The Hepatorenal Syndrome Patient Pathway: Retrospective Analysis of Electronic Health Records

BACKGROUND: Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is among the leading causes of hospitalization and mortality in patients with chronic liver disease. OBJECTIVE: To assess the HRS patient journey from preadmission to postdischarge to understand patient characteristics, disease progression, treatment patterns, and outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study using real-world data from a nationwide electronic health record database (Cerner Health Facts, Kansas City, Missouri). We used ICD-9/10 diagnosis codes to identify patients hospitalized with HRS between January 1, 2009, and January 31, 2018. We assessed patient characteristics and history, clinical presentation, treatment, and outcomes. Regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between patient characteristics and survival while adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates. RESULTS: The study included 3563 patients (62% men). Precipitants of HRS included gastrointestinal bleeding (18%), diuretics and infections (30%), and paracentesis (26%). Although 21% of patients had liver injury exclusively associated with alcohol use, 20% had hepatitis C, 8% had nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and the etiology of the remainder (51%) was either some combination of conditions or unknown. A total of 42% of patients received vasopressors, including octreotide and midodrine (10%), other combinations of vasopressors (11%), or another single vasopressor (21%). In-hospital mortality was 34%, and 14% of patients were discharged to hospice. Regression analysis showed patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure had higher mortality in acute-on-chronic liver failure grades 1 (odds ratio = 1.59), 2 (odds ratio = 2.49), and 3 (odds ratio = 4.53) versus no acute-on-chronic liver failure. Among survivor patients, 38% were readmitted within 90 days of discharge; 23% of readmissions were HRS-related. CONCLUSIONS: The HRS patient journey presented in this study highlights inconsistencies in, and provides insight into, associated hospital-based treatment strategies. A mortality rate of 34% along with a readmission rate of 23% associated with HRS-related complications warrant more disease awareness and effective treatment. Further research is needed to examine the interactions between the etiology of cirrhosis, precipitants, treatment, and outcomes. (Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. 2022; 82:XXX–XXX)