The impact of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease on inflammatory bowel disease-related hospitalization outcomes: a systematic review

Evidence suggests that patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at higher risk of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, there is limited information currently available on how NAFLD may affect the clinical course of IBD. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the impact of NAFLD on IBD-related hospitalization outcomes. All observational studies assessing IBD-related hospitalization outcomes in patients with NAFLD were included. Exclusion criteria were studies published in languages other than English or French, or those involving pediatric population. Outcomes included IBD-related hospitalization and readmission rates, need for surgery, length of stay, inpatient mortality, and costs. Overall, 3252 citations were retrieved and seven studies met the inclusion criteria (1 574 937 patients); all were observational, of high quality, and originated in the United States. Measurable outcomes reported in these studies were few and with insufficient similarity across studies to complete a quantitative assessment. Only one study reports NAFLD severity. Two studies suggested a higher rate of hospitalization for patients with both NAFLD and IBD compared to IBD alone (incidence rate ratio of 1.54; 95% confidence interval: 1.33-1.79). This is the first systematic review to date that evaluates any possible association of NAFLD with IBD-related hospitalization outcomes. Despite the paucity and low quality of available data, our findings indicate that NAFLD may be associated with worse outcomes amongst IBD patients (especially Crohn's disease). Further and higher certainty of evidence is needed for better characterization of such clinical impact.