Anemia in Newly Diagnosed Cases with Liver Cirrhosis

Abstract Between 50% and 87% of cases with liver cirrhosis have a concomitant anemic syndrome, which is the most common hematological abnormality on routine examination. Aim To determine the frequency, type and severity of anemia in newly diagnosed cases with liver cirrhosis. Materials and methods A retrospective study of newly diagnosed cases of liver cirrhosis was performed for the period 2017–2021. The study group included 361 individuals, of whom 258 (71%) were men and 103 (29%) women. The mean age was 57 ± 11.4 years. The main etiology was alcohol consumption in 262 (72.5%) of them. All were graded by Child-Pough score. MELD Na of each was calculated. Results were processed with IBM SPSS 26 and Excel statistics. We used ANOVA, Mann-Whitney, and Pearson Chi-Square tests at a certain level of statistical dependence and a p-value less than 0.05. Results Of the entire study population, 258 (71%) were found to be anemic, and mild anemia was found in 160 (62%) of them. The most common was normocytic anemia in 135 (52.3%) of the cases. Macrocytic anemia was found in 88 (34.1%) of the cases, which shows a significant dependence on alcohol etiology. Microcytic anemia was found in 35 (13.56%) of the cases. We confirmed a statistically significant difference in Child-Poug score (p = .000) and MELD Na score (p = .002) in cases without and with anemia. Conclusion Anemia is the most common hematological manifestation in liver cirrhosis.