The Child-Pugh score is a clinical tool designed for assessing the prognosis of chronic liver disease, primarily cirrhosis. It is particularly useful in predicting mortality rates in patients with liver cirrhosis, aiding in clinical decision-making and patient counseling.
The score is determined by five primary components: total bilirubin, albumin, international normalized ratio (INR), ascites, and encephalopathy. Each component is assigned a score of 1 to 3 based on the severity of the patient's condition.
Total bilirubin, albumin, and INR are biochemical markers reflecting liver function. Higher bilirubin and INR or lower albumin levels indicate more severe liver dysfunction and receive higher scores. Ascites and encephalopathy are clinical manifestations of liver disease. The presence and severity of these conditions also contribute to the overall score.
The sum of these scores is used to classify patients into three risk classes: Class A (score <= 6), Class B (score 7-9), and Class C (score >= 10). Each class corresponds to a different risk of perioperative mortality, with Class A having the lowest risk (29%) and Class C the highest (88%).
The Child-Pugh score, therefore, provides a quantitative measure of disease severity in liver cirrhosis, helping clinicians to stratify risk and guide treatment decisions.
Reference
R N Pugh, I M Murray-Lyon, J L Dawson et al. Transection of the oesophagus for bleeding oesophageal varices. Br J Surg. 1973 Aug;60(8):646-9.
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