Using hospitalization summary records to evaluate the changing trends of hospitalization for patients with liver cirrhosis in Ningxia, China (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Liver cirrhosis is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Little was known about the prevalence and risk factors of Liver cirrhosis in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), China. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the changing trends of hospitalization for patients with live cirrhosis between 2015 to 2019 by using hospitalization summary records in NHAR, China. METHODS Hospitalization summary records between the 1st January 2015 and the 31st December 2019 from 28 top-ranking hospitals in NHAR were extracted and rigorously analyzed by data extraction, cleaning, processing, case ascertainment, and privacy protection. RESULTS Between 2015 and 2019, hospitalization rates for liver cirrhosis declined from 8.38‰ to 5.57‰. Chronic viral hepatitis accounted for almost 70% of all live cirrhosis admissions; the remaining 30% of patients were admitted due to non-viral hepatitis cirrhosis (28.06%) and alcoholic cirrhosis (2.05%). The male-to-female hospitalization rate ratio for liver cirrhosis was 2.57. The hospitalization rate for workers with hepatitis cirrhosis was significantly higher than farmers (hospitalization rate ratio (RR)=1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.97-1.15, p<0.001); this was also the case for alcoholic cirrhosis (RR=5.23, 95%CI 3.34-8.20). However, the hospitalization rate for workers with non-viral hepatitis cirrhosis was significantly lower than for farmers (RR=5.23, 95%CI 3.34-8.20, p<0.001). In other occupation groups, the hospitalization rates all decreased except for cases involving alcoholic cirrhosis. The hospitalization rate increased in patients over the age of 30 years and reached a peak at the age of 45- 50 years. CONCLUSIONS The hospitalization rate for liver cirrhosis has declined over recent years and chronic viral hepatitis remains the major cause of liver cirrhosis in NHAR. Hospitalization summary records can efficiently reflect the local changing trends of hospitalization for liver cirrhosis and represent an efficient strategy for the surveillance of chronic disease.