Epidemiology of Patients With Chronic Liver Disease Presenting to Emergency Departments in Australia

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology, healthcare utilisation and outcomes of patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) with chronic liver disease (CLD) in Queensland, Australia. METHODS: This statewide data linkage study included adult patients with CLD-related diagnoses across 104 Queensland Health EDs between 1 January 2016 and 31 August 2023. Emergency, inpatient and mortality data were linked. Patients were stratified by cirrhosis status and decompensation. Outcome was 30-day mortality. Poisson regression assessed trends, and Cox regression evaluated mortality. RESULTS: Amongst 15,999,186 ED presentations, 23,578 (0.15%) were related to CLD, involving 11,961 patients. Presentations increased by 2% annually (IRR 1.02, 95% CI 1.02-1.03). Cirrhosis accounted for 18,735 presentations (79.5%). Overall, 20,312 presentations (86.1%) resulted in hospital admission, 918 (4.5%) were admitted to intensive care units (ICU), and 963 (4.1%) resulted in in-hospital death. Amongst patients with cirrhosis, 16,968 (90.6%) resulted in admission, 867 (5.1%) were admitted to ICU and 899 (4.8%) died in hospital. Predictors of 30-day mortality included cirrhosis (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 6.92, 95% CI 5.36-8.94), malignancy (aHR 3.21, 95% CI 2.90-3.55), hepatorenal syndrome (aHR 3.15, 95% CI 2.72-3.66), encephalopathy (aHR 2.03, 95% CI 1.78-2.32) and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (aHR 1.47, 95% CI 1.20-1.80). Presentation to tertiary hospitals was associated with lower mortality (aHR 0.75, 95% CI 0.68-0.82). CONCLUSIONS: CLD-related ED presentations are increasing and place substantial demand on hospital services in Queensland. Decompensation events strongly predict mortality and healthcare utilisation. ED-initiated risk stratification and coordinated care models to improve outcomes for patients with cirrhosis require development and evaluation.