Hospitalization data provides new insight on healthcare utilization in Wilson’s Disease

A new study analyzed healthcare utilization and outcomes of patients with Wilson’s disease, a rare genetic disorder the causes too much copper to develop in the liver and brain.

Utilizing the National Inpatient Database, this study analyzed data from 9046 hospitalizations from 2006 to 2011. Reason for admission included chronic liver disease in 8.58%; Wilson’s disease in 6.49%; and infections including septicemia in 3.10% and pneumonia in 2.50%. The overall inpatient mortality rate for patients with Wilson’s disease was 2.58%, and acute respiratory failure, acute renal failure, decompensated liver disease/liver failure, and advanced age were independent predictors of mortality.

Compared to matched patients without Wilson’s disease, patients with Wilson’s disease had better inpatient survival (2.84% vs 4.67%, P = 0.01).

Reference
Li N, Krishna SG, Hinton A, et al. Characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized patients with Wilson’s disease in the United States: A national survey. Ann Hepatol. 2021;100362. doi: 10.1016/j.aohep.2021.100362.