Table 1 Baseline Characteristics of the Study Participants (N = 2090)
Characteristic | AST/ALT ratio tertiles | P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total (N = 2090) | T1: < 1.6 (n = 697) | T2:1.6–2.4 (n = 696) | T3: > 2.4 (n = 697) |  | |
Demographics | |||||
 Age, years, mean ± SD | 59.1 ± 12.1 | 60.9 ± 12.5 | 59.9 ± 11.5 | 56.6 ± 11.8 | < 0.001 |
 Male sex, n (%) | 1450 (65.0%) | 481 (69.0%) | 443 (63.6%) | 435 (62.4%) | 0.023 |
Ethnicity, n (%) | Â | Â | Â | Â | 0.154 |
 White | 1374 (65.7%) | 459 (65.9%) | 472 (67.8%) | 443 (63.6%) |  |
 Black | 160 (7.7%) | 48 (6.9%) | 55 (7.9%) | 57 (8.2%) |  |
 Hispanic | 129 (6.2%) | 38 (5.5%) | 50 (7.2%) | 41 (5.9%) |  |
 Other | 427 (20.4%) | 152 (21.8%) | 119 (17.1%) | 156 (22.4%) |  |
Comorbidities, n (%) | |||||
 Hypertension | 1026 (49.1%) | 370 (53.1%) | 338 (48.6%) | 318 (45.6%) | 0.019 |
 Diabetes | 681 (32.6%) | 280 (40.2%) | 226 (32.5%) | 175 (25.1%) | < 0.001 |
 Congestive heart failure | 184 (8.8%) | 73 (10.5%) | 60 (8.6%) | 51 (7.3%) | 0.113 |
 Chronic kidney disease | 419 (20.0%) | 163 (23.4%) | 122 (17.5%) | 134 (19.2%) | 0.019 |
 Acute kidney injury | 1746 (83.5%) | 570 (81.8%) | 575 (82.6%) | 601 (86.2%) | 0.059 |
 Hepatorenal syndrome | 298 (14.3%) | 65 (9.3%) | 112 (16.1%) | 121 (17.4%) | < 0.001 |
Disease severity scores | |||||
 SOFA score, median [IQR] | 8.0 [5.0–11.0] | 7.0 [4.0–10.0] | 8.0 [6.0–11.0] | 9.0 [7.0–12.0] | < 0.001 |
 MELD score, median [IQR] | 18.2 [11.3–27.2] | 14.8 [9.3–23.0] | 18.3 [11.5–27.7] | 21.2 [14.0–29.7] | < 0.001 |
Treatment modalities, n (%) | |||||
 Mechanical ventilation | 1677 (80.2%) | 554 (79.5%) | 558 (80.2%) | 565 (81.1%) | 0.759 |
 CRRT | 274 (13.1%) | 66 (9.5%) | 88 (12.6%) | 120 (17.2%) | < 0.001 |
 Vasoactive agents | 1067 (51.1%) | 306 (43.9%) | 355 (51.0%) | 406 (58.2%) | < 0.001 |
 Diuretics | 763 (36.5%) | 221 (31.7%) | 283 (40.7%) | 259 (37.2%) | 0.002 |
Laboratory values | |||||
 WBC, × 10^9/L, median [IQR] | 9.1 [6.0–14.3] | 9.2 [6.0–14.4] | 8.9 [6.0–13.5] | 9.4 [5.9–14.9] | 0.307 |
 Hemoglobin, g/dL, median [IQR] | 9.5 [8.2–10.9] | 10.0 [8.6–11.5] | 9.4 [8.1–10.7] | 9.1 [7.7–10.4] | < 0.001 |
 Platelets, × 10^9/L, median [IQR] | 101.0 [65.0–155.0] | 110.0 [70.5–168.0] | 96.0 [64.0–148.0] | 95.0 [60.0–146.0] | 0.004 |
 AST, U/L, median [IQR] | 67.0 [39.0–146.0] | 52.0 [31.0–124.0] | 60.0 [39.0–113.0] | 100.0 [56.0–202.0] | < 0.001 |
 ALT, U/L, median [IQR] | 34.0 [20.0–71.0] | 42.0 [25.0–112.0] | 30.0 [20.0–57.0] | 30.0 [17.0–59.0] | < 0.001 |
 Sodium, mEq/L, mean ± SD | 136.7 ± 6.5 | 137.6 ± 6.0 | 136.7 ± 6.2 | 135.8 ± 7.1 | < 0.001 |
 Chloride, mEq/L, mean ± SD | 102.5 ± 7.7 | 103.6 ± 7.1 | 102.9 ± 7.3 | 101.0 ± 8.5 | < 0.001 |
 INR, mean ± SD | 1.9 ± 0.9 | 1.7 ± 1.0 | 1.9 ± 0.8 | 2.0 ± 0.9 | < 0.001 |
 Total bilirubin, mg/dL, median [IQR] | 2.7 [1.2–6.9] | 1.8 [0.9–4.2] | 2.7 [1.3–6.5] | 4.2 [1.8–9.7] | < 0.001 |
 Creatinine, mg/dL, median [IQR] | 1.2 [0.8–2.1] | 1.1 [0.8–1.8] | 1.2 [0.8–2.0] | 1.3 [0.8–2.4] | 0.004 |
 Albumin, g/dL, mean ± SD | 3.0 ± 0.7 | 3.0 ± 0.7 | 3.0 ± 0.7 | 3.0 ± 0.7 | 0.107 |
Outcome, n (%) | |||||
 28-day mortality following ICU admission | 606 (29.0%) | 140 (20.1%) | 203 (29.2%) | 263 (37.7%) | < 0.001 |