Abstract: Objective To investigate the changing regularity of the etiologies and complications of patients with cirrhosis and decompensated liver function in Dali area in recent 10 years. Methods A retrospective study was conducted to collect the data of patients with liver cirrhosis and decompensated liver function in the First Affiliated Hospital of Dali University in the past 10 years, and to compare the causes and complications between the first five years ( from January 2012 to December 2016) and the last five years (from January 2017 to December 2021). Results There was no statistical difference between the causes of cirrhosis in the last 5 years and the first 5 years. The top 5 causes were alcohol, chronic hepatitis B, schistosomiasis, overlapping causes and cryptogenic cirrhosis. The main causes were alcohol, chronic hepatitis B and schistosomiasis. The proportion of patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis in the second 5 years was significantly higher than that in the first 5 years (36.8% vs 31.1%), the difference was statistically significant (χ²=7.030, P=0.008), and the proportion of patients with chronic hepatitis B and cryptogenic cirrhosis in the second 5 years was significantly lower than that in the first 5 years (24.4% vs 29.0%, 5.6% vs 7.7%, respectively). The difference was statistically significant (χ²=5.457, P=0.019; χ²=3.844, P=0.050), there was no significant difference between the proportions of patients with schistosomiasis and overlapping causes in the first 5 years and the last 5 years, which were 15.5% vs 14.0%, and 8.0% vs 9.6% (χ²=0.882, P=0.348; χ²=1.600, P=0.206); The most common complications were abdominal effusion and infection. The proportion of patients with complications of abdominal effusion, infection and cholelithiasis in the last 5 years was significantly higher than those in the first 5 years (85.8% vs 73.0%, 47.0% vs 39.3%, and 24.5% vs 16.6%), the difference was statistically significant (χ²=50.824, P<0.001; χ²=11.848, P=0.001; and χ²=18.256, P<0.001), the proportion of patients with gastrointestinal bleeding in the last 5 years was significantly lower than that in the first 5 years (14.3% vs 28.7%), the difference was statistically significant (χ²=62.58, P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients with primary liver cancer (9.6% vs 10.4%, χ²=0.381, P=0.537). Conclusion The main cause of liver cirrhosis and liver function decompensation in Dali area is alcohol, followed by chronic hepatitis B and schistosomiasis. The cirrhosis caused by alcohol is on the rise, while the cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis B is in the decline. The most common complications were abdominal effusion and infection, which were on the rise.

Key words: Liver cirrhosis, Etiology, Complication, Alcoholic liver cirrhosis