Factors associated with mortality in cirrhosis: data from a hospital cohort in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the factors associated with mortality in cirrhotic patients hospitalised in the Hepato- Gastroenterology Department of the Sourô Sanou University Hospital Centre in Bobo-Dioulasso.

Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study was based on the usable records of cirrhotic patients hospitalised in the Hepato-Gastroenterology Department of the Sourô Sanou University Hospital Centre in Bobo-Dioulasso from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. The variables collected were sociodemographic, clinical, and biological. The search for associated factors used logistic regression. The significance threshold for the p-value was 5% for statistical analyses.

Results: We included 293 patients, with a mean age of 49.3 ± 14.9 years. The sex ratio was 2.4. Abdominal pain (63.4%) and distension (40.1%) were the most common reasons for admission. The most frequent clinical signs were asthenia (96.6%), anorexia (87.3%), and hepatomegaly (71.1%). Liver failure affected 88.4% of patients. Viral hepatitis B was the predominant aetiology (66.9%). The mortality rate for cirrhosis was 41.6%. After multivariate analysis, the factors associated with mortality were urban residence (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5 to 6.6), anorexia (aOR 4.6, 95% CI 1.4 to 15.2), hyperleucocytosis (aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3 to 5.3), hepatic encephalopathy (aOR 6.5, 95% CI 3.1 to 13.4), and ascitic fluid infection (aOR 3.4, 95% CI 1.21 to 9.3).

Conclusion: The mortality rate from cirrhosis remains high in our context. Most of the factors associated with mortality often result from late diagnosis and treatment.