Thrombocytopenia (TCP), MELD Score, and Fibrosis Index (FI) Among Hospitalized Patients with Chronic Liver Disease (CLD) in Ma’abar City, Dhamar Governorate, Yemen: A Cross-Sectional Study

PURPOSE: This study sought to assess the prevalence of thrombocytopenia (TCP), underlying aetiologies of chronic liver disease, and the grading and prognostic systems for chronic liver disease (CLD) using non-invasive biomarkers: the Fibrosis index and the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Na (MELD-Na) Score, respectively. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a 15-month multi-centric cross-sectional study of 105 patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). The study was conducted using Sept 2019 to Nov 2020 admission records of CLD patients from Ma’abar City in Dhamar Governorate, Yemen. RESULTS: A total of 63 (60%) and 42 (40%) patients were identified as thrombocytopenic and non-thrombocytopenic, respectively. The means ± SD of the MELD score and FI were 19 ± 7.302 and 4.1 ± 1.06. TCP prevalence among leukopenic and non-leukopenic patients was 89.5% and 53.5%, respectively (P = 0.004). Likewise, the prevalence of traditional-ultrasonography-diagnosed cirrhotic patients needing liver transplantation (LT) was 82.3% versus 61.3% among corresponding non-cirrhotic patients (P = 0.000). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of TCP among the participants of this study was similar to the global rate. However, the prevalence of decompensation was much higher among CLD patients than that found elsewhere, highlighting a need to improve methods for the early diagnosis of CLD in Yemen. This study also identified problems with the diagnostic work-up for non-infectious aetiologies of CLD. The findings suggest the need to improve clinician awareness about effective diagnostic strategies for these aetiologies.