Imaging of bronchial pathology in antibody deficiency: Data from the European Chest CT Group

Studies of chest computed tomography (CT) in patients with primary antibody deficiency syndromes (ADS) suggest a broad range of bronchial pathology. However, there are as yet no multicentre studies to assess the variety of bronchial pathology in this patient group. One of the underlying reasons is the lack of a consensus methodology, a prerequisite to jointly document chest CT findings. We aimed to establish an international platform for the evaluation of bronchial pathology as assessed by chest CT and to describe the range of bronchial pathologies in patients with antibody deficiency. Ffteen immunodeficiency centres from 9 countries evaluated chest CT scans of patients with ADS using a predefined list of potential findings including an extent score for bronchiectasis. Data of 282 patients with ADS were collected. Patients with common variable immunodeficiency disorders (CVID) comprised the largest subgroup (232 patients, 82.3%). Eighty percent of CVID patients had radiological evidence of bronchial pathology including bronchiectasis in 61%, bronchial wall thickening in 44% and mucus plugging in 29%. Bronchiectasis was detected in 44% of CVID patients aged less than 20 years. Cough was a better predictor for bronchiectasis than spirometry values. Delay of diagnosis as well as duration of disease correlated positively with presence of bronchiectasis. The use of consensus diagnostic criteria and a pre-defined list of bronchial pathologies allows for comparison of chest CT data in multicentre studies. Our data suggest a high prevalence of bronchial pathology in CVID due to late diagnosis or duration of disease

Alcohol use disorder treatment and outcomes among hospitalized adults with alcoholic hepatitis

Purpose: The burden of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) in the United States (US) has continued to worsen in the background of rising rates of alcohol use disorder. Patients with ALD present to care at a late stage, often with the sequela of liver decompensation, such as gastrointestinal bleeding and infection. ALD is now the leading indication for liver transplantation. We aimed to measure the quality of care delivered to hospitalized patients with alcoholic hepatitis (AH) across 3 domains: 1) alcohol-use disorder (AUD) care, 2) inpatient cirrhosis care, and 3) alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) care-and observe associations between quality of care and outcomes.Methods: We included hospital encounters between January 1, 2016 and January 1, 2019 to a large, diverse integrated health system for AH with active alcohol use within the prior 60 days. The diagnosis of AH was determined based on previously published clinical and laboratory criteria. Quality indicator (QI) pass rates were calculated as the proportion of patients eligible for each indicator who received the QI within the timeframe specified. We then evaluated the association between the receipt of all QIs and 6-month mortality, as well as AUD-specific QIs and 30-day readmission.Results: Of the 179 patients, the median age was 47 years-old, 59.2% were male and 49.2% were non-Hispanic White. The median Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Sodium score was 25, while the median discriminant function was 33. Patients were followed for an average of 21 months. Overall, 14% of patients died during the index hospitalization while 17.3% died following discharge and 24.8% were re-admitted within 30-days. QI pass-rates were variable across the different domains. Few patients received AUD care-pass rates for receipt of pharmacotherapy and behavioral therapy at 6 months were only 19.1% and 35.1%, respectively. There was a significant association between receiving behavioral therapy and 6-month mortality-3% vs 18%, p = 0.05.Conclusion: The quality of care received during hospital encounters for AH is variable, and AUD-specific therapy is low. Future quality of care initiatives are warranted to link patients to AUD treatment to ensure optimal care and maximize patients survival in this at-risk population

Palliative Care and Health Care Utilization for Patients With End-Stage Liver Disease at the End of Life

Background & aimsThere has been increased attention on ways to improve the quality of end-of-life care for patients with end-stage liver disease; however, there have been few reports of care experiences for patients during terminal hospitalizations. We analyzed data from a large national database to increase our understanding of palliative care for and health care utilization by patients with end-stage liver disease.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional, observational study to examine terminal hospitalizations of adults with decompensated cirrhosis using data from the National Inpatient Sample from 2009 through 2013. We collected data on palliative care consultation and total hospital costs, and performed multivariate regression analyses to identify factors associated with palliative care consultation. We also investigated whether consultation was associated with lower costs.ResultsAmong hospitalized adults with terminal decompensated cirrhosis, 30.3% received palliative care; the mean cost per hospitalization was $48,551 ±$1142. Palliative care consultation increased annually, and was provided to 18.0% of patients in 2009 and to 36.6% of patients in 2013 (P < .05). The mean cost for the terminal hospitalization did not increase significantly ($47,969 in 2009 to$48,956 in 2013, P = .77). African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and liver transplant candidates were less likely to receive palliative care, whereas care in large urban teaching hospitals was associated with a higher odds of receiving consultation. Palliative care was associated with lower procedure burden-after adjusting for other factors, palliative care was associated with a cost reduction of $10,062.ConclusionsPalliative care consultation for patients with end-stage liver disease increased from 2009 through 2013. Palliative care consultation during terminal hospitalizations is associated with lower costs and procedure burden. Future research should evaluate timing and effects of palliative care on quality of end-of-life care in this population

Cultural humility and end‐of‐life communication with people with advanced liver disease

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Innovations in Hepatitis C Screening and Treatment

New therapies offer hope for a cure to millions of persons living with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. HCV elimination is a global goal that will be difficult to achieve using the traditional paradigms of diagnosis and care. The current standard has evolved toward universal HCV screening and treatment, to achieve elimination goals. There are several steps between HCV diagnosis and cure with major barriers along the way. Innovative models of care can address barriers to better serve hardly reached populations and scale national efforts in the United States and abroad. Herein, we highlight innovative models of HCV care that aid in our progress toward HCV elimination

Palliative care experience and perceived gaps in training among transplant hepatology fellows: A national survey

Despite the likely benefits of palliative care (PC) for patients with cirrhosis, physician experiences and perspectives about best practices are variable. We aimed to assess PC experience and gaps in training among transplant hepatology fellows. We conducted a national survey of all transplant hepatology fellows enrolled in accredited fellowship programs during the 2020-2021 academic year. We assessed the frequency of PC provision and comfort with physical and psychological symptom management, psychosocial care, communication skills, advance care planning, and end-of-life care. A total of 45 of 56 (79%) of transplant hepatology fellows responded to the survey; 50% (n = 22) were female. Most trained at centers performing over 100 transplants per year (67%, n = 29) distributed evenly across geographic regions. Most fellows (69%, n = 31) had a PC or hospice care rotation during residency, and 42% (n = 19) of fellows received education in PC during transplant hepatology fellowship. Fellows reported feeling moderately to very comfortable with communication skills such as breaking bad news (93%, n = 41) and leading family meetings (75%, n = 33), but nearly one-third (30%, n = 13) reported feeling not very or not at all comfortable assessing and managing anxiety and depression (30%, n = 13) and spiritual distress (34%, n = 15). Nearly one-quarter (22%, n = 10) had never discussed or documented advance care plans during fellowship. Fellows wished to receive future instruction on the assessment and management of physical symptoms (68%, n = 30) and anxiety and depression (64%, n = 28). Conclusion: Our survey highlights gaps in PC experience and education during transplant hepatology fellowship, lack of comfort in managing psychological distress and advance care planning, and desire to improve skills, particularly in symptom management. Future studies should investigate how to enhance transplant hepatology competencies in these PC domains and whether this impacts clinical care, advance care planning, or patient experience

The role of therapeutic hypothermia in the management of acute spinal cord injury

This review paper investigates the history, efficacy, and administration of systemic and local hypothermia for spinal cord injury (SCI). It summarizes the published experimental and clinical evidence on hypothermia for SCI and analyzes the potential for further research. Early experimental animal research showed that local hypothermia improved recovery and gain of function after acute SCI. However, in the early 1970s, clinical research findings did not coincide with results of these animal trials, which led to a loss of interest in local hypothermia. Since the 1980s, systemic hypothermia has been successfully used to treat SCI in both animals and humans. An abundance of positive evidence suggests that clinical trials are needed to determine the effectiveness of hypothermia for SCI. As a first step, we investigated the published clinical and experimental evidence on the use of hypothermia for SCI patients, who have few available treatment options. We searched PubMed for English-language reports published from 1940 to 2016 containing terms related to SCI treatment using hypothermia. We reviewed all articles on local hypothermia and acute SCI or on systemic hypothermia and acute SCI. Bibliographies of retrieved publications were also screened for additional citations. Ninety-six papers were selected. The clinical use of hypothermia is most successful if applied according to certain optimized parameters (e.g., duration, temperature, time from injury to initiation of cooling, and rewarming time). Preliminary data suggest that modest systemic hypothermia applied for 48h provides the best therapeutic value, but the parameters for use of local hypothermia vary greatly. Experimental evidence and some clinical evidence suggest that both local hypothermia and systemic hypothermia are beneficial for acute SCI. Future research should focus on defining the optimal levels of parameters. Large, multicenter, controlled clinical trials are needed to investigate its therapeutic potential