Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40224672›Full record

ArticleEClinicalMedicine2025

Subphenotypes and the De Ritis ratio for mortality risk stratification in sepsis-associated acute liver injury: a retrospective cohort study.

Lars Palmowski, Britta Westhus, Andrea Witowski, Hartmuth Nowak, Isabella Traut, Ali Canbay, Andreas Schnitzbauer, Paul Elbers, Michael Adamzik, Antonios Katsounas and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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  4. Initial Aspartate Aminotransferase-to-platelet Ratio Index is Associated with Sepsis-associated Liver Dysfunction in Adult Patients with Sepsis: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Indian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Lars PalmowskiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.
Britta WesthusDepartment of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.
Andrea WitowskiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.
Hartmuth NowakDepartment of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.
Isabella TrautDepartment of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.
Ali CanbayDepartment of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.
Andreas SchnitzbauerDepartment of Visceral, Oncological, and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.
Paul ElbersDepartment of Intensive Care Medicine, Center for Critical Care Computational Intelligence (C4I), Amsterdam Medical Data Science (AMDS), Amsterdam Cardiovascular Science (ACS), Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity (AII), Amsterdam Public Health (APH), Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam 1081 HV, the Netherlands.
Michael AdamzikDepartment of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.
Antonios KatsounasDepartment of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.
Tim RahmelDepartment of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, Bochum 44892, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Sepsis-associated liver injury (SALI) is associated with poor outcomes and increased mortality. However, effectively stratifying SALI patients according to prognosis remains challenging. This study evaluates laboratory-based clustering filters for stratifying SALI patients by 30-day mortality risk, utilizing data mining techniques for novel pattern discovery. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed SALI patients from two ICU databases: Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-IV database (n = 73,181, study period: 2008 to 2019) and Amsterdam UMC (n = 16,194, study period: 2003 to 2016). Patients were identified using Sepsis-3 criteria and liver injury markers. Risk stratification employed three laboratory-based approaches: (I) De Ritis ratio (aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase), (II) R-factor (alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase relative to their upper limits of normal), and (III) alanine aminotransferase elevation. Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox regression assessed the association between stratification methods and 30-day mortality risk. Findings: SALI patients had almost a 2-fold higher risk of 30-day mortality than those without SALI (hazard ratio: 1.73; 95%-CI: 1.58-1.90, p < 0.0001). Each stratification method (I-III) successfully classified patients into statistically distinct risk strata. The De Ritis ratio emerged as the strongest prognostic differentiation method: a ratio ≤1 indicated no significant increase in mortality risk (hazard ratio: 0.86; 95%-CI: 0.68-1.09, p = 0.21), whereas ratios of 1-2 and ≥2 were significantly associated with higher mortality (hazard ratio: 1.56; 95%-CI: 1.37-1.78, p < 0.0001 and hazard ratio: 2.46; 95%-CI: 2.18-2.77, p < 0.0001, respectively). All findings were confirmed in the validation cohort. Interpretation: The De Ritis ratio serves as a valuable prognostic tool for 30-day mortality in SALI patients. Our findings indicate that patients with a ratio ≥1 face significantly worse outcomes, highlighting the need for targeted interventions. These results refine risk stratification in SALI subphenotypes, enhancing our understanding of its prognostic implications. Funding: This study received no external funding and was solely financed through the departmental resources of the authors.

Indexed as

Acute liver injuryDe Ritis ratioPhenotypeSALISepsisSubphenotype

Identifiers

PMID40224672
PMCPMC11987629

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.