Assessment of short-term morbidity and mortality in patients with decompensated liver disease in the Suez Canal area

Abstract Background Liver cirrhosis represents a significant global health burden, affecting over 160 million individuals worldwide in 2017. The aim of this study was to describe the different clinical presentations and outcomes of patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis admitted to Suez Canal University Hospital due to complications of decompensated cirrhosis. This may help determine the magnitude of each complication in terms of morbidity and mortality and identify factors that may be associated with poor outcomes. Methods A prospective observational analytical study was conducted to evaluate outcomes in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Adult male and female patients with decompensated cirrhosis admitted to Suez Canal University Teaching Hospital due to complications of liver decompensation were included. Results A total of 75 patients were enrolled, of whom six died during follow-up. The ROC curve evaluating caffeine clearance demonstrated that at a cutoff value of 0.0055, with an AUC of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.67–0.92), the test achieved 89.9% sensitivity and 66.7% specificity, with a PPV of 94% and NPV of 22% for predicting survival in chronic liver disease patients. Caffeine clearance showed a significant positive correlation with hemoglobin, platelets, albumin, and sodium, and a significant negative correlation with age, INR, AST, ALT, total and direct bilirubin, creatinine, AFP, and MELD score. No other significant correlations were observed. Conclusions Caffeine clearance is a valuable indicator of liver function and can serve as a useful predictor of prognosis and mortality in patients with chronic liver disease, especially when interpreted alongside other laboratory parameters.