The following is a summary of “Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among Patients Hospitalized for Acute Cholangitis in the United States,” published in the August 2023 issue of the Clinical Gastroenterology by Wang et al.

Researcher’s objective was to assess the potential correlation between race/ethnicity and hospitalization outcomes in patients admitted with acute cholangitis. Limited research has been conducted to determine the correlation between race and patient outcomes in individuals diagnosed with acute cholangitis. Researchers analyzed hospitalizations in the United States from 2009 to 2018 utilizing the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), a medical database. They enrolled individuals aged 18 years or older who were admitted with a diagnosis of cholangitis based on the ICD9/10 coding system. Race/ethnicity was classified as Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, or Other. 

Multivariable regression analysis was employed to assess the correlation between race/ethnicity and various in-hospital outcomes of significance, such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), early ERCP (within 48 hours of admission), length of stay (LOS), and in-hospital mortality. Out of 116,889 hospitalizations for acute cholangitis, 70% were reported by individuals identifying as White, 10% were written by individuals identifying as Black, 11% were reported by individuals identifying as Hispanic, and 9% were reported by individuals identifying as Other. The prevalence of patients from non-White racial backgrounds exhibited a progressive rise over time. In the context of multivariate analysis, while controlling for clinical and sociodemographic variables, it was observed that Black patients showed a higher rate of in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.2-1.6, P<0.001) when compared to White patients. 

African American patients exhibited a decreased likelihood of undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), an increased likelihood of experiencing delayed ERCP, and a prolonged length of stay (LOS) in comparison to other racial groups (P<0.001 for all). In this contemporary cohort of hospitalized patients with cholangitis, individuals of African descent were found to have a distinct correlation with reduced and postponed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) interventions, extended length of stay (LOS), and increased mortality rates. Future investigations utilizing more detailed social determinants of health data should further analyze the fundamental causes for these disparities to formulate interventions to mitigate racial differences in outcomes among patients diagnosed with acute cholangitis.

Source: journals.lww.com/jcge/Fulltext/2023/08000/Racial_and_Ethnic_Disparities_Among_Patients.12.aspx