The Impact of Gender and Race on Outcomes for Hospitalized Hepatitis A Patients Stratified by Liver Disease Severity.

Background: The incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is on the rise, with a minority of patients at risk for poor outcomes. This study investigates the prognostic impacts of race and gender on hospital outcomes among admitted HAV-infected patients.

Methods: Using the National Inpatient Sample from 2012 to 2017, patients admitted with HAV were selected and stratified by gender (male and female) and race (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian-Pacific Islander, Other). Propensity score-matching and statistical analysis were implemented with comparison to the controls ("Female" and "White"). Primary endpoints included mortality, length of stay (LOS), and hospitalization costs, while secondary endpoints consisted of hepatic-related medical complications such as ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, varices, and acute liver failure.

Results: Females with compensated cirrhosis had increased odds of mortality (aOR 2.59, 95% CI: 1.14-5.91,  = 0.02). Otherwise, no other differences in mortality were detected between genders and races. Females had a shorter hospital LOS (aOR 0.97, 95% CI: 0.96-0.98,  < 0.001), lower adjusted cost ($12,241 vs. $13,510, aOR 0.92, 95% CI: 0.92-0.92,  < 0.001), lower odds of esophageal varices (aOR 0.74, 95% CI: 0.57-0.97,  = 0.03) and hepatic encephalopathy (aOR 0.67, 95% CI: 0.53-0.84,  < 0.001) compared to males. Black patients exhibited higher LOS (aOR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.04-1.08,  < 0.001) and adjusted costs ($13,392 vs $12,592, aOR 1.02, 95% CI: 1.02-1.03,  < 0.001). Hispanic patients exhibited higher rates of esophageal varices (aOR 2.19, 95% CI: 1.28-3.76,  = 0.005) and adjusted costs ($14,202 vs. $12,381, aOR 1.07, 95% CI: 1.07-1.07,  < 0.001), and Asian patients experienced higher adjusted costs ($18,426 vs. $13,137, aOR 1.10, 95% CI: 1.10-1.10,  < 0.001) compared to White patients.

Conclusion: Various nuanced impacts of gender and race on hospitalization outcomes in HAV infection were observed, with only one subgroup analysis demonstrating a higher rate of mortality. Further research is warranted to better understand these findings and their implications.