The Liverpool alcohol-related liver disease algorithm identifies twice as many emergency admissions compared to standard methods when applied to Hospital Episode Statistics for England



Dhanda, Ashwin, Bodger, Keith ORCID: 0000-0002-1825-3239, Hood, Steve, Henn, Clive, Allison, Michael, Amasiatu, Chioma, Burton, Robyn, Cramp, Matthew, Forrest, Ewan, Khetani, Meetal
et al (show 7 more authors) (2023) The Liverpool alcohol-related liver disease algorithm identifies twice as many emergency admissions compared to standard methods when applied to Hospital Episode Statistics for England. ALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, 57 (4). pp. 368-377.

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Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>Emergency admissions in England for alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD) have increased steadily for decades. Statistics based on administrative data typically focus on the ArLD-specific code as the primary diagnosis and are therefore at risk of excluding ArLD admissions defined by other coding combinations.<h4>Aim</h4>To deploy the Liverpool ArLD Algorithm (LAA), which accounts for alternative coding patterns (e.g., ArLD secondary diagnosis with alcohol/liver-related primary diagnosis), to national and local datasets in the context of studying trends in ArLD admissions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.<h4>Methods</h4>We applied the standard approach and LAA to Hospital Episode Statistics for England (2013-21). The algorithm was also deployed at 28 hospitals to discharge coding for emergency admissions during a common 7-day period in 2019 and 2020, in which eligible patient records were reviewed manually to verify the diagnosis and extract data.<h4>Results</h4>Nationally, LAA identified approximately 100% more monthly emergency admissions from 2013 to 2021 than the standard method. The annual number of ArLD-specific admissions increased by 30.4%. Of 39,667 admissions in 2020/21, only 19,949 were identified with standard approach, an estimated admission cost of £70 million in under-recorded cases. Within 28 local hospital datasets, 233 admissions were identified using the standard approach and a further 250 locally verified cases using the LAA (107% uplift). There was an 18% absolute increase in ArLD admissions in the seven-day evaluation period in 2020 versus 2019. There were no differences in disease severity or mortality, or in the proportion of admissions with decompensation of cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatitis.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The LAA can be applied successfully to local and national datasets. It consistently identifies approximately 100% more cases than the standard coding approach. The algorithm has revealed the true extent of ArLD admissions. The pandemic has compounded a long-term rise in ArLD admissions and mortality.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: BASL ARLD SIG National Service Evaluation Group, Humans, Liver Diseases, Hospitalization, Algorithms, Hospitals, England, Pandemics, COVID-19
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Population Health
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 01 Dec 2022 12:53
Last Modified: 26 Feb 2023 14:45
DOI: 10.1111/apt.17307
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3166467