Hepatic encephalopathy in Saudi Arabia: retrospective analysis of 51 patients.

The clinical features, prognostic factors, and outcome of 51 patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE), were retrospectively reviewed. The mean (+/- SD) age of patients was 47.2 (+/- 14.8) years. Seventy-five percent of patients were males and 73% were Saudi. All identified episodes of hepatic encephalopathy were associated with chronic underlying liver disease and no episode occurred as a result of acute fulminant hepatic failure. Most patients presented in advanced stage of hepatic dysfunction and had one or more precipitating factors. In-hospital mortality rate was 41% (21 out of 51 patients). Gastrointestinal tract bleeding, electrolytes imbalance and alkalosis were associated with significantly higher mortality rate. However, unadjusted analysis failed to identify certain base-line independent prognostic factors.