Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the correlation between serum cystatin C levels and Child-Pugh, MELD, and MELD-Na scores in patients with decompensated cirrhosis at the Department of Gastroenterology, Da Nang Hospital.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 138 patients hospitalized with decompensated cirrhosis. Serum cystatin C concentration was quantified, and Child-Pugh, MELD, and MELD-Na scores were calculated. Correlation coefficients between cystatin C and the clinical scores were determined using Spearman’s rank test. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 26.0.

Results: A total of 138 patients were included (male: 77.5%, female: 22.5%), with a mean age of 56.9 ± 11.4 years. The median serum cystatin C concentration was 1.2 (0.95–1.5) mg/L. Mean Child-Pugh, MELD, and MELD-Na scores were 9.0, 26.4, and 28.9, respectively. Serum cystatin C showed a moderate positive correlation with the Child-Pugh score (rho = 0.352, p < 0.05), and weak but statistically significant correlations with MELD (rho = 0.202, p < 0.05) and MELD-Na (rho = 0.241, p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Serum cystatin C levels are significantly associated with liver disease severity as assessed by Child-Pugh, MELD, and MELD-Na scores in patients with decompensated cirrhosis, suggesting its potential as a supplementary biomarker in prognosis evaluation.