Model validation of guiding carvedilol therapy in a longitudinal
carvedilol-treating cohort
Among 114 patients receiving carvedilol in the retrospective cohort, 51
(44.7%) were categorized in high-risk CSPH based on the novel model
(sFigure 3c, sTable 3). Compared to high-risk CSPH patients who did not
receive NSBBs (n=613), those who received carvedilol were younger and
had less advanced liver diseases, as indicated by lower baseline serum
albumin and higher LSM (sTable 3). After PSM in a 2:1 ratio, the
baseline characteristics were well-balanced between cirrhotic patients
with carvedilol and without NSBBs.
Notably, treatment with carvedilol was associated with a significantly
lower cumulative incidence of 3-year decompensation (p=0.02) (Figure
4A). After PSM, the cumulative incidence of decompensation remained
significantly lower in cirrhotic patients treated with carvedilol
(p=0.03) (Figure 4B). Furthermore, the high-risk CSPH patients treated
with carvedilol had significantly lower incidence of ascites than those
of NSBBs untreated high-risk CSPH patients before and after PSM (all
p<0.05, sFigure 6).