Descriptive epidemiology of patients with alcoholic liver diseases hospitalized in a Hepatogastroenterology Department

Objective - To improve the detection of early stage alcoholic liver disease and to identify the importance of this disease, this study compared epidem iological characteristics, the reasons for and the duration of hospitalizat ion, in-patient mortality and the frequency of multiple hospitalizations in alcoholic patients without cirrhosis and in patients with alcoholic cirrho sis hospitalized in the hepatogastroenterology department of Antoine-Becler e Hospital Material and methods-From January 1982 to December 1995, all patients with a daily alcohol intake in the previous year of at least 50 g per day and al l patients with alcoholic cirrhosis whatever their drinking habits were stu died Results - Three thousand three hundred and forty six patients were included The daily alcohol intake in the-previous Jive years was 118 +/- 81 g and t he duration of alcohol abuse was 22 +/- 13 years. Two thousand one hundred eight patients had liver biopsy; 37% had histologically proven or probable cirrhosis. Forty one percent of the patients without cirrhosis who had live r biopsy already had steatofibrosis and/or acute alcoholic hepatitis. 32.5% of the patients had hepatitis B virus markers. 7.7%:: of the patients were positive for anti hepatitis C virus antibody. Thirty two percent of the pa tients with cirrhosis were women versus 22% of the patients without: cirrho sis (P < 0.01). Alcoholism was the reason for the first hospitalization in sixty percent of the patients without cirrhosis and in twenty percent of th e patients with cirrhosis (P < 0.01). On the other hand, ascites were the f irst reason for the first hospitalization in patients with cirrhosis (28%). The two main causes for multiple hospitalizations were also ascites and al coholism. Conclusion-Two thirds of heavy drinkers did not have cirrhosis art admissio n since alcoholism was the first reason for multiple hospitalizations in th ese patients, therefore the management of alcoholism in out-patients must b e improved.