Combined Albumin-Bilirubin Grade and Skeletal Muscle Mass as a Predictor in Liver Cirrhosis

Abstract

We aimed to compare the prognostic impact among albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, the Child-Pugh classification and our proposed combined ALBI grade and skeletal muscle mass (SMM) grading system in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) (n = 468, 254 males and 214 females) using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and time-dependent receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. SMM was tested using bioimpedance analysis. Male subjects with skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) <7.0 cm2/m2 and female subjects with SMI <5.7 cm2/m2 were defined as having low SMM. Patients with ALBI grade 1, 2 and 3 were given 1, 2 and 3 points. Patients with and without low SMM were given 1 and 0 point, respectively. The sum of the point of ALBI (1, 2, or 3) and SMM (0 or 1) was defined as the ALBI-SMM grade. The value obtained with the AIC for survival by the ALBI-SMM grade was the lowest among three assessment methods (AIC: 513.418 in ALBI grade, 533.584 in Child-Pugh classification and 493.72 in ALBI-SMM grade). In time-dependent ROC analysis, all area under the ROCs of the ALBI-SMM grade in each time point were the highest among three assessment methods. In conclusion, the ALBI-SMM grading system can be helpful for LC patients.