Dyspnea and respiratory muscle strength in end-stage liver disease

Table 1 Anthropometric characteristics and routine respiratory function data of 40 end-stage liver disease patients, stratified in two groups according to the presence or absence of ascites

	All patients (n = 40)	Ascites (n = 17)	Non-ascites (n = 23)	P value
Gender, M/F	29/11	15/2	14/9	0.079
Age, yr	52 ± 10	51 ± 10	52 ± 9	0.752
Ht, m	1.69 ± 0.90	1.73 ± 0.90	1.66 ± 0.90	0.015
BMI, kg ∙ m-2	28 ± 4	26 ± 4	29 ± 5	0.144
Pack- years, yr	19 ± 22	27 ± 25	13 ± 18	0.0871
FVC	104 ± 20	91 ± 17	114 ± 16	< 0.001
FEV1	100 ± 18	89 ± 15	108 ± 15	< 0.001
FEV1/FVC, %	78 ± 3	79 ± 3	78 ± 3	0.083
PEF	95 ± 19	84 ± 18	103 ± 17	0.002
TLC	95 ± 20	86 ± 16	102 ± 21	0.011
FRC	97 ± 28	87 ± 24	101 ± 29	0.136
RV	92 ± 28	91 ± 25	93 ± 30	0.840
DLCO	78 ± 18	70 ± 16	84 ± 18	0.013

¹Mann-Whitney rank sum test was used. Values are mean ± SD obtained in a sitting position. Unless otherwise specified, values are expressed as % of predicted. Statistical significance tested with Student’s t test between ascites and non-ascites groups. M: Male; F: Female; Ht: Height; BMI: Body mass index; FVC: Forced vital capacity; FEV₁: Forced expiratory volume in one second; PEF: Peak expiratory flow; TLC: Total lung capacity; FRC: Functional residual capacity; RV: Residual volume; DL_CO: Diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide.