Pentoxifylline versus prednisolone for severe alcoholic hepatitis: A randomized controlled trial

Table 1 Comparison of baseline parameters of patients receiving pentoxifylline (group I) vs those receiving prednisolone (group II) in the treatment of severe alcoholic hepatitis (mean ± SD)

Parameter	Group I (pentoxifylline) (n = 34)	Group II (prednisolone) (n = 34)	P value
Age (yr)	47.53 ± 11.16	46.47 ± 9.67	0.68
Male:female	34:0	33:1	-
Ascites	31	33	0.37
Encephalopathy	20	23	0.61
Varices	23	22	0.80
Maddrey DF score	54.25 ± 16.24	57.78 ± 17.08	0.39
MELD score	23.14 ± 3.97	22.65 ± 3.33	0.58
GAHS	8.23 ± 1.07	7.94 ± 0.95	0.24
Child’s score	11.85 ± 1.62	12.15 ± 1.28	0.41
Mean TLC (/cm3)	13926.47 ± 3068.15	15225 ± 11836.18	0.5379
Serum Na (mEq/L)	135.26 ± 8.26	132.80 ± 6.90	0.1908
Serum K (mEq/L)	4.18 ± 0.72	4.293 ± 0.98	0.6207
Urea (mg/dL)	31.68 ± 27.63	25.74 ± 16.92	0.2889
Creatinine (mg/dL)	1.42 ± 0.61	1.19 ± 0.32	0.057
Bilirubin (mg/dL)	5.40 ± 2.50	6.604 ± 3.90	0.1345
Albumin (gm/dL)	3.19 ± 0.67	3.040 ± 0.75	0.3870
ALT (IU/L)	54.88 ± 23.25	57.38 ± 20.50	0.6397
INR	1.97 ± 0.34	2.04 ± 0.31	0.3493

P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. TLC: Total leucocyte count.