The strongest predictor of EM was advanced liver disease in univariate analysis, as reflected by surrogates of impaired liver function such as Child-Pugh score (CPS) B (<i>p</i> <0.0001), albumin-bilirubin grade 2/3 (<i>p</i> = 0.026, <i>p</i> <0.0001) or high model for end-stage liver disease score (<i>p</i> <0.0001). Here, ALB is linked to liver disorder.