Objective: Description of the general characteristics of patients with Diffuse Chronic Hepatopathy (DCH) in an ABS.
Design: Empirical study of a prospective and retrospective type. Site. Primary Care. ABS La Mina. Sant Adrià de Besòs.
Patients and other participants: All patients diagnosed as suffering DCH since 1984, in line with histological or clinical--morphological criteria accepted in the literature.
Main measurements and results: Using a data base of the centre's morbidity and mortality register, 287 reports of patients over 14 years old defined as having DCH were examined. 222 cases met the established criteria. Most of these were males (68%), and to an even higher proportion in the group with alcoholic etiology (84%), which was the most common cause of DCH (64.4%). There was a lower number of complications and deaths attributable to DCH than in published hospital series.
Conclusions: Among the characteristics of DCH in a natural population using the health services, it is important to note the predominance of compensated forms having a rate of complications and deaths attributable to DCH significantly lower than what was observed in hospital series. This information may be of use in planning activities at the ABS level.