Objective To discuss the clinical characteristics of liver cirrhosis in elderly patients. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 67 patients (elderly group) with liver cirrhosis aged ≥60 treated between January 1998 and December 2010. Then, we compared these cases with another 72 liver cirrhosis patients (non-elderly group) aged<60. Results The incidence of jaundice, ascites and albumin deficiency in the elderly patients was significantly higher than that in the non-elderly patients (P<0.05). Complications in the elderly group were relatively more, including electrolyte imbalance, infections, gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy, liver cancer, liver and kidney syndrome and liver and lung syndrome, and the incidence of these complications was all significantly higher than the non-elderly group (P<0.05) except the liver and kidney syndrome (P>0.05). The causes of liver cirrhosis in both groups were similar. The most common cause was hepatitis B virus infection, followed by chronic alcoholism, but in the elderly group, chronic alcoholism, cholestasis, poisoning from medicines and poisons and liver blood circulation disorders were more common than the non-elderly group (P<0.05); hepatitis B and non-alcoholic fatty hepatitis were more common in the non-elderly group than in the elderly group (P<0.05). The elderly group had more Child-Pugh class C cases (P<0.05), while there were more class A cases in the non-elderly group (P<0.05). Twenty-six patients died in the elderly group with a mortality rate of 38.8%; while only 13 died in the non-elderly group with a mortality rate of 18.1%. The difference of mortality rate was significant between the two groups (P<0.05). Common causes of death in the elderly group were infection, hepatic encephalopathy, and electrolyte disorders and gastrointestinal bleeding, while the common causes of death in the non-elderly group were gastrointestinal bleeding and electrolyte disorders. Conclusion The etiology, clinical manifestations and prognosis of liver cirrhosis in elderly patients differ from those in younger patients. We must pay more attention on treating complications of liver cirrhosis in elderly patients.

Citation： XuJin. Etiological Analysis and Clinical Characteristics of Liver Cirrhosis in Elderly Patients. West China Medical Journal, 2016, 31(7): 1209-1212. doi: 10.7507/1002-0179.201600330 Copy