Task: Answer Verification
Input (English): Question: Is higher free serum cortisol associated with worse survival in acute variceal bleeding because of cirrhosis : a prospective study?
Answer: Higher FC is present in cirrhosis with AVB compared with CC and is associated independently with bleeding-related mortality. However, whether high FC solely indicates the severity of illness or whether there is significant adrenal insufficiency cannot be discerned.
Output (English): yes