Gut Liver.  2012 Oct;6(4):482-485.

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

• Lin MN
• Tsai CC
• Hung TH
• Tsai CC

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