• Jaeyoung Cho, Sun Mi Choi, Su Jong Yu, Young Sik Park, Chang-Hoon Lee, Sang-Min Lee, Jae-Joon Yim, Chul-Gyu Yoo, Young Whan Kim, Sung Koo Han, and Jinwoo Lee.
• Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
• Korean J. Intern. Med. 2016 Mar 1; 31 (2): 288-95.

Background/AimsPatients with liver cirrhosis (LC) are at risk for critical events leading to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Coagulopathy in cirrhotic patients is complex and can lead to bleeding as well as thrombosis. The aim of this study was to investigate bleeding complications in critically ill patients with LC admitted to a medical ICU (MICU).MethodsAll adult patients admitted to our MICU with a diagnosis of LC from January 2006 to December 2012 were retrospectively assessed. Patients with major bleeding at the time of MICU admission were excluded from the analysis.ResultsA total of 205 patients were included in the analysis. The median patient age was 62 years, and 69.3% of the patients were male. The most common reason for MICU admission was acute respiratory failure (45.4%), followed by sepsis (27.3%). Major bleeding occurred in 25 patients (12.2%). The gastrointestinal tract was the most common site of bleeding (64%), followed by the respiratory tract (20%). In a multivariate analysis, a low platelet count at MICU admission (odds ratio [OR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97 to 0.99) and sepsis (OR, 8.35; 95% CI, 1.04 to 67.05) were independent risk factors for major bleeding. The ICU fatality rate was significantly greater among patients with major bleeding (84.0% vs. 58.9%, respectively; p = 0.015).ConclusionsMajor bleeding occurred in 12.2% of critically ill cirrhotic patients admitted to the MICU. A low platelet count at MICU admission and sepsis were associated with an increased risk of major bleeding during the MICU stay. Further study is needed to better understand hemostasis in critically ill patients with LC.

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