Reviewer's report
Title:Plasma disappearance rate of Indocyanine green is a prognostic indicator
in acute liver failure
Version: 1Date:6 September 2009
Reviewer: William Bernal
Reviewer's report:
Major Compulsory Revisions
The study is by necessity limited by its small size and by the number of
non-transplanted deaths. One cannot assume that all those transplanted would
have died as survival in this group may be >15% and consequently test
performance may be inferior to that stated. This should be emphasised in the text
and statistics for test performance should also state the 95% confidence
intervals.
The authors should also consult the STARD initiative
(http://www.stard-statement.org/) to formalise their report as with a few minor
changes and supplemental data it could conform to this important programme.
Discussion
I think reference 16 is the wrong one and should be -
Fulminant hepatic failure secondary to acetaminophen poisoning: a systematic
review and meta-analysis of prognostic criteria determining the need for liver
transplantation
Bailey, B. et al
Critical Care Medicine 2003 31(1);299-305
Assessing the performance of the Kings College Criteria in this study is
impossible as if it was the means by which transplant candidates were selected.
This should be stated in text.
- Minor Essential Revisions
Introduction
‘It does not represent liver blood flow.’ Surely ‘It does not represent liver blood
flow alone’ would be more accurate.
Results
‘The only clear correlation obtained was between ICG-PDR and meld score..’
This is imprecise language and a little surprising. Given the strong correlation
with MELD it’s odd that there was no correlation with any of its component
variables. These data should be presented. How did ICG-PDR correlate with
blood lactate?
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a
statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare I have no competeing interests.
Reviewer's report
Title:Plasma disappearance rate of Indocyanine green is a prognostic indicator
in acute liver failure
Version: 1Date:6 September 2009
Reviewer: William Bernal
Reviewer's report:
Major Compulsory Revisions
The study is by necessity limited by its small size and by the number of
non-transplanted deaths. One cannot assume that all those transplanted would
have died as survival in this group may be >15% and consequently test
performance may be inferior to that stated. This should be emphasised in the text
and statistics for test performance should also state the 95% confidence
intervals.
The authors should also consult the STARD initiative
(http://www.stard-statement.org/) to formalise their report as with a few minor
changes and supplemental data it could conform to this important programme.
Discussion
I think reference 16 is the wrong one and should be -
Fulminant hepatic failure secondary to acetaminophen poisoning: a systematic
review and meta-analysis of prognostic criteria determining the need for liver
transplantation
Bailey, B. et al
Critical Care Medicine 2003 31(1);299-305
Assessing the performance of the Kings College Criteria in this study is
impossible as if it was the means by which transplant candidates were selected.
This should be stated in text.
- Minor Essential Revisions
Introduction
‘It does not represent liver blood flow.’ Surely ‘It does not represent liver blood
flow alone’ would be more accurate.
Results
‘The only clear correlation obtained was between ICG-PDR and meld score..’
This is imprecise language and a little surprising. Given the strong correlation
with MELD it’s odd that there was no correlation with any of its component
variables. These data should be presented. How did ICG-PDR correlate with
blood lactate?
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a
statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare I have no competeing interests.
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report
Title:Plasma disappearance rate of Indocyanine green is a prognostic indicator
in acute liver failure
Version: 1Date:6 September 2009
Reviewer: William Bernal
Reviewer's report:
Major Compulsory Revisions
The study is by necessity limited by its small size and by the number of
non-transplanted deaths. One cannot assume that all those transplanted would
have died as survival in this group may be >15% and consequently test
performance may be inferior to that stated. This should be emphasised in the text
and statistics for test performance should also state the 95% confidence
intervals.
The authors should also consult the STARD initiative
(http://www.stard-statement.org/) to formalise their report as with a few minor
changes and supplemental data it could conform to this important programme.
Discussion
I think reference 16 is the wrong one and should be -
Fulminant hepatic failure secondary to acetaminophen poisoning: a systematic
review and meta-analysis of prognostic criteria determining the need for liver
transplantation
Bailey, B. et al
Critical Care Medicine 2003 31(1);299-305
Assessing the performance of the Kings College Criteria in this study is
impossible as if it was the means by which transplant candidates were selected.
This should be stated in text.
- Minor Essential Revisions
Introduction
‘It does not represent liver blood flow.’ Surely ‘It does not represent liver blood
flow alone’ would be more accurate.
Results
‘The only clear correlation obtained was between ICG-PDR and meld score..’
This is imprecise language and a little surprising. Given the strong correlation
with MELD it’s odd that there was no correlation with any of its component
variables. These data should be presented. How did ICG-PDR correlate with
blood lactate?
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a
statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare I have no competeing interests.
assistant