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Balanced hemostasis with hypocoagulable and hypercoagulable features may occur in acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). The characteristics and prognostic impact of the coagulation profile in ACLF are unknown. Consecutive patients with ACLF (n = 36) and acute decompensation (AD; n = 24) were included. Blood samples for thromboelastometry (TE) were obtained at admission and 72 hours thereafter. The coagulation profile was evaluated in patients with and without ACLF and in those with and without systemic inflammatory response syndrome. The impact of the coagulation profile on transfusion requirements, bleeding events, and short-term survival was assessed. At admission, patients with ACLF showed more hypocoagulable characteristics compared to AD subjects, with prolonged time to initial fibrin formation and clot formation time and decreased maximum clot firmness and alpha-angle values. TE parameters worsened at 72 hours in ACLF but improved in patients with AD. Prevalence of a hypocoagulable profile (three or more TE parameters outside range) was significantly higher in patients with ACLF either at admission (61% versus 29% in AD; P = 0.03) or during follow-up. Hypocoagulability correlated with systemic inflammation and was associated with higher 28-day (45% versus 16%; P = 0.02) and 90-day (52% versus 19%; P = 0.01) mortality rates but not with transfusion requirements or bleeding. Prolonged time to initial fibrin formation (extrinsic TE assay >80 seconds) and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score at baseline were independent predictors of 28-day mortality. Conclusion: Patients with ACLF frequently show hypocoagulable features with prolonged time to initial fibrin formation and clot formation time and reduced clot firmness; these alterations worsen after admission, correlate with systemic inflammation, and translate into higher short-term mortality; hypofibrinolysis could contribute to organ failure in ACLF.

Acute decompensation (AD) of cirrhosis may present without acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) (AD-No ACLF), or with ACLF phenotype (AD-ACLF) defined by organ failure(s). Precipitants may induce AD. This multicenter, prospective, observational PREDICT study (NCT03056612) analyzes and characterizes the precipitants leading to both of these AD phenotypes., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Background and Aim: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a sinister prognosis, and there is a need for accurate biomarkers and scoring systems to better characterize ACLF patients and predict prognosis. Systemic inflammation and renal failure are hallmarks in ACLF disease development and progression. We hypothesized that the combination of specific inflammatory markers in combination with clinical scores are better predictors of survival than the originally developed CLIF-C acute decompensation (AD) and CLIF-C ACLF scores. Methods: We reevaluated all previously measured inflammatory markers in 522 patients from the CANONIC study, 342 without and 180 with ACLF. We used the Harrell's C-index to determine the best marker alone or in combination with the original scores and calculated new scores for prediction of mortality in the original CANONIC cohort. Results: The best markers to predict 90-day mortality in patients without ACLF were the plasma macrophage activation markers soluble (s)CD163 and mannose receptor (sMR). Urinary neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (UNGAL) and sCD163 were predictors for 28-day mortality in patients with ACLF. The newly developed CLIF-C AD + sMR score in patients without ACLF improved 90-day mortality prediction compared with the original CLIF-C AD score (C-index 0.82 [0.78–0.86] vs 0.74 [0.70–0.78, P = 0.004]). Further, the new CLIF-C ACLF + sCD163 + UNGAL improved the original CLIF-C ACLF score for 28-day mortality (0.85 [0.79–0.91] vs 0.75 [0.70–0.80], P = 0.039). Conclusions: The capability of these inflammatory markers to improve the original prognostic scores in cirrhosis patients without and with ACLF points to a key role of macrophage activation and inflammation in the development and progression of AD and ACLF.

Background & Aims Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is characterised by organ failure(s), high short-term mortality, and, pathophysiologically, deranged inflammatory responses. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is critically involved in regulating the inflammatory response. This study aimed to determine alterations in biomarkers of ECM turnover in ACLF and their association with inflammation, organ failures, and mortality. Methods We studied 283 patients with cirrhosis admitted for acute decompensation (AD) with or without ACLF, 64 patients with stable cirrhosis, and 30 healthy controls. A validation cohort (25 ACLF, 9 healthy controls) was included. Plasma PRO-C3, PRO-C4, PRO-C5, PRO-C6, and PRO-C8 (i.e. collagen type III–VI and VIII formation) and C4M and C6M (i.e. collagen type IV and VI degradation) were measured. Immunohistochemistry of PRO-C6 was performed on liver biopsies (AD [n = 7], ACLF [n = 5]). A competing-risk regression analysis was performed to explore the prognostic value of biomarkers of ECM turnover with 28- and 90-day mortality. Results PRO-C3 and PRO-C6 were increased in ACLF compared to AD (p = 0.089 and p, Graphical abstract, Highlights • Collagen type III and VI formation is increased in ACLF compared to AD. • PRO-C3 and PRO-C6 correlate with the severity of liver dysfunction and inflammation in AD and ACLF. • High PRO-C6 levels were found to be indicative for the presence of multi-organ failure and worse survival.

Acute decompensation (AD) of cirrhosis is defined as the acute development of ascites, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy, infection or any combination thereof, requiring hospitalization. The presence of organ failure(s) in patients with AD defines acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). The PREDICT study is a European, prospective, observational study, designed to characterize the clinical course of AD and to identify predictors of ACLF., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Background & Aims: We performed a randomized trial to determine whether albumin should be administered to patients with infections unrelated to spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). Methods: We performed a multicenter, open-label trial in which 118 patients with cirrhosis, non-SBP infections, and additional risk factors for poor outcome were randomly assigned to receive antibiotics plus albumin (study group; n = 61) or antibiotics alone (control group; n = 57). The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality; secondary outcomes were effect of albumin on disease course. Results: There were no significant differences at baseline between groups in results from standard laboratory tests, serum markers of inflammation, circulatory dysfunction, or liver severity scores. However, the combined prevalence of acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) and kidney dysfunction was significantly higher in the study group (44.3% vs 24.6% in the control group; P = .02), indicating greater baseline overall severity. There was no significant difference in the primary outcome between groups (13.1% in the study group vs 10.5% in the control group; P = .66). Circulatory and renal functions improved in only the study group. A significantly higher proportion of patients in the study group had resolution of ACLF (82.3% vs 33.3% in the control group; P = .03). A significantly lower proportion of patients in the study group developed nosocomial infections (6.6% vs 24.6% in the control group; P = .007). Conclusions: In a randomized trial of patients with advanced cirrhosis and non-SBP infections, in-hospital mortality was similar between those who received albumin plus antibiotics vs those who received only antibiotics (controls). However, patients given albumin were sicker at baseline and, during the follow-up period, a higher proportion had ACLF resolution and a lower proportion had nosocomial infections. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT02034279., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Background: Patients with acutely decompensated cirrhosis (AD) may or may not develop acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). ACLF is characterized by high-grade systemic inflammation, organ failures (OF) and high short-term mortality. Although patients with AD cirrhosis exhibit distinct clinical phenotypes at baseline, they have low short-term mortality, unless ACLF develops during follow-up. Because little is known about the association of profile of systemic inflammation with clinical phenotypes of patients with AD cirrhosis, we aimed to investigate a battery of markers of systemic inflammation in these patients. Methods: Upon hospital admission baseline plasma levels of 15 markers (cytokines, chemokines, and oxidized albumin) were measured in 40 healthy controls, 39 compensated cirrhosis, 342 AD cirrhosis, and 161 ACLF. According to EASL-CLIF criteria, AD cirrhosis was divided into three distinct clinical phenotypes (AD-1: Creatinine, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

We investigated the effect of albumin treatment (20% solution) on hypoalbuminemia, cardiocirculatory dysfunction, portal hypertension, and systemic inflammation in patients with decompensated cirrhosis with and without bacterial infections., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Background/aims The variations in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels have been reported to have prognostic significance in decompensated cirrhotic patients. We aimed to provide an external validation of a prognostic model combining model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) and 'sustained high CRP levels' as main variables and to optimize the model to the context of liver transplantation by focusing on 3-month mortality with no consideration of severe chronic extrahepatic diseases. Patients and methods Data from cirrhotic patients enrolled in the CANONIC study were collected. Multivariate analyses used the competing risk model. The prognostic performance [area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC)] of the model incorporating CRP variations within 15 days was compared with that of the MELD score alone. Results 583 decompensated cirrhotic patients with Child-Pugh more than B7 and serial CRP measures available were included. Of these, 111 patients had baseline CRP at least 29 mg/l and 60 still had CRP at least 29 mg/l at day 15 +/- 6 (group A). Multivariate analysis (competing risk) identified three predictors of 3-month mortality: high MELD score [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.14; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.11-1.17, P

The aims of this study were to determine the role of cell death in patients with cirrhosis and acute decompensation (AD) and acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) using plasma-based biomarkers. The patients studied were part of the CANONIC (CLIF Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure in Cirrhosis) study (N = 337; AD, 258; ACLF, 79); additional cohorts included healthy volunteers, stable patients with cirrhosis, and a group of 16 AD patients for histological studies. Caspase-cleaved keratin 18 (cK18) and keratin 18 (K18), which reflect apoptotic and total cell death, respectively, and cK18:K18 ratio (apoptotic index) were measured in plasma by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The concentrations of cK18 and K18 increased and the cK18:K18 ratio decreased with increasing severity of AD and ACLF (P < 0.001, respectively). Alcohol etiology, no previous decompensation, and alcohol abuse were associated with increased cell death markers whereas underlying infection was not. Close correlation was observed between the cell death markers and, markers of systemic inflammation, hepatic failure, alanine aminotransferase, and bilirubin, but not with markers of extrahepatic organ injury. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling staining confirmed evidence of greater hepatic cell death in patients with ACLF as opposed to AD. Inclusion of cK18 and K18 improved the performance of the CLIF-C AD score in prediction of progression from AD to ACLF (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: Cell death, likely hepatic, is an important feature of AD and ACLF and its magnitude correlates with clinical severity. Nonapoptotic forms of cell death predominate with increasing severity of AD and ACLF. The data suggests that ACLF is a heterogeneous entity and shows that the importance of cell death in its pathophysiology is dependent on predisposing factors, precipitating illness, response to injury, and type of organ failure. (Hepatology 2018;67:989-1002).

Background & Aims: Type 1 hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is the most high-risk type of renal failure in patients with cirrhosis. Terlipressin and albumin are effective treatments for type 1 HRS. However, the effects of acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) grade on response to treatment are not clear. We aimed to identify factors associated with response to treatment with terlipressin and albumin in patients with type 1 HRS (reduction in serum level of creatinine to below 1.5 mg/dL at the end of treatment) and factors associated with death within 90 days of HRS diagnosis (90-day mortality). Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 4 different cohorts of consecutive patients with HRS treated with terlipressin and albumin from February 2007 through January 2016 at medical centers in Europe (total, 298 patients). We analyzed demographic, clinical, and laboratory data collected before and during treatment; patients were followed until death, liver transplantation, or 90 days after HRS diagnosis. Results: Response to treatment was observed in 53% of patients. Of patients with grade 1 ACLF, 60% responded to treatment; among those with grade 2 ACLF, 48% responded, and among those with grade 3 ACLF, 29% responded (P, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Background & Aims: In spite of the high incidence of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in cirrhosis, there are few observational studies. Methods:We performed an analysis to define the characteristics of HE and associated features using the database of the Canonic Study. Clinical, laboratory and survival data of 1348 consecutive cirrhotic patients admitted with an acute decompensation were compared according to the presence (n = 406) or absence of HE and of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) (n = 301). Results: HE development was independently associated with previous HE episodes; survival probabilities worsen in relation to the presence and grade of HE. There were marked differences between HE associated (n = 174) and not associated (n = 286) to ACLF. HE not associated with ACLF occurred in older cirrhotics, inactive drinkers, without severe liver failure or systemic inflammatory reaction and in relation to diuretic use. In contrast, HE associated with ACLF occurred in younger cirrhotics, more frequently alcoholics, with severe liver failure and systemic inflammatory reaction, and in relation to bacterial infections, active alcoholism and/or dilutional hyponatremia. Prognosis was relatively preserved in the first and extremely poor in the second group. Independent risk factors of mortality in patients with HE were age, bilirubin, INR, creatinine, sodium, and HE grade. Conclusions: In cirrhosis, previous HE identifies a subgroup of patients that is especially vulnerable for developing new episodes of HE. The course of HE appears to be different according to the presence of ACLF.

Patient comorbidities are being increasingly analyzed as predictors for outcome after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), especially in allogeneic HSCT (Allo-HSCT). Researchers from Seattle have recently developed several pretransplant scoring systems (hematopoietic cell transplantation comorbidity index [HCT-CI] and the Pretransplantation Assessment of Mortality (PAM) model) from large sets of HSCT recipients with the aim of improving nontransplant models, mainly the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). The validation of these comorbidity indexes in other institutions and in different disease and conditioning-related settings is of interest to determine whether these models are potentially applicable in clinical practice and in research settings. We performed a retrospective study in our institution including 194 consecutive reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) AlloHSCT (allo-RIC) recipients to compare the predictive value of the PAM score, CCI, the original HCT-CI, and the flexible HCT-CI using a different risk group stratification. The median patient pretransplant scores for the HCT-CI, PAM, and CCI were 3.5, 22, and 0, respectively. The flexible HCT-CI risk-scoring system (restratified as: low risk [LR] 0-3 points, intermediate risk [IR] 4-5 points, and high risk [HR] >5 points) was the best predictor for nonreplapse mortality (NRM). The 100-day and 2-year NRM incidence in these risk categories was 4% (95% confidence interval C.I. 2%-11%), 16% (95% C.I. 9%-31%), and 29% (95% C.I. I 9%-45%), respectively (P < .001), and 19% (95% C.I. 12%-28%), 33% (95% C.I. 22%-49%), and 40% (95% C.I. 28%-56%), respectively (P = .01). However, we found no predictive value for NRM using neither the original HCT-CI nor the PAM or CCI models. The better predictive capacity for NRM of the flexible HCT-CI than PAM and CCI was confirmed with the c-statistics (c-statistics of 0.672, 0.634, and 0.595, respectively). Regarding the 2-year overall survival (OS), the flexible HCT-CI score categories were also associated with the highest predictive HR. In conclusion, our single-center study suggests that the flexible HCT-CI is a good predictor of 2-year NRM and survival after an allo-RIC. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 16: 413-420 (2010) (C) 2010 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Purpose: The aim was to analyze Tp53 and HDM2 in T1G3 bladder tumors and to determine the prognostic value of their alterations. Experimental Design: Tumors (n = 119) were extracted from a prospective study of 1,356 bladder cancers. Tp53 mutations (exons 4-9) were assessed by sequencing of PCR products. HDM2 dose was assessed by quantitative PCR. p53, HDM2, and the products of p53 target genes were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Cases were distributed in three categories. The association with prognosis was determined using Kaplan-Meier and Cox analyses. Results: Eighty-five percent of tumors harbored alterations in Tp53 or HDM2. In group 1 (n = 77), 69 tumors had inactivating Tp53 mutations (58%), and 8 had HDM2 gains (7%). Group 2 (n = 24) comprised tumors overexpressing p53 in the absence of mutations (20%). Group 3 tumors (n = 18) had no alterations. HDM2 gains were associated to HDM2 overexpression and to wild-type Tp53. Expression of type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor, 14-3-3 σ, and cyclooxygenase-2 was similar in groups 1 and 2 and significantly different from group 3. Survivin was expressed in the majority of tumors regardless of p53 pathway status. Taking group 3 as reference, the hazard ratios (HR) for recurrence, progression, and death were not significantly different in the other patient groups. HRs for recurrence were 1.13 for group 1 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.25-5.03] and 1.40 for group 2 (95% CI, 0.27-7.20). HRs for progression were 0.50 for group 1 (95% CI, 0.18-1.40) and 0.25 for group 2 (95% CI, 0.05-1.29). Conclusions: The p53 pathway is inactivated in most T1G3 bladder tumors. These genetic alterations do not independently predict patient's prognosis.

Purpose To determine the frequency and the prognostic value of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) mutations in patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder tumors according to tumor stage and grade. Patients and Methods Seven hundred seventy-two patients with newly diagnosed bladder tumors were recruited. Tumors were reviewed by expert pathologists. Patients were prospectively followed-up (median, 62.6 months for disease-free patients) through review of hospital records and telephone interviews. The sequence of exons 7 and 10 of FGFR3 was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing. We assessed the association of mutations with stage and grade. The predictive value of mutations for recurrence, progression, and mortality were assessed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox multivariable models. Results Mutations were more common among low malignant potential neoplasms (LMPN; 77%) and TaG1/TaG2 tumors (61%/58%) than among TaG3 tumors (34%) and T1G3 tumors (17%). The S249C, Y375C, S248C, and G372C mutations accounted for 91.5% of all sequence changes. The A393E substitution was associated with LMPN (P < .001). The F386L polymorphism was more frequent among patients with low-grade tumors (odds ratio, 6.97; 95%CI, 1.40 to 47.06; P = .009). In the multivariable analysis of all superficial tumors, mutations were associated with increased risk of recurrence. However, in the stratified analyses only patients with TaG1 tumors had a significantly higher risk of recurrence (hazard ratio, 2.12; 95%CI, 1.28 to 3.53; P = .004). Conclusion The findings of this large study strongly support the notion that FGFR3 mutations characterize a subgroup of bladder cancers with good prognosis; patients with mutant TaG1 tumors have a higher risk of recurrence; and the F386L variant is selectively associated with low-grade tumors.

Introduction: Morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AlloHSCT) are considerable, but historically it has been difficult to generate a reproducible and easy model for predicting mortality after the procedure. The use of RIC or nonmyeloablative conditioning regimens may allow an extension of the procedure to patients not eligible for conventional AlloHSCT. However, such patients are usually older and have more comorbidities than patients who meet the strict criteria for a conventional AlloHSCT. In an attempt to predict before transplantation the higher mortality risks attributable to patient comorbidities, researchers from Seattle have recently developed several comorbidity indexes (HCT-CI Blood, 2005 and PAM Ann Int Med, 2006) with the aim of improving non-transplant classical models, such as the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). The validation of these comorbidity indexes in other institutions and in different disease and conditioning-related settings is of utmost importance for the extension of their use to clinical practice and clinical research. We thus performed a retrospective study in our institution to validate these indexes in the setting of RIC AlloHSCT recipients only. Methods: Overall survival (OS) curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, while the cumulative incidence of non-relapse mortality (NRM) was calculated considering relapse as a competitive event. Likelihood ratio statistics from proportional hazard regression models were computed for each index for the study events over the first two years post-AlloHSCT. The c-statistic was calculated to estimate the predictive capacity of each index for the analyzed transplant outcomes as previously described (Stat Med, 1984). Results: We retrospectively calculated for each patient the HCT-CI, PAM and CCI scores. Study subjects included 194 consecutive patients who underwent RIC-AlloHSCT in our institution up to November 2006, to allow at least 18 months follow-up in all cases. The median age was 57 years (range 17–71). According to the score, three risk groups were created for each index (low, intermediate and high risk). No significant differences were found between the three risk groups of each index regarding age, sex, underlying disease, relapse risk at transplantation and donor type (79% HLA identical sibling donors). The median patient pre-transplant comorbidity scores for CCI, HCT-CI and PAM were 0, 3.5 and 22, respectively. For predicting 2-year NRM, the HCT-CI score groups were associated with the highest predictive hazard ratios (HR) (Low risk, HR 1.0; Intermediate risk, HR, 5.01 [95% C.I., 1.53–16.4]; High risk, 6.97 [95% C.I., 2.20–22.1], p

The diagnostic and prognostic criteria of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) were developed in patients with no Hepatitis B virus (HBV) cirrhosis (CANONIC study). The aims of this study were to evaluate whether the diagnostic (CLIF-C organ failure score; CLIF-C OFs) criteria can be used to classify patients; and the prognostic score (CLIF-C ACLF score) could be used to provide prognostic information in HBV cirrhotic patients with ACLF. 890 HBV associated cirrhotic patients with acute decompensation (AD) were enrolled. Using the CLIF-C OFs, 33.7% (300 patients) were diagnosed as ACLF. ACLF was more common in the younger patients and in those with no previous history of decompensation. The most common organ failures were ‘hepatic’ and ‘coagulation’. As in the CANONIC study, 90-day mortality was extremely low in the non-ACLF patients compared with ACLF patients (4.6% vs 50%, p