Retrospective evaluation of the etiological and demographiccharacterictics of patients with cirrhosis

Objective: Cirrhosis is a chronic and progressive disease characterized by the deterioration of the liver parenchyma and the formation of regenerative nodules. In its advanced stages, it is generally considered irreversible and the only treatment option is liver transplantation. It is a disease associated with serious mortality and morbidity all over the world with various complications. In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the demographic, etiological characteristics, comorbid diseases and complication development of patients with liver cirrhosis who applied to the Gastroenterology clinic of Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine. Materials and Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis who applied to the Gastroenterology clinic and polyclinic of Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2020 were included in the study. Demographic characteristics of the patients, etiological factors, comorbid diseases, complications at the time of diagnosis and follow-up, and disease stages according to international prognostic scores at the time of admission were retrospectively analyzed. Findings: The mean age of the patients was 61.91 (± 13.04). Of the included patients, 444 (36.9%) were female and 757 (63.1%) were male. In the etiological examination, cirrhosis factor could be detected in 866 patients, while 136 patients who were examined and the agent could not be detected were accepted as cryptogenic cirrhosis. Etiology could not be determined in 199 patients (16.6%) due to insufficient examination or data among patients with cirrhosis. Considering the distribution of 1002 patients who were examined in terms of etiology, 327 (32.6%) of the patients had HBV, 224 (22.4%) HCV, 86 (8.6%) NASH, 78 (7%, 8), autoimmunity in 46 (4.6%) were determined as the cause. Ascites was detected in 598 (49.8%) of the cirrhosis patients, regardless of the stage, while the development of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis was detected in 117 (19.5%) of the patients with ascites. While 168 patients (14%) had at least one esophageal variceal bleeding, 278 (23.1%) patients had hepatic encephalopathy, 43 (3.6%) patients had hepatorenal syndrome. Hepatocellular cancer was detected at the time of diagnosis or during follow-up in 351 (29.2%) patients with liver cirrhosis. Results: Although a decrease in the incidence of cirrhosis due to viral hepatitis is expected with screening, regular vaccination and antiviral treatment at the appropriate time, the most common cause of cirrhosis was viral hepatitis, similar to other studies conducted in our country. Chronic HBV infection was found to be the most common cause of cirrhosis with a rate of 32.6%. Cirrhosis due to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the rate of which is gradually increasing in the etiology of cirrhosis worldwide, was detected as a factor in 86 patients. In addition, there were significant rates of Diabetes Mellitus and metabolic abnormalities in patients who were evaluated as cryptogenic cirrhosis and had insufficient etiological data. Keywords: Cirrhosis, etiology, viral hepatitis, NASH, complication