1 INTRODUCTION
Cirrhosis, as an advanced stage of chronic liver disease, and its
complications are associated with high morbidity and cause more than 1
million deaths worldwide annually.1Chronic infection with hepatitis B
virus (HBV) and alcoholism are the main etiologies.1In 2015, nearly 240 million people globally
had HBV infection and there were
approximately 0.45 million deaths due to HBV-related cirrhosis and its
complications.2 Additionally, the rate of
alcohol-related cirrhosis is growing with the rapid increase in alcohol
consumption.3 In 2010, nearly 0.5 million deaths
worldwide were caused by alcohol-related cirrhosis,
which accounted for approximately
half of all cirrhosis-related deaths.4
Cirrhotic patients frequently develop complications and those with
complications had worse outcomes (including higher mortality) than those
without complications.5,6 For example, cirrhotic
patients with severe hepatic encephalopathy (HE) had a first-year
mortality rate of more than 50%.7,8 Additionally,
cirrhotic patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) had a high
28-day mortality rate caused by acute decompensation, organ failure,
and/or serious systemic inflammation.9 Furthermore,
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as a major cause of cancer-associated
death, has a very poor prognosis and a 5-year survival rate of less than
15%.10
Cirrhosis cases with different etiologies present with different
clinical characteristics. 11,12 It is very important
to identify the differences in cirrhosis-related complications between
different etiologies, which may affect prognosis, in order to guide
treatment planning and thereby improve prognosis. Thus, this study aimed
to distinguish the cirrhotic complications between patients with HBV-
and alcohol-related cirrhosis.