Clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of mortality in liver cirrhosis patients on continuous renal replacement therapy in two tertiary hospitals in Korea

BACKGROUND: Data on liver cirrhosis (LC) patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) are lacking despite of the dismal prognosis. We therefore evaluated clinical characteristics and predictive factors related to mortality in LC patients undergoing CRRT. METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study at two tertiary hospitals in Korea. A total of 229 LC patients who underwent CRRT were analyzed. Patients were classified into survivor and non-survivor groups. We used multivariable Cox regression analyses to identify predictive factors of in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 5 days (interquartile range, 1–19 days), in-hospital mortality rate was 66.4%. In multivariable analysis, the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score (hazard ratio [HR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.06; p = 0.02), Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score (HR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04–1.11; p < 0.001), and delivered CRRT dose (HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92–0.98; p = 0.002) were significant risk factors for in-hospital mortality. Patients with a CRRT delivered dose < 25 mL/kg/hr had a higher mortality rate than those with a delivered dose > 35 mL/kg/hr (HR, 3.13; 95% CI, 1.62–6.05; p = 0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed that a CRRT delivered dose < 25 mL/kg/hr was a significant risk factor for in-hospital mortality among LC patients with a MELD score ≥ 30. CONCLUSION: High APACHE II score, high MELD score, and low delivered CRRT dose were significant risk factors for in-hospital mortality. CRRT delivered dose impacted mortality significantly, especially in patients with a MELD score ≥ 30.