Predictors of Acute Liver Failure in Patients With Acute Hepatitis A: An Analysis of the 2016-2018 San Diego County Hepatitis A Outbreak

Aiyang A Jiang; Holly S Greenwald; Lamiya Sheikh; Darcy A Wooten; Atul Malhotra; Robert T Schooley; Daniel A Sweeney

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofz467

Predictors of Acute Liver Failure in Patients With Acute Hepatitis A: An Analysis of the 2016-2018 San Diego County Hepatitis A Outbreak

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2019 Nov 5;6(11):ofz467. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofz467. eCollection 2019 Nov.

Authors

Aiyang A Jiang¹, Holly S Greenwald¹, Lamiya Sheikh², Darcy A Wooten³, Atul Malhotra⁴, Robert T Schooley³, Daniel A Sweeney⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
² Washington Hospital, Fremont, California, USA.
³ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
⁴ Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.

Abstract

Background: Between 2016 and 2018, San Diego County experienced a hepatitis A outbreak with a historically high mortality rate (3.4%) that highlighted the need for early recognition of those at risk of developing acute liver failure (ALF).

Methods: A retrospective case series of adult hospitalized patients with acute hepatitis A.

Results: One hundred six patients with hepatitis A were studied, of whom 11 (10.4%) developed ALF, of whom 7 (6.6%) died. A history of alcohol abuse, hyperbilirubinemia, hypoalbuminemia, hyponatremia, and anemia were associated with increased odds of developing ALF. Initial Maddrey's and Model of End-Stage Liver Disease Sodium (MELD-Na) scores were also associated with the development of ALF. Multivariable analysis showed that a higher initial MELD-Na score (odds ratio [OR], 1.205; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.018-1.427) and a lower initial serum albumin concentration (OR, 9.35; 95% CI, 1.15-76.9) were associated with increased odds of developing ALF. Combining serum albumin and MELD-Na (SAM; C-statistic, 0.8878; 95% CI, 0.756-0.988) yielded a model that was not better than either serum albumin (C-statistic, 0.852; 95% CI, 0.675-0.976) or MELD-Na (C-statistic, 0.891; 95% CI, 0.784-0.968; P = .841). Finally, positive blood cultures were more common among patients with ALF compared with those without ALF (63.6% vs 4.3%; P < .00001).

Conclusions: Hypoalbuminemia was associated with an increased risk of ALF in patients with acute hepatitis A. Positive blood cultures and septic shock as a cause of death were common among patients with ALF. Providers caring for patients with acute hepatitis A should monitor for early signs of sepsis and consider empiric antibiotics, especially in patients presenting with hypoalbuminemia.

Keywords: MELD-Na score; acute liver failure; hepatitis A; serum albumin.