Low phase angle is associated with the development of hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis

Table 1 Clinical and demographic characteristics of the study population according to the presence of hepatic encephalopathy

	HE (n= 115)	Non-HE (n= 105)	Pvalue
Age (yr)	54.2 ± 10.3	51.8 ± 11.7	0.109
BMI (kg/m2)	26.4 (21.3-30.7)	27.4 (24-30.5)	0.185
MAMC (cm)	22.3 (20.3-26.4)	24.4(21.1-26.98)	0.230
Phase angle (°)	4.6 (4.0-5.5)	5.3 (4.6-6.1)	0.000
Child-Pugh (points)	8 (7-10)	6 (5-8)	0.000
MELD score	13 (10-15)	10 (8-12)	0.000
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	2.1 (1.3-3.4)	1.5 (1.0-2.6)	0.001
Albumin (mg/dL)	3.4 ± 0.6	2.9 ± 0.6	0.000
INR	1.3 (1.2-1.4)	1.2 (1.1-1.3)	0.005
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.84 (0.67-1.09)	0.72 (0.63-0.83)	0.000
Sodium (mEq/L)	136 (133-139)	139 (136-141)	0.000
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	12.2 (10.3-14.3)	14.0 (12.1-15.3)	0.000
Ammonia (μ/dL)	83.9 (50.9-123.3)	56.3 (37.6-80.3)	0.000

Data presented as mean ± SD, median (P25-P75). HE: Hepatic encephalopathy; BMI: Body mass index; MAMC: Mid-arm muscle circumference; MELD: Model for End-Stage Liver Disease; INR: International normalized ratio.

Table 2 Characteristics associated with hepatic encephalopathy in the Cox regression model

Univariate analysis	HR	95%CI	Pvalue	β
Phase angle ( ≤ 4.9°)	1.597	1.081-2.358	0.019	0.468
Sodium (mEq/L)	0.941	0.906-0.977	0.002	-0.061
INR	2.270	1.154-4.465	0.018	0.820
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	0.897	0.836-0.962	0.002	-0.109
Ammonia (μ/dL)	1.006	1.002-1.010	0.005	0.006
Creatinine (mg/dL)	4.112	1.954-8.654	0.000	1.414
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	1.031	0.966-1.100	0.362	0.030
Multivariate analysis
Phase angle ( ≤ 4.9°)	1.806	1.076-3.031	0.025	0.591
Sodium (mEq/L)	0.957	0.912-1.003	0.065	-0.044
Creatinine (mg/dL)	4.116	1.573-10.767	0.004	1.415

2-Log-likelihood: Block 0 = 557.59, Block 1 = 540.42, P = 0.000. HR: Hazard ratio; INR: International normalized ratio.