Inpatient Outcomes and Rates of Venous Thromboembolism and Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Results from Nationwide Inpatient Sample Database 2007-2016

Background: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are at an increased risk for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE)- mainly portal venous thrombosis (PVT). Malignancy and liver cirrhosis ( 80%-90% of HCC cases are related to cirrhosis) are conditions that can perturb the hemostatic balance towards a prothrombotic state. Also, these patients with HCC are at high risk for gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB), making thromboprophylaxis and anticoagulation a treatment challenge. Additional information regarding the outcomes and severity of both VTE and GIB in patients with HCC would be useful to guide clinical decision-making

Aim: To determine the rates, inpatient mortality, length of stay (LOS) and hospital cost of VTE and GIB-related admissions in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Method: We used ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM codes to identify hospitalizations from 2007 to 2016 that included HCC with primary discharge diagnoses of GIB or VTE. Linear trends in the rate of GIB and VTE, as well as in-hospital mortality, LOS, and inflation-adjusted hospital cost (in 2016 US dollars), were evaluated using Daniel's test; piecewise slopes were used as needed. All analyses accounted for the NIS sampling design with updated hospital trend weights used as appropriate. SAS v. 9.4 was used for all analyses.

Results: Between 2007 and 2016, we identified 6,527,871 hospitalizations with HCC and a primary discharge diagnosis of GIB (3,517,059; 53.9%) or VTE (3,010,812; 46.1%). From 2007 to 2010, a decreasing trend was observed in the rate of GIB diagnoses (55.5% to 51.6%, ptrend < .001), whereas an increasing trend was observed for VTE diagnoses (44.5% to 48.4%, ptrend < .001). By contrast, from 2010 to 2016, an increasing trend was observed in GIB (51.6% to 55.2%, ptrend < .001), whereas a decreasing trend was observed in VTE (48.4% to 44.8%, ptrend < .001). For in-hospital mortality, a decreasing trend was observed for GIB (2.3% to 1.9%, ptrend < .001), whereas a decreasing trend was observed in VTE until 2012 (1.8% to 1.5%, ptrend < .001), after which no trend was indicated (1.5% to 1.6%, ptrend = .337). Although decreasing trends in LOS were observed for GIB (3.4 days to 3.2 days, ptrend < .001) and VTE (4.3 days to 3.3 days, ptrend < .001), increasing trends were observed for inflation-adjusted hospital cost for both GIB ($6,996 to $7,707, ptrend < .001) and VTE ($7,283 to $7,584, ptrend = .048).

Conclusion: In this NIS cohort of hospitalized patients with HCC, GIB was more frequently observed than VTE. Trends observed in the rates of GIB and VTE went in opposite directions. In general decreasing trends were observed in in-hospital mortality and LOS for both VTE and GIB. By contrast, increasing trends were observed in the hospital cost for both diagnoses. Clinicians should balance benefits against risks when deciding VTE prophylaxis and treatment in patients with HCC. Future studies are needed to determine the ideal agent and specific dosages to treat HCC-associated VTE.