Predicting mortality risk in patients with compensated HCV-induced cirrhosis: a long-term prospective study.

Objectives: The identification of prognostic factors associated with mortality is crucial in any clinical setting.

Methods: We enrolled in a prospective study 352 patients with compensated hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced cirrhosis, consecutively observed between 1989 and 1992. At entry, patients underwent upper endoscopy to detect esophageal varices, and were then surveilled by serial clinical and ultrasonographic examination.