Predictive Values of Presepsin Levels in ASciteS in Patients With Chronic Liver Failure

Presepsin is a plasmatic cleaved fragment of CD14. CD14 is a toll like receptor who has the role to identify certain lipopolysaccharides on the surface of bacteria (aerobes and anaerobes), thus promoting an inflammatory response. A study of 153 patients with liver cirrhosis published by a team of investigators from Iasi, Romania, has proven an useful role of plasma presepsin in early diagnosis of infections in patients in acute on chronic liver failure. In addition, plasma presepsin has been proposed as an independent predictor of mortality in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, without concomitant bacterial infections. Question to be answered by this study The investigators aim to evaluate the predictive role of ascites presepsin in patients with chronic liver failure. Hypothesis Presepsin levels in ascites may have a prognostic role in patients with ascites and chronic liver failure.