Association between liver fibrosis and the in-hospital mortality in patients with sepsis-induced coagulopathy

Abstract Background The impact of liver fibrosis on the clinical outcomes of patients with sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC) is not well understood. This study aimed to evaluate the association between liver fibrosis scores and in-hospital mortality in SIC patients. Methods In this retrospective observational cohort study, data were collected from patients diagnosed with sepsis and admitted to the ICU at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University between January 2017 and December 2023. Liver fibrosis was evaluated using three scores: Fibrosis-4 (Fib-4), Aspartate Aminotransferase–to–Platelet Ratio Index (APRI), and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Fibrosis Score (NFS). Patients were divided into tertiles according to their liver fibrosis scores, and the primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Multivariable logistic regression and restricted cubic spline regression analyses were used to assess associations, complemented by sensitivity analyses through subgroup evaluations. Results The cohort included 948 patients diagnosed with SIC with an in-hospital mortality of 26.16%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between higher liver fibrosis scores and increased in-hospital mortality. Specifically, patients in the highest tertile of Fib-4, APRI, and NFS scores had significantly higher odds of mortality (FIB-4: OR 3.62, 95% CI 1.03–12.69; APRI: OR 2.16, 95% CI 0.88–5.30; NFS: OR 6.80, 95% CI 2.11–21.93) compared to those in the lowest tertile. The restricted cubic spline regression model showed a linear increase in the risk of in-hospital mortality with increasing liver fibrosis score. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the consistency and stability of the results across the different subgroups. Conclusion Our study suggests that elevated liver fibrosis scores, particularly Fib-4 and NFS, are associated with higher in-hospital mortality in SIC patients. Further research, especially larger prospective studies, are needed to validate these findings.