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It is very important for patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) to assess the length of survival and the risk of death, primarily because of the wide range of potential complications that can lead to multisystem organ failure and fatal outcome. The aim of this study was to determine the predictive potential of MELD and Child-Turcotte-Pugh II score for SBP in patients with cirrhosis and ascites. Material and methods: The study was designed as a prospective-analytical-observational and was conducted at the University Clinic for Gastroenterohepatology in Skopje for a period of one year. The study population included 70 hospitalized patients with established liver cirrhosis, regardless of etiology, divided into two groups, 35 patients with SBP and 35 non-SBP. Prognostic scores in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites: MELD score, according to the formula: MELD = [(0.957 x Ln Creatinin) + (0.378 x Ln Bilirubin) + (1.12 x Ln INR) + (0.643) x 10]. The Child-Turcotte-Pugh II score includes 6 parameters: serum albumin and bilirubin, amount of ascites, degree of encephalopathy ( HE), prothrombin time (PT) and serum creatinine, and assessment of the degree of hepatic encephalopathy according to the West Haven criteria. Results: The average value of the MELD score in patients with SBP was 22.6 ± 8.27 and in non-SBP the average value was lower - 17.83±5.87. According to the Mann-Whitney U test, the difference between the mean values ​​was statistically significant for p, Поради широкиот спектар на потенцијални компликации кои може да доведат до мултисистемско органско попуштање и смрт, многу е важно кај пациентите со спонтан бактериски перитонитис (СБП) да се направи проценка на должината на преживување и ризикот од смртен исход. Целта на трудот беше да се одреди предиктивниот потенцијал на MELD и Child-Turcotte-Pugh II скорот (CTP II) за СБП кај пациентите со црнодробна цироза и асцит. Материјал и методи: Студијата беше дизајнирана како проспективно-аналитичко-опсервациска и се спроведе на Универзитетската клиника за гастроентерохепатологија во Скопје во период од една година. Студиска популација беа хоспитализирани пациенти со етаблирана црнодробна цироза, без оглед на етиологијата, вкупно 70 пациенти, поделени во две групи, 35 пациенти со СБП и 35 без СБП. Прогностички скорови кај пациенти со црнодробна цироза и асцит: MELD скор, според формулата: MELD = [(0,957 х Ln Creatinin) + (0,378 х Ln Bilirubin) + (1,12 х Ln INR) + (0,643) х 10]. СТП II скор вклучува 6 параметри: албумин и билирубин во серум, количина на асцит, степен на енцефалопатија, протромбинско време (ПВ) и креатинин во серум, а проценка на степенот на хепатална енцефалопатија(HE) со West-Haven-овите критериуми. Резултати: Просечната вредност на MELD скорот кај пациентите со СБП изнесуваше 22,6±8,27 а кај оние без СБП просечната вредност беше пониска и изнесуваше 17,83±5,87. Според Mann-Whitney U тестот, разликата помеѓу просечните вредности беше статистички сигнификантна за p

INTRODUCTION We assessed the ability of the Child-Turcotte-Pugh score and the albumin-bilirubin grade to predict the outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients treated with transarterial chemoembolization. METHODS We retrospectively assessed 158 patients with HCC who underwent transarterial chemoembolization. The ability of the Child-Turcotte-Pugh score and the albumin-bilirubin grade to predict patient survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate survival-predictive variables and the relationship between the obtained score and overall survival. RESULTS Child-Turcotte-Pugh A (n = 102 (64.6%)) patients showed better overall survival than Child-Turcotte-Pugh B (n = 56 (35.4%)) patients (log-rank P = 0.017), while no significant difference in the overall survival between albumin-bilirubin ≤ 1 (n = 37 (23.4%)) and albumin-bilirubin > 1 (n = 121 (76.6%)) was detected (log-rank P = 0.140). Multivariate analysis identified alcoholic liver disease (P = 0.029), tumor size > 5 cm (P = 0.004), and serum alpha-fetoprotein > 200 ng/mL (P

Sirosis hepatis termasuk 10 penyakit penyebab kematian di US. Penyakit ini terjadi akibat adanya inflamasi kronik di hati. Sirosis hepatis di Indonesia paling banyak disebabkan oleh virus hepatitis B dan C. Pada sirosis hepatis stadium lanjut dapat terjadi hipoalbuminemia karena penurunan sintesis albumin. Tingkat keparahan sirosis hepatis dapat dinilai dari klasifikasi Child Turcotte Pugh (CTP). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah terdapat perbedaan rerata kadar albumin serum berdasarkan klasifikasi CTP. Metode penelitian analitik retrospektif dilakukan dengan mengambil rekam medik di RSUP Dr. M. Djamil Padang dari 1 Januari 2018 – 31 Desember 2018. Pengambilan sampel diakukan dengan Purposive Sampling dan didapatkan 80 sampel yang memenuhi kriteria inklusi dan eksklusi. Analisis data perbedaan rerata kadar albumin serum berdasarkan klasifikasi CTP dilakukan dengan uji t. Pada penelitian ini didapatkan paling banyak pasien sirosis hepatis pada kelompok umur 51 – 60 (35%) dan jenis kelamin laki-laki (66,3%). Penelitian ini mendapatkan 30 pasien sirosis hepatis dengan CTP B dan 50 pasien CTP C. Didapatkan rerata kadar albumin serum pada CTP B sebesar 2,73 g/dL dan pada CTP C sebesar 2,16 g/dL. Analisis dari perbedaan rerata kadar albumin serum berdasarkan klasifikasi CTP yang dilakukan didapatkan nilai p < 0,001. Berdasarkan analisis yang dilakukan pada penelitian ini, disimpulkan terdapat perbedaan rerata kadar albumin serum pada klasifikasi CTP B dan CTP C. Pada klasifikasi CTP B rerata kadar albumin serum lebih tinggi dari CTP C.

BACKGROUND Patients with liver cirrhosis have significant morbidity and mortality. Bleeding oesophageal varices is responsible for much of the high mortality rate in cirrhosis. An important objective of management of bleeding varices is to develop reliable tools for predicting survival, controlling bleeding and encephalopathy, and improve quality of life. Our study aimed to validate the utility of MELD score versus Child Turcotte Pugh (CTP) in patients with liver cirrhosis and oesophageal variceal bleeding. We wanted to compare the predictive ability of Child-Turcotte-Pugh score and MELD score for the assessment of prognosis and mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis and oesophageal variceal bleeding. METHODS 100 Patients of liver cirrhosis and oesophageal variceal bleeding above 18 yrs. of age were enlisted after informed consent at CSSH, Meerut. Diagnosis was established on the basis of history along with proper clinical examination to look for any stigmata of liver failure, laboratory parameters, radiological investigations including ultrasound of abdomen with Doppler and upper GI endoscopy as per guidelines. MELD score was calculated, and CTP criteria were established. RESULTS Majority of patients in the study group were in the age group of 41-60 yrs., 74% of patients were male and 26% were female. AUROC was significantly higher for MELD (.686) compared to CTP score (.551). This finding was consistent even after 3 months, where AUROC was significantly higher for MELD (.922) compared to CTP score (0.547). CONCLUSIONS In cirrhotic patients the MELD score is an excellent survival predictor and is as good as if not better than the Child-Pugh score. Increase in the MELD score is associated with decrease in residual liver function. In the group of patients with liver cirrhosis and oesophageal variceal bleeding, the MELD score identifies those with a higher intra hospital mortality risk.

Background Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score extensively used to assess hepatic function, predicting postoperative outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Lately, the albumin–bilirubin (ALBI) grade has been identified to be a predictor of overall survival of HCC patients. In this investigation, we compared the pre-SBRT ALBI and CTP scores with the prognosis of patients with HCC. Methods This cohort study included 594 HCC patients who treated with SBRT. Overall survival (OS) rates were measured from treatment date to death date or last follow-up. We compared ALBI score with the CTP score in predicting long-term survival. Results The average follow-up time was 21 months (1 to 82 months). The CTP and ALBI ratings have discriminatory for long-term survival across the groups. CTP class was significantly related to OS, with a median OS of 29.9 months in CTP-A, 11.5 in CTP-B (P 0.05). Conclusions To assess liver dysfunction in HCC patients before SBRT, traditional CTP classification is a necessary but imperfect tool for assessing HCC liver injury. The ALBI score is a more objective, discriminatory and evidence-based approach in CTP-A groups, and need to be validated in CTP ≥ B7 class.

Objective To investigate the risk factors of early postoperative recurrence in patients with single and small (≤3 cm) hepatitis B virus-associated primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC). Methods This retrospective study analyzed patients with single and small HBV-HCC. All patients were followed up for 1 year after surgery. Results Among 182 patients, 54 patients had early recurrence within 1 year. The recurrence group had higher proportions of men, drinking history, Child–Turcotte–Pugh (CTP) class C, patients who underwent transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), and serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) >10 ng/mL as well as higher gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels and lower total protein (TP) and CD8+ T lymphocyte levels than the no recurrence group. Cox multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that drinking history (HR, 1.312; 95% CI, 1.042–1.652), CTP class C (HR, 1.236; 95% CI, 1.037–1.473), TACE treatment (HR, 1.241; 95% CI, 1.026–1.501), GGT (HR, 1.138; 95% CI, 1.042–1.243), TP (HR, 0.729; 95% CI, 0.555–0.957), and AFP (HR, 2.519; 95% CI, 1.343–4.726) were independently associated with early postoperative recurrence. Conclusion Drinking history, CTP class C, TACE, serum AFP, GGT, and TP levels were independently associated with early postoperative recurrence in patients with single and small HBV-HCC.

Background: Majority of cirrhotic patients develop varices over their lifetime and it is anticipated that roughly one third of varices will develop bleeding. Child Turcotte Pugh (CTP) class predicts the risk of variceal bleeding and has been used as a prognostic tool inpatients of liver cirrhosis. Objective: To correlate grade of esophageal varices in Upper Gastrointestinal endoscopy with Child Turcotte Pugh class in patients of liver cirrhosis. Material and method: This is a cross sectional descriptive study conducted in thedepartment of medicine of NGMCTH, Kohalpur between December 2017 to November 2018. A total of 97 patients were included inthe study who were diagnosed as cirrhosis of liver clinically and radio logically. Patient were classified into CTP class A, B and According to CTP score. UGI endoscopy was performed and endoscopic grading of esophageal varices were correlated with CTP classand the data were recorded and analysed. Result: Mean of patients was 50 years. Among 97 patients, 30 (30.9%) were in CTP class A,30 (30.9%) in CTP class B and 37 (38.1%) were in CTP class C. 25 (25.8%) had small varices, 50 (51.5%) had large varices with red colorsign, 20 (20.6%) had large varices without red color sign and 2 (2.1%) had no varices. Most of the patients in CTP class B and C hadlarge varices with red color sign whereas CTP class A had small varices. Conclusion: The cirrhotic patients in CTP class B and C havelarge varices with red color sign and have more chances of bleeding. Hence, routine screening is indicated to determine the presenceof varices. Porphylactic therapy after identifying large varices will decrease the incidence of bleeding leading to reduction inmortality rate.

Purpose: To compare the predictive value of albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, platelet-ALBI (PALBI) grade and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class in patients with large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with microwave ablation (TACE-MWA). Methods: A total of 349 consecutive HCC patients (89.1% male; mean [± SD] age 53.4 ± 12.27 years) from three medical centers, who underwent TACE-MWA for up to 3 HCCs with maximum diameters of 5.1–8.0 cm between January 2000 and June 2018, were investigated. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed. The prognostic performances of ALBI grade, PALBI grade and CTP class were compared. Results: TACE procedures were performed using lobaplatin (20–50 mg), epirubicin (30–60 mg), lipiodol (5–25 mL) and gelatin sponge particles (350–560 μm). The end point of the TACE procedure was stasis of blood flow in the feeder artery. The median follow-up duration was 28.0 months, the median OS was 28.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 23.55–32.45 months), and the median PFS was 4.8 months (95% CI 4.26–5.34 months). Patients with a ablation margin size of 11–15 mm experienced better PFS than those with a margin size of 6–10 or 0–5 mm (median, 6.5 versus [vs] 4.0 vs 2.3 months; p

Objective: To determine a score that best predicts the mortality of admitted patients within six weeks of Acute Variceal Hemorrhage (AVH).Study Design: Cross sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Inpatient Department of Gastroenterology Unit at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad for six months.Materials and Methods: The number of patients with AVH enrolled in this study were 223. A pretested questionnaire was used to gather the required information; Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) scores of each patient were recorded at the time of admission in the inpatient facility. The outcome was documented via a telephonic call at the end of six weeks. The primary outcome of the study was “mortality” at end of six weeks.Results: The total number of participants were 223, including 61% (n=136) males and 39% (n=87) females. The mean age was 52.4±13.96. The overall mean value of CTP score was 9.6±2.8 and mean value of MELD score was 19.3±6.7, while the mean values of CTP and MELD among non-survivors were 12.9±2.1 and 26.6±5.6, respectively. After six weeks, the number of deaths were 27% (n=60). The MELD had positive predictive value (PPV) of 83.3%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 96.8%, sensitivity: 91.7%, specificity: 93.3%, diagnostic accuracy: 92.82%, and positive likelihood ratio of 13.68. Similarly, CTP had PPV: 77.4%, NPV: 92.5%, sensitivity: 80%, specificity: 91.4%, diagnostic accuracy: 88.34% and positive likelihood ratio of 9.3. The area under the curve (AUC)for MELD was 0.91, while CTP was 0.90.Conclusion: The MELD score is better in its discriminative ability and more accurate in predicting six weeks mortality in patients with AVH than CTP score.

Introduction: Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio or NLR is a ratio used as a marker for ongoing inflammation process and is independently related to poor clinical outcomes among liver cirrhosis patients. Aim: To determine any significant correlation between NLR and Child-Turcotte Pugh (CTP) score among decompensated liver cirrhosis patients in a tertiary referral centre in Medan, Indonesia. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study involved patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in Haji Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan, Indonesia between May 2016-May 2017. The study enrolled 54 cirrhotic patients, regardless of aetiologic agent. CTP score was fulfilled by using two methods, bilirubin, albumin, and INR was noted from medical record registry and the rest, ascites and encephalopathy, were assessed using physical examination and interview process on the same day of the patient admission. Spearman correlation test was performed to determine the correlation between two variables, while the demographic characteristic was presented in a single table with mean or median and standard deviation in it. Results: A significant correlation between NLR and CTP score was obtained (p=0.008) and it was positively correlated (r=0.326). Conclusion: Shifting use of CTP score to NLR ratio still needs further study to acknowledge its potential as mortality and prognosis predictor independently.

Background: Liver cirrhosis (LC) is a chronic disease characterized by damage of liver parenchyme with wide fibrosis and nodules formation. One of LC complications is cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CC). CC is diagnosed when there are more than one of the following signs: diastolic dysfunction (DD), systolic dysfunction (SD), enlargement of the cardiac chamber, electrophysiology dysfunction, and increasing of natriuretic peptide such as N Terminal–Pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP). The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between degree of liver cirrhosis and increasing of the NT-proBNP.Method: Cross-sectional analytic study was performed with 72 LC patients from May 2014 to May 2015 in Sanglah General Hospital, Denpasar. Degree of liver cirrhosis was determined by child turcotte pugh (CTP) criteria and NT-proBNP was examined by electro chemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) method. LC patients with other disorders which can cause the increase of NT-proBNP were excluded. Statistical analysis used was Spearman’s correlation test. Results: Of 72 LC patients, 79.2% were male. Patients with CTP A were 9 (12,5%), CTP B 19 (26,4%) and CTP C 44 (61,19%). Median of NT-proBNP in CTP A was 112 pg/mL, CTP B 130 pg/mL, and CTP C 315 pg/ml. There was a strong possitive correlation between degree of liver cirrhosis and NT-proBNP (r = 0.686; p = 0.000). In this study, there was also significant comparison between NT-proBNP and CTP A,B, and C (p = 0,000) and there was no significant relation between NT-proBNP and those cofounding variables (p 0.05).Conclusion: there was a strong possitive correlation between degree of LC and NT-proBNP.

Background and Aims Despite intensive management, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is associated with poor prognosis especially in hospitalized patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine prognostic factors for SBP-related in-hospital mortality, and to evaluate the predictive power of Child–Pugh (CP), model of end-stage liver disease (MELD), creatinine modified Child–Turcotte–Pugh (CrCTP), and integrated MELD (iMELD) for identifying the best score to predict mortality. Methods Predictors of SBP-related in-hospital mortality were assessed using regression analysis over 100 cirrhotic patients. Predictive abilities of CP, MELD, CrCTP, and iMELD were compared using the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results SBP-related in-hospital mortality was 22%. Age, serum creatinine, bilirubin, sodium, CrCTP, MELD, and iMELD were associated with mortality. Using AUC, CrCTP, and iMELD was significantly better than CP and MELD in predicting in-hospital mortality, where iMELD had the highest AUC (0.862). The cut-off with the best ability to predict in-hospital mortality was 43.5 for iMELD. Conclusion Age, serum creatinine, bilirubin, and sodium were associated with SBP-related in-hospital mortality. The incorporation of these variables into CP and MELD significantly improves their predictive ability. iMELD followed by CrCTP provided useful prognostic information for critically ill patients with SBP.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) staging guides patient prognosis and treatment allocation; however, there is no universally accepted staging system for HCC. The most widely endorsed staging system is the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) system, which incorporates tumor burden, functional status, and liver function.1 We aimed to compare the discriminant ability of several staging systems for HCC in a geographically diverse multicenter United States (US) cohort.

Introduction: Zinc, copper, manganese and magnesium are essential trace elements whose role in chronic liver disease and its complications is not clear. Aim: To study the concentration of these elements in patients with Chronic Liver Disease (CLD) with respect to Child-TorcottePugh (CTP) scoring. Materials and Methods: This was an observational study carried out in the Department of Medicine, JSS Hospital, Mysore, India, between October 2013 and October 2015. A total of 75 patients with cirrhosis were prospectively enrolled. Severity of liver disease was assessed based on CTP score and patients were grouped into Class A, B and C. Routine investigations were done and following trace elements were assessed in allzinc, copper, manganese and magnesium. Results: The serum concentrations of zinc decreased with severity of liver disease, and the mean difference between different severity classes was statistically significant (p

Introduction| Les patients cirrhotiques candidats a une chirurgie constituent un veritable challenge pour le chirurgien du fait d’une morbidite et d’une mortalite elevees. Le but de notre etude etait de decrire le profil evolutif des patients cirrhotiques apres chirurgie abdominale.

The discovery of a single test of liver function has been a goal of hepatologists for many years. The great complexity of the liver and its many diverse functions, however, has prevented such an accomplishment. An analogy can be made with the way one currently uses liver tests where several individual tests are combined into a profile. This article presents evidence that confirms the same concept: Only by combining several clinical and laboratory measures can we predict the prognosis of liver disease patients. End-stage liver disease and pediatric end-stage liver disease models are valuable additions to the prognostic armamentarium; however, these models are not perfect and some important indications for liver transplant today cannot be included because their main issue is not disease severity.

e15662 Background: Our recent studies showed that lower insulin like growth factors-I (IGF-I) associated with shorter overall survival (OS) in HCC. Furthermore, integrating IGF-I into Child Pugh Score (CTP) (IGF-CTP) led to better prognostic stratification (Kaseb et al., JNCI 2014). Since CTP class A is the standard criterion for active therapy and trials entry, we aimed at assessing the ability of IGF-CTP to predict systemic therapy outcome. Methods: 78 patients were prospectively enrolled and treated with sorafenib. Pre-treatment blood sample were tested for IGF-I and IGF-CTP was calculated after study completion. Survival analysis was done to measure the estimated median OS and progression free survival (PFS), and log rank test was used to compare PFS and OS between subgroups of IGF-CTP score of patients. Results: For CTP A patients, the estimated median OS in months (95% confidence interval, CI) was 9.1m (5.3 – 19.7) and PFS was 5.6m (3.8 – 7.9). Patients who were reclassified as IGF-CTP (B) (OldA/newB = AB) had significantly shorter OS 5.2m (2.8 - NA) and PFS of 4.3m (2.1 – NA), as compared to patients’ who classified as class A by both scoring systems (AA), who had OS of 11.1m (5.7 – 21.3) and PFS of 7.2 m (3.9 – 15.1), P < .001. Interestingly, patients who classified as CTP-B but IGF-CTP-A ( = BA) had significantly longer OS 10.2 (2.89 – NA) and PFS 8.1 (2.9 – NA), as compared to (BB) patients who had OS of 5.8 (3.2 –NA) and PFS of 5.1 (3.19 – NA), P < .001 Conclusions: Our study concluded that IGF-CTP score was more accurate than original CTP score in predicting survival outcomes of systemic therapy in HCC. If validated, this approach may change the standard stratification criteria for active therapy in routine clinical practice and patient selection for clinical trial entry in HCC.

Background The pediatric end-stage liver disease (PELD) scoring system has been used widely for prioritizing children awaiting orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The aim of the present study was to compare the Child-Turcotte-Pugh scoring system with PELD to predict morbidity and mortality of children scheduled for OLT before the organ was available. Materials and Methods From 1999 to 2006, 83 infants and children were evaluated and scheduled for OLT. Child and PELD scores were determined according to the initial assessment at the time of listing. Outcome was examined using records and follow-up data. Results Among 83 patients, 12% were Child A; 53%, Child B; and 35%, Child C. The mean PELD score at listing was 19.8 ± 12.8. Patients with Child scores A, B, and C displayed mean PELD scores of 7.1 ± 4.9, 15.7 ± 9.3, and 30.5 ± 11.7, respectively. Child classification and scoring showed a positive correlation with the PELD score (Spearman’s correlation coefficient: 0.666, P = .001). A higher PELD score was associated with greater morbidity and mortality. Conclusion Child classification has several shortcomings; therefore, PELD scores appear to be the best metric to prioritize children listed for OLT.

Background Insulin resistance (IR) is associated with hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis, regardless of its etiology but the mechanism of hyperinsulinemia in cirrhosis is still unclear. The current study was designed to assess hyperinsulinemia and pancreatic β-cell function in euglycemic cirrhosis of varied etiology. Methods A cross sectional case control study of 100 subjects. IR was assessed by the Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA) and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index in euglycemic cirrhosis of varied etiology and in different stages of cirrhosis. HOMA-β was calculated for insulin secretion ability of pancreatic β-cells in different stages of cirrhosis. Results Overall IR in euglycemic cirrhosis was seen in 68.5%. IR was seen in the order hepatitis C (100%), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (100%), autoimmune hepatitis (100%), hepatocellular carcinoma (80%), alcoholic liver disease (72%) and hepatitis B (45%). HOMA-IR value was raised in Child Turcotte Pugh (CTP) score >9 (P value 0.0004) and model of end stage liver disease (MELD) score >15 (P value 0.02). HOMA-β was raised in CTP score >9 (P value 0.02) and MELD score >15 (P value 0.0003). HOMA-β level among diabetic controls was 27.1±7.7 compared to 154.6±80.7 in euglycemic cases (P value

Given the lack of donors, a correct organ allocation system for candidates to liver transplantation is essential to increase graft and patient survival. The most used organ allocation tools are Child–Turcotte–Pugh and model for end-stage liver disease. It is generally accepted that model for end-stage liver disease score is superior to the Child–Turcotte–Pugh classification in predicting the short-term survival of cirrhotic patients awaiting liver transplantation. Since 2002, model for end-stage liver disease is widely used for liver allocation. In recent years, to overcome limitations of the consolidated scores, some adjustments to the original model for end-stage liver disease formula and new scoring systems have been proposed. Published data suggest that integrating serum sodium and model for end-stage liver disease may improve the score prognostic accuracy but further studies are necessary to confirm this issue. The updated model for end-stage liver disease, obtained through a revision of traditional model for end-stage liver disease parameters and tested in a large cohort of patients, is of great interest at the moment. In conclusion, several scoring systems have been described for organ allocation, but today, none is definitely able to overcome the limitations of the Child–Turcotte–Pugh and model for end-stage liver disease systems.

Pulmonary abnormalities are observed in chronic hepatopathy. The measurement of the maximum inspiratory and expiratory pressure may evaluate lung function and the risks associated with hepatic transplantation. Thus, the present work sought to evaluate the respiratory muscle strength of 29 patients between 17 and 63 years old who were enrolled for liver transplantation. The patients were classified according to Child-Turcotte-Pugh score as A, B, or C, and also according to a physiotherapeutic evaluation, which included measurement of respiratory muscle strength by means of a digital manovacuometer, which determines the maximum inspiratory pressure (MaxIP) and the maximum expiratory pressure (MaxEP). The tests were performed with seated individuals having their nostrils obstructed by a nasal clip. The MaxIP was measured during the effort initiated in the residual volume, whereas the MaxEP was measured during the effort initiated in the total pulmonary capacity, keeping pressures stable for at least 1 second. The statistical analysis was performed through using the Mann-Whitney test with a 5% level of significance. The MaxIP values of Child A 95.5 +/- 40.507 cm H(2)O (average +/- DP) and Child B 87.2 +/- 35.02 patients were higher than those for Child C patients (34.83 +/- 3.68; P.05). Similar results were observed for the MaxEP of Child A and B groups (116.25 +/- 31.98 and 97.28 +/- 31.08, respectively; P.05), versus the Child C group (48.16 +/- 22.60). Between groups A and B, the MaxEP were similar (P.05). We concluded that Child C patients display muscle weakness significantly greater than that of subjects classified as Child A or B.

Widespread application of quantitative liver function tests as a prognostic tool is controversial. In this study we assessed the predictivity of serial evaluations of galactose elimination capacity (GEC) and the monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) test on survival in viral cirrhosis, and secondarily we compared these tests with Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) and Model for End Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores.In a cohort of 35 patients with viral cirrhosis, GEC and MEGX were evaluated every 6 months for 24 months and compared with CTP and MELD scores at the same time intervals. The end points were patient death or liver transplantation.Statistically significant differences between dead/transplanted patients and survivors were found for basal values of GEC, MEGX, CTP and MELD. Receiver-operating characteristics curves of CTP and MELD scores showed a higher prognostic accuracy than GEC and MEGX. On multivariate analysis, neither GEC nor MEGX were independent predictors of survival. Repeated-measures analysis of GEC and MEGX did not increase the prognostic accuracy of these tests and did not add useful prognostic information on patient outcome during the following 6 months.Our data suggest that neither single nor repeated determinations of GEC and MEGX are superior to CTP and MELD scores in predicting prognosis of patients with viral cirrhosis.

RESULTS : In our study, 25.3% of the patients were diagnosed with SBP. Of these patients with SBP, 78% of them had CTP score 10 or more. Thus 39% patients with CTP >=10 had SBP as compared to 10% incidence of SBP in other patients. Five of SBP patients expired. 4 of them had CTP >=10 thus amounting to higher mortality in this subgroup. CONCLUSION : Incidence of SBP was higher in patients with CTP score >=10(stage C.) and was associated with poor prognosis and higher mortality rate. Such patients need more intensive care and management