A prospective multicenter and real-world study on the diagnostic value of combination of number connection test-B and line tracing test in mild hepatic encephalopathy / 中华消化杂志

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of independent and combined subtests of the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) in mild hepatic encephalopathy(MHE) of patients with liver cirrhosis, so as to optimize the PHES.Methods:This was a prospective, multicenter and real-world study which was sponsored by the National Clinical Research Center of Infectious Diseases and the Portal Hypertension Consortium. Twenty-six hospitals from 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities countrywide participated in this study, induding Tianjin Third Central Hospital, the Fourth People′s Hospital of Qinghai Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College, the Third People′s Hospital of Taiyuan, the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital and so on. From October 2021 to February 2022, outpatients and hospitalized patients with liver cirrhosis and no obvious hepatic encephalopathy were consecutively enrolled. All patients received 5 PHES subjects in the same order: number connection test(NCT)-A, NCT-B, digit symbol test(DST), line tracing test(LTT) and serial dotting test(SDT), and the scores were calculated. The total score of PHES <-4 was taken as the cut-off value for diagnosing MHE. Compare the differences in each subtest between MHE group and non-MHE group. Receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC) and area under the curve(AUC) was performed to assess the diagnostic value of independent and combined subtests in MHE. Mann-Whitney U test and DeLong test were used for statistical analysis. Results:A total of 581 patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled, 457 were diagnosed as MHE, and the incidence of MHE was 78.7%. The results of NCT-A, NCT-B, SDT, LTT, DST of MHE group were 60.00 s(47.01 s, 88.00 s), 90.45 s(69.32 s, 125.35 s), 74.00 s(57.65 s, 96.60 s), 74.72(60.00, 98.61) and 27.00(20.00, 36.00), respectively. Compared those of non-MHE group(34.00 s(29.15 s, 44.48 s), 50.00 s(40.98 s, 60.77 s), 50.00 s(41.07 s, 63.03 s), 46.23(38.55, 59.42) and 42.00(34.00, 50.75)), the differences were statistically significant( Z=12.37, 12.98, 9.83, 11.56, 10.66; all P<0.001). The AUC(95% confidence interval(95% CI)) of subtests of PHES NCT-B, NCT-A, LTT, DST and SDT alone in MHE diagnosis were 0.880(0.849 to 0.910), 0.862(0.828 to 0.896), 0.838(0.799 to 0.877), 0.812(0.772 to 0.851) and 0.788(0.743 to 0.832), respectively. The combination of 2 PHES subtests significantly increased the diagnostic efficacy. Among them the diagnostic efficacy of the combination of NCT-B and LTT was the best, the AUC(95% CI) was 0.924(0.902 to 0.947), the specificity was 91.9% and the sensitivity was 79.2%, which was better than a single PHES subtest (NCT-A, NCT-B, SDT, LTT and DST) and the combination of NCT-A and DST(AUC was 0.879, 95% CI0.847 to 0.910) which was recommended by guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis, the differences were statistically significant ( Z=3.78, 3.83, 5.57, 5.51, 5.38, 2.93; all P<0.01). Furthermore, compared between the combination of NCT-B and LTT and the combination of 3 subests of PHES, only the diagnostic efficacy of combination of NCT-B, LTT and SDT (AUC was 0.936, 95% CI 0.916 to 0.956) was better than that of the combination of NCT-B and LTT, the difference was statistically significant( Z=2.32, P=0.020). Conclusion:Based on the diagnostic efficacy and clinical feasibility of PHES subtests and their combinations, the combination of NCT-B and LTT is recommended for the diagnosis of MHE.

Tablas de normalidad de la población en Cuba para los test psicométricos utilizados en el diagnóstico de la encefalopatía hepática mínima / Normality tables of the population in Cuba for the psychometric tests used in the diagnosis of minimal hepatic encephalopathy

Objetivo: la encefalopatía hepática mínima constituye el estadio subclínico previo al desarrollo de encefalopatía hepática clínica en el paciente cirrótico, además de asociarse a un deterioro de la calidad de vida de estos pacientes y a un riesgo incrementado de accidentes laborales e incapacidad de conducción de vehículos. El Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score es considerado actualmente el método diagnóstico de elección en el diagnóstico de la EHM. El objetivo de este trabajo fue diseñar las tablas de normalidad del PHES para la población cubana. Métodos: se estudió una muestra conformada por 520 personas sanas de las provincias de Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus y Cienfuegos. Las mismas realizaron los cinco tests incluidos en el PHES. Se analizaron las variables edad, sexo, años de escolarización, procedencia, y consumo diario de alcohol. Mediante la prueba de la t de Student, ANOVA y el coeficiente de correlación de Pearson se realizó el análisis univariante. Se efectuó un análisis de regresión lineal múltiple para cada test y se construyeron las tablas de normalidad. Resultados: en el análisis multivariante (regresión lineal múltiple) la edad y los años de escolarización fueron las dos variables independientes relacionadas con el rendimiento en cada uno de los cinco test. Conclusiones: la disponibilidad de las tablas de normalidad del PHES permitirá contar con un método diagnóstico de referencia aplicable a los pacientes con cirrosis hepática cubanos, sin la necesidad de configurar grupos controlados por edad y nivel de escolaridad regionalmente.

Objective: minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is the subclinical stage pre-clinical development of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhotic patients, in addition to associated with impaired quality of life of these patients and an increased risk of accidents and disability of driving. The Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES) is currently considered the diagnostic method of choice in the diagnosis of MHE. The objective of this work was to design tables PHES normality for the Cuban population. Method: a sample composed of 520 healthy people in the provinces of Villa Clara, Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos were studied. They made the five tests included in the PHES. The variables age, sex, years of education, origin, and daily alcohol consumption were analyzed. By t test of Student, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient univariate analysis. an analysis of multiple linear regression for each test was performed and normal tables were constructed. Results: in the multivariate analysis (multiple linear regression) age and years of schooling were the two independent variables related to performance in each of the five tests. Conclusions: the availability of tables PHES normality will provide a diagnostic method applicable reference to patients with liver cirrhosis Cubans, without the need to configure controlled for age and education level regional groups.

Comparative study on common diagnostic methods for covert hepatic encephalopathy / 中华消化杂志

Objective To evaluate clinical application value of critical flicker frequency (CFF),psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) and Stroop test in the diagnosis of covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE).Methods A total of 110 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis and 54 individuals without liver diseases were enrolled as control group.According to PHES＜-4 points as reference threshold for CHE,the threshold of CFF and time of Stroop test for CHE diagnosis was caculated.Positive results of at least two of PHES,CFF and Stroop tests was considered as the gold standard for CHE diagnosis,and then the value of these three methods in CHE diagnosis was evaluated.Student's t test and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) were used for statistical analysis.Results Among the 110 patients with liver cirrhosis,40 patients had no hepatic encephalopathy (HE0),52 patients had CHE,and 18 patients had grade 2 hepatic encephalopathy (HE2).The CFF value and total time of Stroop test of control group were (43.70±1.92) Hz and (201.17±20.65) s,respectively.The CFF value of HE0 group was (41.40 ± 1.85) Hz,which was higher than that of CHE group ((38.33 ± 2.32) Hz),and the difference was statistically significant (t=-7.116,P＜0.01).The total time of Stroop test of HE0 group was (197.91±26.68) s,which was shorter than that of CHE group ((253.24± 33.33) s),and the difference was statistically significant (t=8.936,P＜0.01).When PHES＜-4 points was considered as a reference threshold of CHE,the threshold of CFF for CHE diagnosis was 39 Hz,the sensitivity was 94.9％ and the specificity was 73.1％,the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.879.The threshold of the total time of Stroop test for CHE diagnosis was 233.80 s,the sensitivity was 83.3 ％ and the specificity was 71.1％,the AUC was 0.803.The completion time of the number connection test (NCT)-A,NCT-B and digit symbol test (DST),which were there of five subtests of PHES,of CHE group were (80.27±36.05) s,(124.18±55.96) s and (25.03±8.23) s,respectively,compared with those of HE0 patients ((56.68±18.82) s,(80.00±25.58) s and (34.68±8.75) s,respectively),the differences were statistically significant (t =3.691,4.108 and-4.780;all P＜0.01).Compared with the results of combined PHES and Stroop test in the diagnosis of HE0,CHE and HE2,the consistency rates of CFF＜39 Hz as threshold for diagnosis were 95.0％,61.5％ and 100.0％,respectively.Conclusions NCT-A,NCT-B and DST three subtests of PHES have higher efficiency in CHE diagnosis.CFF and Stroop test are also reliable screening methods for CHE,with advantage of objectivity and high specificity.