Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio predicts the prognosis in HBV-associated acute-on-chronic liver failure.

BACKGROUND: The gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio (GPR) is a new noninvasive marker for assessing liver fibrosis. We aimed to evaluate the performance of GPR for prediction of 90-day mortality in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF).

METHODS: A total of 355 patients with HBV-associated ACLF were enrolled from two clinical centers and divided into training group (n=210) and validation group (n=145). Potential risk factors for 90-day mortality were analyzed.

RESULTS: Age, MELD score and GPR were independent risk factors associated with ACLF prognosis. A new scoring system (MELD-GPR) was developed. MELD-GPR=9.211-0.029×age-0.290×MELD-0.460×GPR. For ACLF patients with liver cirrhosis, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of MELD-GPR was 0.788, which was significantly higher than that of MELD and MELD-Na (0.706 and 0.666, respectively). Patients were stratified into three groups according to MELD-GPR scores (high risk: <-0.19, intermediate risk: -0.19-0.95, and low risk: >0.95), and the high-risk group (MELD-GPR<-0.19) had a poor prognosis (P<0.01). For ACLF patients without liver cirrhosis, MELD-GPR<0.95 predicted a poor prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating GPR into MELD may provide more accurate survival prediction in patients with HBV-ACLF.