Predictors of esophageal varices and first variceal bleeding in liver cirrhosis patients

Table 1 Distribution of baseline characteristics by esophageal variceal status

Variable	Total (n = 139)	Without EV (n = 26)	With EV (n = 113)	P value
Upper panel: Categorical variables2
Sex
Men	109 (78.4)1	18 (69.2)	91 (80.5)	0.289
Women	30 (21.6)	8 (30.8)	22 (19.5)
Etiology of cirrhosis				0.005
Alcoholic	67 (48.2)	10 (38.5)	57 (50.4)
HBV	32 (23.0)	5 (19.2)	27 (23.9)
HCV	8 (5.8)	-	8 (7.1)
Alcoholic + viral	11 (7.9)	1 (3.8)	10 (8.8)
Other	21 (15.1)	10 (38.5)	11 (9.7)
EV				-
None	26 (18.7)	26 (100.0)	-
SEV	44 (31.7)	-	44 (38.9)
MEV	39 (28.1)	-	39 (34.5)
LEV	30 (21.6)	-	30 (26.5)
Red signs				0.034
Without varices	26 (18.7)	22 (21.0)	4 (11.8)
Yes	19 (13.7)	10 (9.5)	9 (26.5)
No	94 (67.6)	73 (69.5)	21 (61.8)
CTP				0.047
A (5-6)	43 (30.9)	13 (50.0)	30 (26.5)
B (7-9)	63 (45.3)	10 (38.5)	53 (46.9)
C (10-15)	33 (23.7)	3 (11.5)	30 (26.5)
Lower panel: Numerical variables3
Age (yr)	51.5 ± 13.1	47.6 ± 15.4	52.3 ± 12.4	0.106
Hemoglobin (mg/dL)	11.8 ± 2.3	11.6 ± 2.4	11.8 ± 2.3	0.916
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.89 ± 0.34	0.89 ± 0.44	0.89 ± 0.31	0.141
AST (UI/L)	107.6 ± 156.1	153.5 ± 331.6	97.0 ± 69.9	0.412
ALT (UI/L)	73.1 ± 161.9	125.5 ± 336.7	61.0 ± 78.9	0.742
GGT (UI/L)	264.9 ± 302.7	282.0 ± 389.7	261.0 ± 280.9	0.709
Gama globulin (g/L)	27.1 ± 10.3	26.9 ± 15.3	27.2 ± 8.8	0.310
INR	1.65 ± 0.47	1.38 ± 0.34	1.71 ± 0.47	< 0.001
Albumin	3.19 ± 0.65	3.27 ± 0.71	3.17 ± 0.64	0.058
FIB-4	5.83 ± 5.33	3.98 ± 3.06	6.26 ± 5.64	0.011
Fibrosis index	3.15 ± 1.30	2.83 ± 1.08	3.22 ± 1.33	0.012
King score	82.9 ± 135.2	66.5 ± 137.4	86.7 ± 135.1	0.002
APRI	2.63 ± 3.79	2.52 ± 4.74	2.66 ± 3.57	0.014
PL/SD	1146 ± 780	1395 ± 784	1089 ± 771	0.028
AST/ALT	2.18 ± 1.62	1.93 ± 1.47	2.23 ± 1.66	0.339
MELD	15.7 ± 5.2	13.6 ± 4.8	16.1 ± 5.2	0.027

¹Absolute numbers and column percentages (in parentheses);

²P values from Fisher’s exact test;

³P values from Mann-Whitney’s U-test. AST/ALT: Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio; APRI: AST to platelet ratio index; CTP: Child-Turcotte-Pugh score; EV: Esophageal varices; FIB-4: Fibrosis-4-index; GGT: Gamma glutamyltranspeptidase; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; INR: International normalized ratio; LEV: Large esophageal varices; MEV: Medium esophageal varices; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; PC/SD: Platelet count to spleen diameter; SEV: Small esophageal varices.