Presepsin as a biomarker of bacterial translocation and an indicator for the prescription of probiotics in cirrhosis

Table 1 Main characteristics of cirrhosis patients with increased and normal presepsin levels, n (%)

	Patients with increased presepsin level	Patients with normal presepsin level	P value
Age, yr	49 (43-59)	52 (42-56)	0.868
Body mass index, kg/m2	25.9 (24.7-30.1)	25.3 (21.6-28.4)	0.275
Male/female	12/15	7/14	0.316
Etiology of cirrhosis: Alcohol	13 (48.1)	10 (47.6)	> 0.050
HBV	3 (11.1)	-
HCV	3 (11.1)	3 (14.3)
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease	2 (7.4)	1 (4.8)
Mixed	4 (14.8)	3 (14.3)
Cryptogenic	2 (7.4)	4 (18.0)
Child–Pugh score	9 (8-10)	8 (7-9)	0.009
Esophageal varices (Grade 1)	9 (33.3)	9 (42.9)	0.353
Esophageal varices (Grade 2-3)	15 (55.5)	10 (47.6)	0.399
Minimal hepatic encephalopathy	19 (70.4)	14 (66.7)	0.588
Overt hepatic encephalopathy	1 (3.7)	3 (14.3)	0.215
Ascites	21 (77.7)	16 (76.2)	0.582
Ascites (Grade 1)	11 (40.7)	12 (57.1)	0.201
Ascites (Grade 2-3)	10 (37.0)	4 (19.0)	0.149
Serum total protein, g/L	73 (65-76)	70 (61-74)	0.344
Serum albumin, g/L	32 (30-34)	35 (33-37)	0.049
Serum total bilirubin, μmol/L	60 (36-78)	37 (26-57)	0.022
International normalized ratio	1.63 (1.39-1.75)	1.48 (1.36-1.61)	0.151
Red blood cells, 1012 cell/L	3.6 (3.1-4.2)	3.6 (3.3-4.2)	0.934
White blood cells, 109 cell/L	3.7 (2.6-5.2)	3.3 (2.6-5.9)	0.942
Platelets, 109 cell/L	94 (52-104)	94 (66-105)	0.64
Serum creatinine, μmol/L	77 (67-91)	76 (66-107)	0.625
Serum sodium, mmol/L	141 (139-142)	141 (140-142)	0.983
Alanine aminotransferase, U/L	26 (18-50)	28 (20-45)	0.723
Aspartate aminotransferase, U/L	52 (41-77)	48 (28-51)	0.151
Gamma glutamyl transferase, U/L	72 (44-114)	68 (37-269)	0.575
Alkaline phosphatase, U/L	261 (194-330)	242 (215-388)	0.506
C-reactive protein, mg/L	9 (5-15)	7 (3-12)	0.399
Splenic length, cm	15.0 (13.0-17.0)	15.0 (13.2-18.4)	0.708

HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus.