Hospital discharges of hepatocellular carcinoma and non-alcohol related cirrhosis in the EU/EEA and United Kingdom: a descriptive analysis of 2004-2015 data.

BACKGROUND

Viral hepatitis is a leading cause of mortality globally, comparable to that of HIV and TB. Most hepatitis deaths are related to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with chronic hepatitis B and C infections. To examine the progress towards the elimination goals set in the global health sector strategy for viral hepatitis, we aimed to assess the impact of mortality-indicative morbidity.

METHODS

We retrieved inpatients and day cases hospital discharges data from the Eurostat hospital activities database, and analysed ICD-10 and ICD-9 specific codes related to primary HCC and non-alcohol related cirrhosis registered by European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries and United Kingdom (UK) for 2004 to 2015.

RESULTS

In 2015, 20 countries (45.7% of total EU/EEA/UK population) reported 13,236 (Range 0-6294) day cases and 36,012 (4-9097) inpatients discharges of HCC. Romania, Croatia, Luxembourg and UK reported increasing day cases discharge rates between 2004 and 2015; while HCC inpatients discharge rates increased overall during this period. There were 13,865 (0-5918) day cases and 56,176 (3-29,118) inpatients discharges reported for cirrhosis across the 20 countries in 2015. Over the 12 years, day cases discharge rates for cirrhosis increased in Romania, Croatia and UK. Though higher than for day cases, cirrhosis inpatients discharge rates remained stable.

CONCLUSIONS

The hospital burden of HCC and cirrhosis is high, with considerable inpatient load including sustained increasing trends in HCC discharge rates. Further interpretation in light of local health system contexts, and more robust harmonised data are needed to better understand the impact of the viral hepatitis epidemic in the region.