Handgrip strength stratifies the risk of covert and overt hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis

BACKGROUND: Handgrip strength (HGS) is a simple and convenient method to assess nutrition status in patients with cirrhosis. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the utility of HGS for predicting patients with covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) and patients at high risk of overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE). METHODS: We reviewed 963 patients with cirrhosis and consequently enrolled eligible 270 patients. HGS was measured using a digital grip dynamometer. CHE was diagnosed using a computer-aided neuropsychiatric test. Factors associated with CHE were estimated using the logistic regression model. Predictors associated with OHE occurrence were analyzed using the Fine-Gray competing risk regression model. RESULTS: Of the 270 eligible patients, reduced HGS was observed in 102 (38%), reduced muscle mass in 107 (40%), and CHE in 53 (20%). Multivariate analysis showed that serum ammonia levels (odds ratio OR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.14-4.36; P = 0.014) and reduced HGS (OR, 3.68; 95% CI, 1.93-7.03; P < 0.001) were independently associated with CHE. During the median follow-up period of 24.5 months, 43 (16%) patients experienced OHE. After adjusting for possible confounding factors, multivariate analysis showed that reduced HGS (subdistribution hazard ratio, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.27-4.38; P = 0.007) was a significant predictor in the development of OHE. CONCLUSION: Patients with reduced HGS had a higher prevalence of CHE and a higher risk for OHE occurrence than those with normal HGS. The measurement of HGS could be a simple bedside modality to stratify the patients' risk for CHE and OHE.