British Society of Gastroenterology Best Practice Guidance: outpatient management of cirrhosis - part 3: special circumstances.

The prevalence of cirrhosis has risen significantly over recent decades and is predicted to rise further. Widespread use of non-invasive testing means cirrhosis is increasingly diagnosed at an earlier stage. Despite this, there are significant variations in outcomes in patients with cirrhosis across the UK, and patients in areas with higher levels of deprivation are more likely to die from their liver disease. This three-part best practice guidance aims to address outpatient management of cirrhosis, in order to standardise care and to reduce the risk of progression, decompensation and mortality from liver disease. Part 1 addresses outpatient management of compensated cirrhosis: screening for hepatocellular cancer, varices and osteoporosis, vaccination and lifestyle measures. Part 2 concentrates on outpatient management of decompensated disease including management of ascites, encephalopathy, varices, nutrition as well as liver transplantation and palliative care. In this, the third part of the guidance, we focus on special circumstances encountered in managing people with cirrhosis, namely surgery, pregnancy, travel, managing bleeding risk for invasive procedures and portal vein thrombosis.

British Society of Gastroenterology Best Practice Guidance: outpatient management of cirrhosis - part 1: compensated cirrhosis.

The prevalence of cirrhosis has risen significantly over recent decades and is predicted to rise further. Widespread use of non-invasive testing means cirrhosis is increasingly diagnosed at an earlier stage. Despite this, there are significant variations in outcomes in patients with cirrhosis across the UK, and patients in areas with higher levels of deprivation are more likely to die from their liver disease. This three-part best practice guidance aims to address outpatient management of cirrhosis, in order to standardise care and to reduce the risk of progression, decompensation and mortality from liver disease. Here, in part one, we focus on outpatient management of compensated cirrhosis, encompassing hepatocellular cancer surveillance, screening for varices and osteoporosis, vaccination and lifestyle measures. We also introduce a compensated cirrhosis care bundle for use in the outpatient setting. Part two concentrates on outpatient management of decompensated disease including management of ascites, encephalopathy, varices, nutrition as well as liver transplantation and palliative care. The third part of the guidance covers special circumstances encountered in managing people with cirrhosis: surgery, pregnancy, travel, managing bleeding risk for invasive procedures and portal vein thrombosis.

British Society of Gastroenterology Best Practice Guidance: outpatient management of cirrhosis - part 2: decompensated cirrhosis.

There are two distinct phases in the natural history of cirrhosis: compensated disease (corresponding to Child Pugh A and early Child Pugh B disease), where the patient may be largely asymptomatic, progressing with increasing portal hypertension and liver dysfunction to decompensated disease (corresponding to Child Pugh late B-C), characterised by the development of overt clinical signs, including jaundice, hepatic encephalopathy (HE), ascites, renal dysfunction and variceal bleeding. The transition from compensated cirrhosis to decompensated cirrhosis (DC) heralds a watershed in the nature and prognosis of the disease. DC is a systemic disease, characterised by multiorgan/system dysfunction, including haemodynamic and immune dysfunction. In this second part of our three-part series on the outpatient management of cirrhosis, we address outpatient management of DC, including management of varices, ascites, HE, nutrition, liver transplantation and palliative care. We also introduce an outpatient DC care bundle. For recommendations on screening for osteoporosis, hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance and vaccination see part one of the guidance. Part 3 of the guidance focusses on special circumstances encountered in patients with cirrhosis, including surgery, pregnancy, travel, management of bleeding risk for invasive procedures and portal vein thrombosis.

Embedding assessment of liver fibrosis into routine diabetic review in primary care.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are at high risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis. Screening patients with T2DM and normal liver enzymes for NAFLD in primary care remains contentious. Our aim was to develop and assess a primary care pathway integrating two-tier (Fib-4 then transient elastography [TE]) liver fibrosis assessment, irrespective of aetiology, into routine annual review of all patients with T2DM. METHODS: All patients aged >35 years with T2DM attending annual review at 2 primary care practices in North East England between April 2018 and September 2019 (n = 467) had Fib-4 requested via the electronic patient record. Those with a Fib-4 score above the 'high-sensitivity' threshold (>1.3 for ≤65 years and >2.0 for >65 years) underwent TE and were reviewed in secondary care if the liver stiffness measurement (LSM) was >8 kPa. The number of patients identified with advanced disease, service uptake, and predictors of advanced disease were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 85/467 (18.5%) patients had raised Fib-4; 27/467(5.8%) were excluded as a result of frailty or known cirrhosis. A total of 58/467 (12.2%) were referred for TE. Twenty-five of 58 (43.1%) had an LSM of >8 kPa and 13/58 (22.4%) had an LSM >15 kPa; 4/58 (6.7%) did not attend and 5/58 (9.3%) had an invalid reading. Twenty of 440 (4.5%) patients were found to have advanced liver disease following specialist review, compared to 3 patients previously identified through standard care (odds ratio [OR] 6.71 [2.0-22.7] p = 0.0022). Alcohol (OR 1.05 [1.02-1.08] p = 0.001) and BMI (OR 1.09 [1.01-1.17] p = 0.021) were predictors of advanced disease, particularly drinking >14/21 units/week (p <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating 2-tier assessment of liver fibrosis into routine annual diabetes review in primary care significantly improves identification of advanced liver disease in patients with T2DM. LAY SUMMARY: People with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and developing more significant complications. This study looks at introducing screening for advanced liver disease into the annual diabetes reviews performed routinely in primary care; we found that significantly more people were identified as having significant liver disease through this pathway than with current standard care.