The prevalence and associated factors of simple hepatic cysts in Shanghai: a population-based cross-sectional study

摘要

To the Editor: Simple hepatic cyst is a common reason for consultation with gastroenterologists and hepatologists. Although most patients have a benign course, some suffer from serious complications, such as intracystic infection, hemorrhage, and even rupture, or symptoms caused by severe oppression of the surrounding tissues and organs. Understanding the prevalence of, and characteristics of, and factors associated with simple hepatic cysts is helpful for better treatment of symptomatic patients. The reported prevalence of the disease varies widely, ranging from 2.5% to 18.0%, and most of them were based on hospital surveys.[1–4] As an asymptomatic disease in most cases, simple hepatic cysts are usually discovered incidentally on abdominal imaging. Therefore, surveys based on hospital populations cannot represent true prevalence. Furthermore, due to the absence of healthy controls, surveys with hospital populations have been unable to identify associated factors for simple hepatic cysts.[1–4].