Prognostic index of cirrhotic patients with hepatic encephalopathy with and without hepatocellular carcinoma.

This study was carried out in Japanese patients to clarify the state of liver cirrhosis complicated by hepatic encephalopathy with and without hepatocellular carcinoma and its prognosis. The subjects were 100 patients with liver cirrhosis complicated by hepatic encephalopathy. Clinical data were investigated, and prognostic factors were extracted using Cox's proportional hazard model. The cumulative survival rate after the first episode of hepatic encephalopathy was 59.1% after 1 year, 48.3% after 2 years, and 22.2% after 5 years. The prognostic index (PI) was calculated using the following formula consisting of these six factors. PI = 0.806 x Child-Pugh classification + 1.149 x presence or absence of HCC + 0.024 x BUN + 0.036 x LDH + 0.093 x WBC + 0.381 x PIVKA-II. The PI value was suggested to be useful for the prognosis of liver cirrhosis after the first episode of hepatic encephalopathy.