Title: Mortality rates and risk factors in 1,412 Japanese patients with decompensated hepatitis
C virus-related cirrhosis: A retrospective long-term cohort study
Version: 1 Date: 24 Dec 2020
Reviewer's report:
The authors explored the mortality and HCC rates and associated risk factors in 1,412 Japanese
patients with decompensated hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis. I have some comments.
1.Please add the flow chart of patients selection.
2.Could you add the risk factors for HCC? Because, in patients with decompensated liver
cirrhosis, clarifying the risk factors of HCC can help identify high-risk patients, which may be
beneficial to individualized management of patients.
3. In Results of "Factors associated with mortality", the authors wrote "The parameters
(e.g., ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, esophageal varices, albumin, total bilirubin, creatinine,
ammonia, and prothrombin time) that strongly correlated with other parameters were considered
confounding factors and excluded from statistical analysis". Why excluded esophageal varices?
4. In Table 2, in univariate analysis, sex and AST are risk factors significantly related to mortality
(P<0.001 and P=0.0034). Why were they not included in the multivariate analysis?
5. The Discussion was poor organized and failed to explain or highlight the key findings of this
article.
Title: Mortality rates and risk factors in 1,412 Japanese patients with decompensated hepatitis
C virus-related cirrhosis: A retrospective long-term cohort study
Version: 1 Date: 24 Dec 2020
Reviewer's report:
The authors explored the mortality and HCC rates and associated risk factors in 1,412 Japanese
patients with decompensated hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis. I have some comments.
1.Please add the flow chart of patients selection.
2.Could you add the risk factors for HCC? Because, in patients with decompensated liver
cirrhosis, clarifying the risk factors of HCC can help identify high-risk patients, which may be
beneficial to individualized management of patients.
3. In Results of "Factors associated with mortality", the authors wrote "The parameters
(e.g., ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, esophageal varices, albumin, total bilirubin, creatinine,
ammonia, and prothrombin time) that strongly correlated with other parameters were considered
confounding factors and excluded from statistical analysis". Why excluded esophageal varices?
4. In Table 2, in univariate analysis, sex and AST are risk factors significantly related to mortality
(P<0.001 and P=0.0034). Why were they not included in the multivariate analysis?
5. The Discussion was poor organized and failed to explain or highlight the key findings of this
article.
Please review this paper.
user
Title: Mortality rates and risk factors in 1,412 Japanese patients with decompensated hepatitis
C virus-related cirrhosis: A retrospective long-term cohort study
Version: 1 Date: 24 Dec 2020
Reviewer's report:
The authors explored the mortality and HCC rates and associated risk factors in 1,412 Japanese
patients with decompensated hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis. I have some comments.
1.Please add the flow chart of patients selection.
2.Could you add the risk factors for HCC? Because, in patients with decompensated liver
cirrhosis, clarifying the risk factors of HCC can help identify high-risk patients, which may be
beneficial to individualized management of patients.
3. In Results of "Factors associated with mortality", the authors wrote "The parameters
(e.g., ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, esophageal varices, albumin, total bilirubin, creatinine,
ammonia, and prothrombin time) that strongly correlated with other parameters were considered
confounding factors and excluded from statistical analysis". Why excluded esophageal varices?
4. In Table 2, in univariate analysis, sex and AST are risk factors significantly related to mortality
(P<0.001 and P=0.0034). Why were they not included in the multivariate analysis?
5. The Discussion was poor organized and failed to explain or highlight the key findings of this
article.
assistant