
Grade IV	20(5.3)
Precipitating factors, n (%)
Alcohol	146 (32.7)
Upper GI bleeding	89 (19.9)
Infections	94 (21)
Hepatitis B virus activation	7 (1.5)
Unknown	110 (24.6)
Upper GI bleeding, n (%)	89 (20)
SBP, n (%)	24 (5.4)
Other infections, n (%)	70 (15.7)
UTI	28 (38.4)
Pneumonia	7 (9.6)
CDI	20 (27.4)
Sepsis	5 (6.8)
Cutaneous	11 (15.1)
Oral candidiasis	2 (2.7)
AKI, n (%)	52 (11.7)
HCC, n (%)	11 (2.5)
Hospital stay (d), median (IQR)	8 (5-11)
In-hospital death rate, n (%)	35 (7.8)

IQR: Interquartile range; SD: Standard deviation; INR: International normalized ratio; WBC: White blood cells; CRP: C-reactive protein; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; AARC score: APASL ACLF Research Consortium score; HE: Hepatic encephalopathy; GI: Gastrointestinal; UTI: Urinary tract infection; CDI: Clostridium Difficile infection; AKI: Acute kidney injury; SBP: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.