Supine vs upright exercise in patients with hepatopulmonary syndrome and orthodeoxia: study protocol for a randomized controlled crossover trial

Table 4 Differences in baseline clinical characteristics between hepatopulmonary syndrome patients with and without orthodeoxia (current cohort)

Characteristic		No orthodeoxia	Orthodeoxia	P value^†
Age (years)	N	19	37
Age (years)	Mean ± SD	63.8 ± 11.9	60.4 ± 10.7	0.302
Sex—male	N (%)	8 (44.4)	22 (59.5)	0.294
MELD score	N	17	36
MELD score	Mean ± SD	14.0 ± 3.8	12.4 ± 3.4	0.144
DLCO (% predicted)	N	18	35
DLCO (% predicted)	Mean ± SD	64.0 ± 14.7	50.2 ± 14.7	0.005
MAA shunt fraction (%) [36]	N	10	30
MAA shunt fraction (%) [36]	Mean ± SD	17.2 ± 23.2	22.0 ± 13.8	0.551
Shunt fraction on 100% FiO₂ (%) [37]	N	19	34
Shunt fraction on 100% FiO₂ (%) [37]	Mean ± SD	13.4 ± 6.0	14.6 ± 8.3	0.571
6MWD (m)	N	7	10
6MWD (m)	Mean ± SD	418.6 ± 109.2	441.8 ± 147.8	0.715
Clubbing	N (%)	12 (63.2)	22 (61.1)	0.882
PaO₂ (upright) (mmHg)	N	19	37
PaO₂ (upright) (mmHg)	Mean ± SD	59.0 ± 13.0	48.1 ± 14.3	0.006

MELD denotes model for end-stage liver disease score, DLCO diffusion lung capacity for carbon monoxide, MAA macroaggregated albumin, FiO₂ fraction of inspired oxygen, 6MWD 6-min walk distance, PaO₂ partial pressure of arterial oxygen, N total number of participants, SD standard deviation
^†Univariate analyses are presented for each variable, continuous variables assessed with a 2-sample t-test, and categorical variables with a chi-squared test. Variables were assessed on the same day as orthodeoxia or within an interval of ≤ 1 year

ISSN: 1745-6215