Gut Liver.  2012 Oct;6(4):482-485.

The Risk of Cellulitis in Cirrhotic Patients: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Taiwan

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Family Medicine, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
  • 2Tzu Chi University School of Medicine, Chiayi, Taiwan. semiintern@yahoo.com.tw
  • 3Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
  • 4Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
  • 5Department of Mathematics, Tamkang University College of Science, Tamsui, Taiwan.

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Cellulitis is a common infectious disease. However, the risk of cellulitis in cirrhotic patients is not well established, and whether liver cirrhosis is a risk factor for cellulitis remains unknown. This study evaluated the relationship between cellulitis and liver cirrhosis.
METHODS
The National Health Insurance Database, which was derived from the Taiwan National Health Insurance program, was used to identify patients. The study group consisted of 39,966 patients with liver cirrhosis, and the comparison group consisted of 39,701 randomly selected age- and sex-matched patients.
RESULTS
During the 3-year follow-up period, 2,674 (6.7%) patients with liver cirrhosis developed cellulitis, and 1,587 (4.0%) patients without liver cirrhosis developed cellulitis (p<0.001). Following a Cox's regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, and underlying medical disorders, the cirrhotic patients demonstrated a greater risk for the occurrence of cellulitis than the non-cirrhotic patients during the 3-year period (hazard ratio [HR], 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.55 to 1.77; p<0.001). Additionally, cirrhotic patients with complications also had a greater risk for the occurrence of cellulitis than those patients without complications (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.33; p<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that cirrhotic patients have a greater risk of cellulitis than non-cirrhotic patients.

Keyword

Cellulitis; Liver cirrhosis

MeSH Terms

Cellulitis
Communicable Diseases
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Liver
Liver Cirrhosis
National Health Programs
Risk Factors
Taiwan
Full Text Links
  • GNL
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr