Emergency Department Utilization and Outcomes among Adults with Cirrhosis from 2008 to 2022 in the United States.

Background&aims: Globally, emergency departments (ED) are experiencing rising costs and crowding. Despite its importance, ED utilization and outcomes among patients with cirrhosis are understudied.

Methods: We analyzed Optum's de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database, between 2008-2022, including adults with at least 180 days of enrollment. Liver transplant recipients were censored at the year of transplant. ED visits (stratified by liver vs non-liver related) were identified using validated billing code definitions. Linear regression was used to assess ED visits per year and logistic regression was used to assess 90-day mortality rates and discharge dispositions, with models adjusted for patient- and visit-level characteristics.

Results: Among 38,419,650 patients, 198,439 were with cirrhosis (median age 66[IQR 57-72]; 54% male; 62% white). In age-adjusted analysis, ED visits per person-year were 1.72[95CI 1.71-1.74] with cirrhosis vs 0.46[0.46-0.46] without cirrhosis, 1.66[1.66-1.66] for congestive heart failure (CHF), and 1.22[1.22-1.22] for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Age-adjusted 90-day mortality rates were 12.2%[95CI 12.1-12.4] with cirrhosis vs 4.8%[4.8-4.8] without cirrhosis, 6.9%[6.9-6.9] for CHF, and 6.3%[6.3-6.4] for COPD. Non-liver (vs liver-related) ED visits were more likely to lead to discharge home among patients with compensated (52.8%[52.2-53.5] vs 39.2% [38.5-39.8]) and decompensated (42.2%[41.5-42.8] vs 29.5%[29.0-30.1]) cirrhosis. In exploratory analysis, among patients who remained alive and were not readmitted for 30-days after ED discharge, those without any outpatient follow-up had higher 90-day mortality (22.0%[21.0-23.0]) than those with both primary care and gastroenterology/hepatology follow-up within 30-days (7.9%[7.3-8.5]).

Conclusions: Patients with cirrhosis have higher ED utilization and almost 2-fold higher post-ED visit mortality than CHF and COPD. These findings provide impetus for ED-based interventions to improve cirrhosis-related outcomes.