Cirrhosis in primary practice: many patients remain potentially undiagnosed and are not receiving liver cancer surveillance

• Published in: Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology 2024-10
• Main Authors: Prince, David S, Hoque, Shakira, Kim, Christy, Maher, Salim, Miller, Jane, Chomley, Phoebe, Pritchard-Jones, Janice, Spruce, Sally, McGarry, Nathan, Baker, David, Elix, Penelope, Liu, Ken, Strasser, Simone I, Goodger, Brendan, Zekry, Amany, McCaughan, Geoffrey W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0815-9319; 1440-1746; 1440-1746
• DOI: 10.1111/jgh.16782

Most patients with cirrhosis have compensated disease and are cared for in primary care; however, the exact epidemiology within Australia remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to assess cirrhosis care in an Australian primary care setting by evaluating rates of cirrhosis diagnosis, appropriate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance and specialist communication. Electronic medical records in consenting general practices were reviewed using the "Liver Toolkit" to identify patients with an existing cirrhosis diagnosis. Individual cases were reviewed to identify outcomes of interest. One hundred seventy-one patients with confirmed cirrhosis across nine general practices were identified (74% male, mean age: 61.2 years). There was significant variation in the rate of cirrhosis diagnosis between practices (range 31.7-637.9 per 100 000 patients, P