Lai JC, et al. - In a multi-center study, researchers studied relationships between liver frailty index (LFI) scores, ascites, and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and mortality. For this investigation, 1,044 adults without hepatocellular carcinoma who were on the waiting list for liver transplants at 9 centers in the US were assessed with LFI. LFI scores of 4.5 or higher signified that patients were frail. Of the subjects in the study, 36% had ascites, 41% had HE, and 25% were frail. According to findings, frailty is a complication often seen in cirrhosis that is more frequent in patients with ascites or HE and is independently correlated with waitlist mortality. In patients with cirrhosis, LFI scores might be used to objectively quantify the risk of death due to frailty, beyond severity of the liver disease.