Premium
Liver stiffness and 30‐day mortality in a cohort of patients admitted to hospital
Author(s) -
Lindvig Kristoffer,
Mössner Belinda K.,
Pedersen Court,
Lillevang Søren T.,
Christensen Peer.B.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2362.2011.02571.x
Subject(s) - medicine , transient elastography , cirrhosis , prospective cohort study , cohort , cohort study , population , heart failure , gastroenterology , surgery , liver fibrosis , environmental health
Eur J Clin Invest 2011 Abstract Background Transient elastography (TE) is a new noninvasive method to assess the degree of liver fibrosis by measuring liver stiffness. The objective of this study was to determine whether increased liver stiffness in patients admitted to medical wards was associated with increased 30‐day mortality. Materials and methods A prospective cohort study at the medical admissions ward at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, covering a population of 300 000 inhabitants. Consecutive patients ≥ 18 years of age were examined by TE (Fibroscan) at admission. Outcome measure was 30‐day mortality. Results Among 568 patients admitted during 24 days, 289 (50·8%) were included in the study, 212 (73·4%) with valid TE measurement. Increased liver stiffness (TE value > 8 kPa) was found in 22·6% (48/212). This was independently associated with cirrhosis of the liver ( P < 0·001) and congestive heart failure (CHF) ( P < 0·001). The estimated prevalence of cirrhosis was 7% (95% CI 4–11%). The 30‐day mortality among patients with TE value > 8 kPa was 20·8% (10/48, 95%CI 10·5–35·0%) compared to patients with TE value ≤ 8 kPa 3·7% (6/164, 95%CI 1·3–7·8%) ( P < 0·001), and TE value > 8 kPa was an independent predictor of death. Conclusions Elevated TE value at admission is associated with increased mortality, cirrhosis of the liver and CHF. This information may potentially be used to improve the outcome of high‐risk patients admitted to hospital.