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Published on: June 18, 2020
Serum Ferritin Has Limited Prognostic Value on Mortality Risk in Patients with Decompensated Cirrhosis: A Propensity
Gaoyue Guo1,2, Mingyu Sun1,2, Yifan Li1,2
1Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Objective:
The prognostic value of serum ferritin remains elusive in the literature. We aimed to examine the association between serum ferritin and mortality risk in cirrhosis.
Methods:
A total of 257 cirrhotic patients were recruited. The cut-off of serum ferritin was determined by X-tile. The Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier method were used. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to diminish the impacts of selection bias and possible confounders.
Results:
The difference regarding mortality was mostly significant for serum ferritin >158 ng/mL. Before PSM, serum ferritin >158 ng/mL was an independent predictor of mortality. However, the clinical relevance of high ferritin level for prognostication was blunted after PSM (survival rate: 86.8% vs 96.3%, P = .078). Cox regression indicated that model for end-stage liver disease remains only independent risk factor of 180-day mortality after PSM.
Conclusion:
Serum ferritin may not serve as an independent prognostic indicator of mortality risk in decompensated cirrhotic patients.
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