Prevalence of minimal hepatic encephalopathy and quality of life evaluations in hospitalized cirrhotic patients in China.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and to assess corresponding health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in hospitalized cirrhotic patients in China.

Methods: This multi-center cross-sectional study included 16 teaching hospitals, which were members of "Hepatobiliary Cooperation Group, Society of Gastroenterology, Chinese Medical Association", from different areas of China carried out between June and October in 2011. All the eligible hospitalized cirrhotic patients (n = 538) were required to complete triplicate number connection tests combined with one digit symbol test for diagnosing MHE.