The dignostic value of serum vitamin B12 in predicting rebleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis of esophagogastric varices / 中国医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of vitamin B12 as the non-invasive biomarker to predict long-term rebleeding rate in cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric varices.Methods:From Dec 1, 2016 to Dec 31, 2017, cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric varices who had been admitted to Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University were enrolled. All these patients received endoscopic treatment to prevent variceal rebleeding. The serum vitamin B12 and folic acid levels were measured in all of them. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, Kaplan-Meier analysis, univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis were conducted to explore the value of vitamin B12 in predicting 3-year variceal rebleeding in cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric varices after endoscopic treatment.Results:115 patients were included. The ROC curve analysis indicated that the optimal cutoff value of vitamin B12 for 3-year variceal rebleeding was 567.25 pg/ml. According to the cut-off value, the patients were divided into high-level vitamin B12 group ( n=49) and low-level vitamin B12 group ( n=66). Compared with the low vitamin B12 group, the high vitamin B12 group had lower albumin level, less male (63.3% vs 80.3%), and higher 3-year rebleeding rate ( P<0.05). Cox analysis showed that vitamin B12 and platelet were independent prognostic factors for 3-year rebleeding in patients with variceal bleeding. Conclusions:Elevated peripheral blood vitamin B12 predicts a higher risk of long-term rebleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis and esophagogastric varices.