Ammonia-to-Urea Ratio: A Noninvasive First-Line Tool for Detecting Clinically Significant Portal Hypertension.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Cirrhosis progresses from compensated to decompensated phases, often marked by portal hypertension and complications like ascites, variceal hemorrhage, and hepatic encephalopathy. The ammonia-to-urea (A-to-U) ratio, reflecting urea cycle efficiency, may offer superior diagnostic performance compared to plasma ammonia levels alone. This study compared the diagnostic accuracy of the A-to-U ratio and plasma ammonia levels for identifying portal hypertension.

Methods

We conducted a derivation (2019-2020) and validation (2020-2022) study in patients with chronic liver disease. In the derivation study, outcomes included imaging findings of portal hypertension and clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) per BAVENO VII criteria. Validation outcomes encompassed

SUBMITTER: Ouahbi H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12416541 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature