Acute liver disease in Japan: a nationwide analysis of the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database

Abstract

Background: Accurate data on the incidence of acute liver disease (ALD) is lacking in most countries. We investigated the incidence of ALD-related admission in Japan using a large sample in a nationwide Japanese database.

Methods: Data from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database were analyzed for 1 July to 31 December 2007-2010. Patient characteristics, in-hospital mortality, and clinical practices, including drugs and procedures during hospitalization, were analyzed.

Results: We identified 10509 patients with ALD from a total of 11.61 million inpatients in the database. The median age was 53 years and 54.7 % were male. The annual incidence of ALD-related hospital admission was estimated to be 131.1 cases/1 million people. The overall mortality rate was 5.9 % (622 cases). The infant (0-3 years), child (4-18 years), and adult in-hospital mortality rates were 2.7 % (7/261), 1.0 % (5/494), and 6.3 % (610/9754), respectively. The infant and child mortality rates were significantly lower than the adult mortality rate (Chi square test: P = 0.03 and P < 0.001, respectively). Hepatitis A virus- and hepatitis C virus-induced ALD had favorable outcomes, with in-hospital mortality rates of approximately 2 %. Plasma exchange and continuous hemodiafiltration were performed in 5.3 % (556 cases) and 3.4 % (360 cases) of all ALD cases, respectively.

Conclusions: In-hospital mortality of ALD in Japan was acceptably low, and was affected by the etiology and patient background characteristics. The present study adds important information on the incidence and prognosis of ALD in Japan. Improvement of public health surveillance systems is necessary for population-based patient monitoring.