Background/aims: Variceal hemorrhaging due to portal hypertension is a severe complication of liver cirrhosis. Although several biomarkers have been reported as predictors of the presence of varices, it is still difficult to assess the risk of variceal bleeding without esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). The ratio of glycated albumin (GA) to glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was reported to increase with the progression of liver fibrosis. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the GA/HbA1c ratio is related to the severity and bleeding-risk of the varices.
Methodology: We measured the GA/HbA1c ratio of HCV-related cirrhotic patients with Child-Pugh class A status and analyzed its relationship with the presence and bleeding risk of varices.
Results: The GA/HbA1c ratio was higher in the patients who had the varices with a high risk of hemorrhage than in the patients with a low risk of bleeding. In addition, the GA/HbA1c ratio was higher in patients with varices than that in patients without varices. Furthermore, the GA/HbA1c ratio was the most significantly different parameter of all the factors examined, including the platelet count, prothrombin activity and albumin level.
Conclusions: The GA/HbA1c ratio is increased in patients with varices and with the bleeding risk of the varices.