Predictors of inpatient outcomes of COVID-19 infection in patients with cirrhosis in the early pandemic phase: A nationwide survey.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Previous studies conducted at single centers have suggested that patients with cirrhosis are at a greater risk for worse outcomes with COVID-19. However, there is limited data on a national level in the United States. We aimed to study hospital-related outcomes and identify the predictors of poor outcomes in patients with cirrhosis and concurrent COVID-19.

METHODS: We queried 2020 National Inpatient and Readmission databases to identify all hospitalizations due to cirrhosis in adults with a diagnosis of COVID-19. Primary outcomes included inpatient mortality, mechanical ventilation (MV), and intensive care unit (ICU) utilization. Secondary outcomes included mean length of stay (LOS) and mean hospitalization costs. We classified cirrhosis into compensated (CC) and decompensated (DC) groups.

RESULTS: We identified 25194 hospitalizations of adult patients due to cirrhosis with a concurrent diagnosis of COVID-19. These patients had higher mortality (19.50% vs 6.19%, P  ≤ 0.01), MV (11.7% vs 2.8%, P  ≤ 0.01), ICU utilization (17.3% vs 8.1%, P  ≤ 0.01), LOS (8.89 days vs 6.16 days, P  ≤ 0.01), and total hospitalization costs ($24 817 vs $18 505, P  ≤ 0.01) than those without COVID-19. On subgroup analysis, patients in the DC group had higher mortality, LOS, and hospitalization costs compared to those in the CC group. On multivariate analysis, we also found that COVID-19 infection, age, Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥3, acute kidney injury, end-stage renal disease, septic shock, acute respiratory failure, MV, and ICU status were independent predictors for mortality.

CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that COVID-19 infection is an independent predictor of mortality in patients with cirrhosis, with threefold higher mortality and increased resource utilization. Early intervention through immunizations and advanced COVID-19 therapies can help improve these outcomes.