ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Hepatobiliary Diseases
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1541795
This article is part of the Research TopicMechanisms of Cell Death in Acute Liver Diseases and the Pathobiology of Sterile Inflammation: The Double-Edged Sword ProblemView all articles
The Potentially Clinically Relevant Relationship between Phase Angle and Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
- 2Graduate School, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- 3Xiamen Branch, Department of Medical Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
- 4Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China
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Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is characterized by acute hepatic decompensation with high short-term mortality, necessitating prompt prognostic assessment. While phase angle (PhA) has been established as a biomarker in chronic diseases, its prognostic utility in ACLF remains undetermined. In this study, we evaluated PhA in 78 ACLF patients compared with two control groups. One control group consisted of 45 patients with chronic hepatitis B infection but normal liver function, while the other comprised 51 patients who did not meet the criteria for ACLF despite having abnormal liver function. Upon hospital admission, comprehensive laboratory parameters were obtained and phase angle (PhA) measurements were performed to assess potential correlations between PhA and organ dysfunction indices, systemic inflammatory markers, and established prognostic scoring systems for liver failure. Our analysis revealed significantly depressed PhA values in ACLF patients compared to both control groups. Notably, 3-month non-survivors demonstrated substantially lower PhA levels versus survivors. Moreover, patients with complications such as hepatic encephalopathy, ascites, and infection had markedly lower PhA values than those without such complications. Furthermore, when PhA was combined with the Chronic Liver Failure -Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, it could effectively predict the 90-day mortality in patients with ACLF. In conclusion, PhA is valuable for the assessment of the severity of ACLF and short-term mortality.
Keywords: Acute-on-chronic liver failure, phase angle, prognosis, Inflammation, bioelectrical impedance analysis
Received: 08 Dec 2024; Accepted: 16 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lin, Cai, Cai, Wang, Lin, Zhou, Zhou and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Meiya Chen, Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361004, Fujian Province, China
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