Comparison of the 2005 Montreal Criteria and the 2019 Cirrhotic Cardiomyopathy Consortium Criteria for the Diagnosis of Cirrhotic Cardiomyopathy.

The comparison between the diagnostic criteria for cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM) first proposed in 2005 (2005 Montreal criteria), and those redefined in the 2019 Cirrhotic Cardiomyopathy Consortium (2019 CCC criteria) has generated significant controversy. Importantly, the predictive value of these criteria in cirrhotic patients (CPs) remains unclear to this date. Thus, the present study aims to compare the 2 sets of criteria and investigate their predictive value in CPs. Between April 2021 and April 2023, a total of 104 CPs with an average age of 46.4 ± 8.9 years, who had no history of other cardiac diseases or malignancies were enrolled in this prospective single-center observational cohort study, conducted at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University. Various echocardiographic indicators were measured and assessed for their prognostic value and association with clinical outcomes. The prevalence of CCM was found to be comparable when evaluated using both the 2019 CCC and 2005 Montreal criteria (54.8% vs 44.2%, p = 0.161). However, the diagnosis of systolic dysfunction was significantly different between the 2 criteria (52.9% vs 1.0%, p <0.001). Among patients with systolic dysfunction, 27.9% had reduced left ventricular global longitudinal strain, while 25% had increased left ventricular global longitudinal strain. Moreover, fewer patients were diagnosed with diastolic dysfunction (DD) using the 2019 CCC criteria (4.8% vs 44.2%, p <0.001). Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that CPs who had encephalopathy, a high model for end-stage liver disease score, and DD diagnosed using the 2019 CCC criteria exhibited a poorer prognosis. In conclusion, although the prevalence of CCM according to both criteria is similar, the consistency is poor, indicating that they are not the same group of patients. Importantly, CPs with DD diagnosed according to the 2019 CCC criteria might be associated with increased adverse events.