Language

English

Publication Date

4-1-2025

Journal

Hepatology Communications

DOI

10.1097/HC9.0000000000000673

PMID

40131003

PMCID

PMC11936654

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

3-24-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

Background: Severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (sAH) is a well-characterized disease with high short-term mortality. However, there is limited research on those with a "less severe condition" (moderate AH). This study aims to characterize in-depth patients with moderate AH (mAH), including the performance of mortality scoring systems, key prognostic factors, and survival over time.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective cohort study (2009-2019) included patients with mAH (MELD score ≤20 at admission). Cox regression and receiver operating characteristic curves with AUC were used for analysis.

Results: We included 1845 patients with AH (20 centers, 8 countries) between 2009 and 2019. mAH was defined as a MELD score ≤20 at admission. Twenty-four percent met the criteria for an mAH episode. Patients with mAH tend to be older and have a higher proportion of females, with a median MELD of 17 (15-19), Maddrey discriminant function (mDF) of 33 (22-40), the trajectory of serum bilirubin of 0.83 (0.60-1.21), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) of 5 (2.96-8.60). The primary causes of death in mAH included multiple organ failure (34.1%) and infections (16.6%). The cumulative survival rates at 30, 90, and 180 days were 94.3%, 90.4%, and 88.2%, respectively. In multivariable analysis, age was the only significant predictor of 30-day mortality (HR 1.49, 95% CI: 1.27-1.76, p< 0.001). Mortality prediction models showed poor performance, with AUC for MELD (0.671), mDF (0.726), trajectory of serum bilirubin (0.733), and NLR (0.697).

Conclusions: Patients with moderate AH exhibited a mortality of 11.8% at 6 months, primarily driven by multiple organ failure and infections. These patients also exhibit a different clinical profile compared to those with sAH. Tailored models and therapeutic strategies are needed to improve long-term outcomes in mAH.

Keywords

Humans, Female, Male, Retrospective Studies, Middle Aged, Hepatitis, Alcoholic, Aged, Severity of Illness Index, Prognosis, Adult, ROC Curve, Bilirubin, Multiple Organ Failure, alcohol, alcohol-associated hepatitis, alcohol-associated liver disease, cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, outcome prediction

Published Open-Access

yes

Additional Files
hc9-9-e0673-g001.jpg (184 kB)
Graphical Abstract
Download

Included in

Neurosciences Commons

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.