Hospitalizations for Chronic Liver Disease: Time to Intervene at Multiple Levels

Chronic liver disease (CLD) is an important, and likely underestimated, national and global public health problem. CLD and its underlying risk factors are highly prevalent and mostly clinically silent, but may eventually lead to cirrhosis, which is frequently complicated by considerable morbidity and mortality from gastrointestinal varices, ascites, encephalopathy, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Asrani et al1 report using data from a large health care system, including 16 hospitals in Texas in which CLD hospitalization rates increased over time (2004-2013) more than those for congestive heart failure or chronic obstructive airway disease, and had longer durations of stay and higher readmissions rate.

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