ArticleCureus2025
Utility of Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score in Diagnosing Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy Among Liver Cirrhosis Patients in Nigeria.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionHepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a critical complication of liver cirrhosis, with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) representing a subtle neurocognitive disorder within its spectrum, characterized by cognitive and motor impairments undetectable by routine clinical examinations. The Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES), comprising five psychometric tests, is the gold standard for MHE diagnosis, enabling early intervention to prevent accidents, falls, progression to overt HE, and reduced quality of life. The study aimed to establish a local PHES reference value in Nigeria and evaluate its utility in diagnosing MHE among liver cirrhosis patients.
methodsIt is a cross-sectional study; 200 apparently healthy controls and 85 liver cirrhosis patients without overt HE underwent PHES testing, including Number Connection test-A (NCT-A), Number Connection test-B (NCT-B), Digit Symbol Test (DST), Serial Dotting Test (SDT), and Line Tracing Test (LTT).
resultsThe mean age of the liver cirrhosis patients was 40.5 ± 11.8 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.4:1, comparable to the controls. MHE was diagnosed at PHES < -5, revealing a prevalence of 51.8%. Risk factors associated with MHE included serum albumin, prothrombin time, and Child-Pugh score (p < 0.05), with Child-Pugh score (OR 9.3) and prothrombin time (OR 19.5) as independent predictors. Subtest combinations (NCT-A + NCT-B, NCT-A + SDT) showed sensitivities of 84.1% and 86.4%, respectively, and 61% specificity, reducing test time by 52%.
conclusionThe high MHE prevalence underscores the need for PHES validation across Nigeria to develop national diagnostic guidelines.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.