Emergency department visits related to cirrhosis: a retrospective study of the nationwide emergency department sample 2006 to 2011

Medicine (Baltimore). 2015 Jan;94(1):e308. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000000308.

Abstract

There is scant literature about cirrhosis and its associated complications in a non-hospitalized population.To study the epidemiology of cirrhosis-associated Emergency Department visits in the US.Estimates were calculated in patients' ≥18 years using the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample.The number of visits associated with an International Classification of Diseases-9 diagnosis code of cirrhosis increased non-significantly from 23.81/10,000 population (2006) to 23.9/10,000 population (2011; P = 0.05). A majority of these patients (75.30%) underwent hospital admission, the greatest risk factor for this was the presence of ≥3 comorbidities (adjusted odds ratio 30.8; 95% Confidence Interval 30.4-31.2). Infection was the most frequent concurrent complicating diagnosis associated with cirrhosis (20.1%). There was a decreased incidence in most of the complicating conditions except for hepatorenal syndrome and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.Our results indicate a stable trend for cirrhosis-associated Emergency Department visits from 2006 to 2011. Further studies are required to investigate the increased incidence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and hepatorenal renal syndrome in the cirrhotic population.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Emergency Service, Hospital / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Liver Cirrhosis / complications
  • Liver Cirrhosis / epidemiology*
  • Liver Cirrhosis / therapy
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • United States / epidemiology