OP-5 ALCOHOL-ASSOCIATED HEPATITIS IN LATIN AMERICA: RESULTS FROM THE AH-LATIN STUDY

Introduction and Objectives: Severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is an entity with high morbidity and mortality; however, data in Latin America is limited. We aimed to characterize patients hospitalized for AH in a multinational cohort in Latin America. Materials and Methods: Multicenter prospective cohort study. We included patients admitted with severe AH between 2015-2022. Sociodemographic and clinical information was recorded. The analysis included survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier curves. This study was approved by the institutional ethics committee. Results: 470 patients from 24 centers (8 countries: Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador) were included. Age 49.8 ± 10.6 years, 85.6% of men and 45% had a previous diagnosis of cirrhosis. Median MELD at admission was 26.9 [22-32] points. 26.5% met SIRS criteria and 34.3% had an acute kidney injury (AKI) on admission. Only 36.8% of patients were treated with corticosteroids. Survival at 30 days was 75.0% (95%CI: 70.1-79.3%) and 62.8% (95%CI: 57.1-68.0%) at 90 days. A total of 191 (45.8%) patients presented infections, 31.4% at admission and 24.9% during hospitalization. The most frequent locations of community-acquired infections were respiratory (33.5%), urinary (32.1%), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (14.9%), and skin (10.5%), while the most frequent pathogens were Escherichia coli (40%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (12%), and Enterococcus (6%). The presence of infection at admission was associated with a decreased survival at 90-days (66.9% versus 48.1%, p=0.0002). AKI at admission was also associated with decreased survival at 90-days (86.8% versus 51.3%, p