Variceal hemorrhage: Analysis of 9987 cases from a Japanese nationwide database

AimGastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage is an important complication of cirrhosis. We investigated the in-hospital mortality and its risk factors after variceal hemorrhage in a large sample population, using a nationwide Japanese database. MethodsData on the patients with variceal hemorrhage were collected for a total of 39 months from a nationwide administrative database covering approximately 1000 hospitals in Japan. The risk factors for fatal outcome after variceal hemorrhage were analyzed with receiver-operator curves (ROC) and univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Comorbidities were assessed with the Charlson Comorbidity Index. ResultsWe identified 9987 patients with variceal hemorrhage from a total of 20.3million inpatients in the database. The median age was 63 years and 68.8% were male. The overall in-hospital mortality was 16.8% (1676 cases). In univariate analysis, Child-Pugh class was the strongest predictor; the area under the ROC of Child-Pugh score for predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.802. In multivariate analysis, increased in-hospital mortality was significantly associated with male sex (vs female: odds ratio [OR]=1.19, P=0.01), older age, Child-Pugh class B or C (B vs A: OR=2.80, P<0.001; C vs A: OR=20.1, P<0.001) and higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (6 vs 5; OR=1.29, P<0.001). ConclusionIn spite of recent advances in the treatment of variceal hemorrhage, the in-hospital mortality remained as high as 16%. Poor liver function was the most important predictor, suggesting that liver failure after variceal hemorrhage might have been the cause of death.