Association of liver cirrhosis severity with anemia: does it matter?

Authors Sonal Singh, Manish Manrai, Parvathi V.S, Dharmendra Kumar, Sharad Srivastava, Basant Pathak.

Abstract

Background The etiology of anemia in liver disease is diverse and often multifactorial. Anemia is more severe in advanced stages of liver cirrhosis and can be a predictor of the severity of liver disease.


Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, we included 181 cirrhotic patients with anemia owing to liver cirrhosis and its complications. The population was divided into 2 groups based on the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score and the severity of anemia was assessed in the 2 groups. Similarly, hemoglobin levels were assessed in 3 groups based on the Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) classification.


Results There was a statistically significant correlation between CTP class and hemoglobin (P<0.001), with the lowest hemoglobin levels in CTP C patients. The correlation coefficient between hemoglobin and MELD score was -0.671 and was statistically significant, establishing that hemoglobin levels decrease with increasing severity of liver cirrhosis. Of 58 patients with macrocytosis, 45 (77.6%) had a MELD score of >12, whereas only 13 patients (22.4%) had a MELD score of <12. This difference was statistically significant (P<0.0001).


Conclusions This study shows that hemoglobin levels decrease with increasing severity of liver disease; thus, this measure can be used in the initial assessment of patients to give a picture of the severity of the disease. A larger prospective trial is needed to establish the use of hemoglobin levels for assessing severity and predicting mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis.


Keywords Anemia, liver cirrhosis, model for end-stage liver disease score, macrocytosis, Child- Turcotte-Pugh class


Ann Gastroenterol 2020; 33 (3): 272-276

Published
2020-05-08
Section
Original Articles