Frailty Is Independently Associated with Higher Mortality and Readmissions in Patients with Acute Biliary Pancreatitis: A Nationwide Inpatient Study.

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis is the most common gastrointestinal cause of hospital admissions in the United States of which biliary or gallstone disease is the most common inciting factor. AIM: Estimate the effects of frailty on burden, costs, and causes for hospitalization in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis. METHODS: We analysed the Nationwide Readmission Database from 2016 to 2019 for patients with acute biliary pancreatitis. Patients were categorized into two groups, frail and non-frail, based on the Hospital Frailty Risk Score. Logistic and Cox regression were used to predict the impact of frailty on 30-day readmission, length of stay, mortality, and costs. RESULTS: 162,202 index hospitalizations with acute biliary pancreatitis without cholangitis were identified, of whom 59.2% (n = 96,045) were female and 22.49% (n = 36,475) were classified as frail. Readmissions within 30 days were higher among frail patients (12.58% vs 7.09%, P < 0.001) compared to non-frail patients, respectively. Regression modeling showed that frail patients had higher odds of readmission (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.24-1.42, P < 0.001), longer lengths of stay (8.18 days vs 4.11 days), and higher average costs of hospitalization ($21,511 vs $12,261) compared to non-frail patients, respectively. Cox regression showed that frail patients had a higher risk of mortality (HR 5.43; 95% Cl 4.06-7.29, P < 0.001) compared to non-frail patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty is independently associated with higher mortality and burden of healthcare utilization in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis. We suggest using the Hospital Frailty Risk Score as part of the treatment algorithm in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis.

Prevalence and Impact of Acute Pancreatitis on Hospitalization Outcomes in a Cohort of Patients With Crohn's Disease.

Background: Few studies evaluated the risk of acute pancreatitis (AP) in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). It's controversial if AP can be considered as an extraintestinal manifestation of CD. We studied this potential association in a retrospective cohort of patients with CD. Methods: We draw our cohort from the Nationwide Readmission Databases 2016 - 2018. We used the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes to identify all adult patients admitted with a diagnosis of CD. Patient with a comorbid AP were identified. We analyzed the significant impact of AP on hospitalization outcomes. A multivariate regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with AP. Results: We included 214,622 patients discharged from an index hospitalization for CD, 1.1% had AP. AP was independently associated with higher odds of inpatient mortality (odds ratio (OR): 1.831; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.345 - 2.492, P < 0.001), gallstone disease (OR: 4.047; 95% CI: 3.343 - 4.9, P < 0.001), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (OR: 3.568; 95% CI: 3.08 - 4.133, P < 0.001), and hypercalcemia (OR: 1.964; 95% CI: 1.302 - 2.965, P = 0.001). Thirty-day readmission analysis showed that CD patients with AP were more commonly to be readmitted for AP than for any other reason. Conclusions: In our nationwide cohort of CD patients, there was a significant association between AP and worse hospitalization outcomes. Additionally, we found independent associations for having AP that may help identify patients at high risk.

COVID-19 and liver diseases, what we know so far.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia outbreak started in December 2019. On March 12, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) constitutes a pandemic, and as of May 2021, SARS-CoV-2 has infected over 167.3 million patients, including 3.4 million deaths, reported to WHO. In this review, we will focus on the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the liver. We will discuss how chronic liver diseases affect the COVID-19 disease course and outcomes. We will also discuss the SARS-CoV-2 effects on the liver, mechanisms of acute liver injury, and potential management plans.

Burden and Predictors of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in a Retrospective Cohort of Patients With Crohn's Disease.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging extraintestinal manifestation (EIM) of Crohn's disease (CD). We aimed to investigate the prevalence and comorbid predictors of NAFLD in patients with CD. Methods: We conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study to determine the prevalence, characteristics, comorbidities, and hospitalization outcomes associated with NAFLD in patients with CD. Comparison between groups was performed by Mann-Whitney test for continuous variables and Chi-square test for categorical variables. We performed a binary logistic regression analysis for predictors of NAFLD among patients with CD. Results: We extracted 215,049 index hospital discharges with CD; 2.4% had NAFLD. CD patients, with NAFLD, had increased length of stay (4 days; interquartile range (IQR): 2 - 6 vs. 3; IQR: 2 - 6, P < 0.01), and increased median total charges ($32,305.5; IQR: $18,600 - $61,599 vs. $30,782; IQR: $16,847 - $58,667, P < 0.01), compared to CD patients without NAFLD. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) was found to be independently associated with increased mortality (odds ratio (OR): 1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1 - 2.6, P = 0.03) and a higher odd for all-cause 30-day non-elective readmission (OR: 1.6: 95% CI: 1.3 - 1.9, P < 0.001). Factors independently associated with NAFLD in patients with CD included portal hypertension (OR: 5.347; 95% CI: 4.604 - 6.211, P < 0.001), vitamin A deficiency (OR: 9.89; 95% CI: 4.49 - 21.76, P < 0.001) and vitamin B12 deficiency (OR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.098 - 2.209, P = 0.013). Conclusions: NAFLD is associated with worse hospitalization outcomes in patients with CD. Study findings suggest the need for early identification and effective management of NAFLD predictors to reduce complications.

Iron Deficiency Anemia: An Overlooked Complication of Crohn's Disease.

Background: There are few studies to evaluate the association between iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and Crohn's disease (CD). We examined this association in a USA-based cohort of patients with CD. Methods: We queried the Nationwide Readmission Databases 2018 using the International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, and Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes to identify all adult patients admitted with a diagnosis of CD. Primary outcomes were the prevalence of IDA among patients with CD. Secondary outcomes included inpatient mortality, the length of stay, all-cause 30-day non-elective readmission rate, and total cost of hospitalization. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to study the impact of IDA on inpatient mortality and non-elective readmissions. Results: Of the 72,076 patients discharged from an index hospitalization for CD, 8.1% had IDA. CD patients with IDA had increased length of stays in days (4, interquartile range (IQR): 2 - 6 vs. 3, IQR: 2 - 5; P < 0.001), increased median total charges ($35,160, IQR: $19,786 - $64,126 vs. $31,299, IQR: $17,226 - $59,561; P < 0.001), and were more common to require blood transfusion during hospitalization (13.6% vs. 3.4%, P < 0.001) compared to CD patients without IDA, respectively. IDA was independently associated with increased odds of all-cause 30-day non-elective readmission (odds ratio (OR): 1.254, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.154 - 1.363, P < 0.001) and increased odds of all-cause 90-day non-elective readmission (OR: 1.396, 95% CI: 1.302 - 1.498, P < 0.001). Conclusions: In a large nationwide cohort of patients hospitalized for CD, we observed a significant burden of IDA. Additionally, we found a significant association between IDA and worse hospitalization outcomes.