The Effect of Artificial Liver Support System on Prognosis of HBV-Derived Hepatorenal Syndrome: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) could occur when patients get decompensated liver cirrhosis. Meanwhile, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection raises the risk of mortality of the end-stage liver diseases. As the artificial liver support system (ALSS) has been applied in liver failure, whether ALSS could benefit HBV-derived HRS remains uncertain. We retrospectively enlisted eligible HRS patients and compared the baseline characteristics and prognosis between HBV-derived HRS and non-HBV-derived HRS. Furthermore, propensity score matching (PSM) and Cox regression analyses were used to assess the beneficial effect of ALSS on HBV-derived HRS. In addition, a stratified analysis was carried out according to the degree of acute kidney injury (AKI) and the number of organ failures to observe in which populations ALSS can obtain the most excellent therapeutic effect. 669 patients were diagnosed as HRS, including 298 HBV negative and 371 HBV positive. Baseline characteristics were different between patients with HBV positive and HBV negative. HBV-derived HRS has higher 28-day mortality, though without a statistical difference. After PSM, 50 patients treated with ALSS and 150 patients treated with standard medical treatment (SMT) constituted a new cohort for the following analysis. We found that ALSS could significantly benefit HRS patients ( $P=0.025$ ). Moreover, the median survival time of patients treated with ALSS was longer than those treated with SMT. INR, neutrophil percentage, and treatment with ALSS were independent predictive factors for short-term mortality in HBV-derived HRS. The stratified analysis showed that ALSS could reduce the 28-day mortality of patients with HBV-derived HRS, especially those in AKI stage 3 and with organ $\text{failure}\ge 2$ . Additionally, serum bilirubin was significantly lower after ALSS, and the alteration of INR and creatinine were independent predictive elements for the mortality of HBV-derived HRS. HBV-derived HRS is more severe than non-HBV-derived HRS and has a worse prognosis. ALSS could reduce the short-term mortality of patients with HBV-derived HRS, especially those in AKI stage 3 and with organ $\text{failure}\ge 2$ . INR and the change of creatinine and INR could predict the prognosis of HBV-derived HRS. ChiCTR2200060123.