Hospital Cirrhosis Volume and Readmission in Patients with Cirrhosis in California

Patients with cirrhosis are at high readmission risk. Using a large statewide database, we evaluated the effect of hospital cirrhosis-related patient volume on 30-day readmissions in patients with cirrhosis.

We conducted a retrospective study of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database for adult patients with cirrhosis, as defined by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes, hospitalized in California between 2009 and 2011. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of hospital volume on 30-day readmissions.

A total of 69,612 patients with cirrhosis were identified in 405 hospitals; 24,062 patients were discharged from the top 10% of hospitals (N = 41) by cirrhosis volume, and 45,550 patients in the bottom 90% (N = 364). Compared with higher-volume centers, lower-volume hospitals cared for patients with similar average Quan–Charlson–Deyo (QCD) comorbidity scores (6.54 vs. 6.68), similar proportion of hepatitis B and fatty liver disease, lower proportion of hepatitis C (34.8 vs. 41.5%) but greater proportion of alcoholic liver disease (53.1 vs. 47.4%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated admission to a lower-volume hospital did not predict 30-day readmission (odds ratio [OR] 0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.92–1.01) after adjusting for sociodemographics, QCD score, cirrhosis severity, and hospital characteristics. Instead, liver transplant center status significantly decreased the risk of readmission (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.80–0.94). Ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatocellular carcinoma, higher QCD, and presence of alcoholic liver disease and hepatitis C were also independent predictors.

Readmissions within 30 days were common among patients with cirrhosis hospitalized in California. While hospital cirrhosis volume did not predict 30-day readmissions, liver transplant center status was protective of readmissions. Medically complicated patients with cirrhosis at hospitals without liver transplant centers may benefit from additional support to prevent readmission.