Photo Credit: Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)-related and metabolic and alcohol-related liver disease (MetALD)-related cirrhosis is responsible for one-third of cirrhosis cases seen in the intensive care unit (ICU), according to a study published in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The prevalence of MASLD-related cirrhosis in the ICU (January 2019 to September 2021) among 315 patients (39 with MASLD, 160 with alcohol-related liver disease [ALD], and 116 with MetALD cirrhosis) was assessed. The researchers found that patients in the MASLD group were significantly older (65 years versus 57 and 59 years, respectively) and had lower Child-Pugh (8 vs 11 and 10, respectively) and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease scores (17 vs 22 and 21, respectively). There were no differences in one-year transplant-free survival between the groups (53% vs 54% and 54%, respectively). All groups had cardiovascular mortality of less than 5%. The MASLD group had a significantly higher one-year probability of developing hepatic encephalopathy (73% vs 27% and 21%, respectively).