Development and predictive validity of the cirrhosis-associated ascites symptom scale: A cohort study of 103 patients

Table 1 Cirrhosis-associated ascites symptom scale in Danish

Please answer the following questions with a cross or tick with regards to how you have felt in the past four weeks.
		Nej	Sjældent	Indimellem	Ofte
		No	Rarely	Sometimes	Often
1	Har du ondt i maven?
	Do you have stomach ache?
2	Har du ømhed i maven?
	Does your stomach feel sore?
3	Har du kvalme?
	Do you feel nauseous?
4	Har du madlede?
	Do you feel an aversion for food?
5	Har du nedsat appetit?
	Do you experience a loss of appetite?
6	Har du ændret afføring?
	Have you experienced a change in your stool?
7	Har du følt dig utilpas?
	Have you felt uncomfortable?
8	Er du træt?
	Are you tired?
9	Har du åndenød?
	Do you experience a shortness of breath?
10	Har du svært ved at trække vejret helt igennem?
	Do you feel troubled when breathing deeply?
11	Har du svært ved at få tøj eller sko på?
	Are you disabled when dressing or putting on shoes?
12	Har du svært ved at komme rundt derhjemme?
	Do you experience difficulties in mobility at home?
13	Har du svært ved at gå?
	Do you experience trouble walking?
14	Har du ondt i benene?
	Do your legs hurt?

Table 2 Patient characteristics according to degree of ascites n (%)

	Control group, no ascites (n = 31)	Mild/moderate (n = 27)	Tense (n = 45)	Total (n = 103)
Age: mean (SD)	61.5 (8.4)	62.3 (10.2)	63.1 (11.3)	62.4 (10.1)
Gender: Males	23 (74)	19 (70)	32 (71)	74 (72)
Etiology
Alcohol	28 (90)	22 (81)	38 (86)	88 (86)
Viral	1 (3)	2 (7)	3 (7)	6 (6)
Alcohol and viral	1 (3)	1 (4)	3 (7)	5 (5)
Other	3 (10)	4 (15)	6 (13)	13 (13)
MELD score: mean (SD)	10.1 (3.3)	14.8 (6.2)	15.9 (6.3)	13.8 (6.0)
Child PUGH: mean (SD)	6.2 (1.8)	8.1 (1.3)	9.1 (1.4)	7.9 (1.9)
Class A	19 (61)	4 (15)	-	23 (22)
Class B	7 (23)	17 (63)	27 (60)	51 (50)
Class C	2 (6)	2 (7)	12 (27)	16 (16)
Laboratory values (SD)
Hemoglobin (mmol/L)	8.4 (1.4)	7.1 (1.2)	6.4 (1.4)	7.2 (1.6)
White blood cells (× 109/L)	6.9 (2.6)	7.2 (3.9)	7.3 (3.5)	7.1 (3.3)
Platelets (mmol/L)	145 (65)	158 (95)	160 (87)	155 (83)
Albumin (g/L)	35 (5.8)	29 (5.9)	30 (14)	31 (10)
Cogulation factor II, VII, X (INR)	1.3 (0.3)	1.4 (0.3)	1.5 (0.5)	1.4 (0.4)
Creatinine (μmol/L)	74 (17)	87 (29)	94 (48)	86 (37)
Sodium (mmol/L)	138 (3.6)	134 (5.9)	132 (6.9)	135 (6.3)
Potassium (mmol/L)	4.1 (0.4)	4.3 (0.5)	4.2 (0.7)	4.2 (0.6)

There were no patients in Child Pugh Class A with tense ascites.

Table 3 Correlation between cirrhosis-associated ascites symptom score, EuroQoL 5-Dimensions 5-Level scale questionnaire and chronic liver disease questionnaire total score and subscores

	Rho	P value
Total EQ-5D-5L	-0.67	< 0.001
Total CLDQ score	-0.821	< 0.001
Fatigue	-0.781	< 0.001
Emotional function	-0.55	< 0.001
Worry	-0.47	< 0.001
Abdominal symptoms	-0.66	< 0.001
Activity	-0.811	< 0.001
Systemic symptoms	-0.771	< 0.001

¹Strong correlations. CLDQ: Chronic liver disease questionnaire; EQ-5D-5L: EuroQoL 5-Dimensions 5-Level scale questionnaire.