Hepatology
News
FDA restricts obeticholic acid (Ocaliva) over serious liver injury risk
Before starting obeticholic acid, clinicians should determine whether a patient with PBC has advanced cirrhosis.
Applied Evidence
A guide to diagnosing and managing ascites in cirrhosis
Combined serum and ascites fluid measurements point to the cause of ascites. For patients with modest edema, a reduced weight-loss target with...
From the Journals
Pediatric NAFLD almost always stems from excess body weight, not other etiologies
Just 2% of children with overweight or obesity and suspected NAFLD had other causes of liver disease.
From the Journals
Minorities underrepresented on liver transplant waiting lists
While racial disparities “greatly diminished” after placement on a waiting list, which suggests recent progress in the field, pre–wait-listing...
From the Journals
Methotrexate-associated hepatotoxicity risk differs between psoriasis, PsA, and RA patients
When results were adjusted with Cox regression analyses, the psoriasis group had a significantly increased risk compared with the RA group with...
From the Journals
AGA Clinical Practice Update: Bariatric surgery in patients with cirrhosis
Obesity heightens risks of portal vein thrombosis, portal hypertension, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure in acute on chronic liver...
Feature
Widespread liver disease missed in patients with T2D
New evidence showing how common fatty liver disease and fibrosis are in patients with type 2 diabetes triggers a broadened “call to action.”
From the Journals
Liver disease associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes
More than 90% of patients can develop increased levels of ALT and AST, and these elevations appear to mirror disease severity.
Guidelines
Updated USPSTF HBV screening recommendation may be a ‘lost opportunity’
The recommendation defines risk groups more narrowly than the CDC, AASLD, and some research suggests risk-based screening is ineffective for...
From the Journals
Bezafibrate eased pruritus in patients with fibrosing cholangiopathies
In all, 45% of bezafibrate recipients had at least a 50% decrease in pruritus on a 10-point visual analog scale, compared with 11% of the placebo...
From the Journals
AGA Clinical Practice Update: How diet and exercise can help manage NAFLD
NAFLD affects approximately 25% of individuals worldwide, but medication, bariatric endoscopy, and surgery are reserved for only a small subset....