Period prevalence of chronic pancreatitis diagnosis from 2001-2013 in the commercially insured population of the United States.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence estimates of chronic pancreatitis (CP) in the US are scarce. We aimed to determine the prevalence of CP in the commercially insured population of the US. METHODS: We analyzed the IQVIA Legacy PharMetrics database to calculate the period prevalence of CP from 2001 to 2013 among individuals with ≥1 year of enrollment. CP was defined as ≥1 healthcare contacts associated with a non-ancillary claim for a primary diagnosis of CP (ICD-9-CM 577.1). Prevalence estimates were age- and sex- adjusted to the 2010 US population. Sensitivity analysis was performed by using more stringent criteria: a) 1 claim of CP + [≥1 claims of acute pancreatitis (AP), CP or pancreatic cyst/pseudocyst]; b) 1 claim of CP + [≥1 claims for AP, CP or pancreatic cyst/pseudocyst in ≥3 months before or after the index CP claim]; c) ≥2 claims for CP; and d) ≥2 claims for CP separated by ≥ 6 months. RESULTS: Of 48.67 million eligible enrollees, 37,061 received the diagnosis of CP (mean age, 51.2 ±â€¯15.2 years; 49% male). The age- and sex- adjusted period prevalence of CP per 100,000 was 73.4 (95% CI, 72.6-74.1), 98.7 (95% CI, 97.7-99.7) for adults and 8.3 (95% CI, 7.8-8.8) for children. Prevalence of CP was slightly higher in males (sex ratio, 1.05) and highest in the age group of 46-55 years (135/100,000). On sensitivity analysis, the prevalence of CP per 100,000 decreased to 60.2, 39.7, 38.8, and 18.8 with each of the alternative definitions. CONCLUSION: Prevalence estimates reported in our study provide an insight into the population burden of CP in the US.

Management and outcomes of acute pancreatitis patients over the last decade: A US tertiary-center experience.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Acute pancreatitis (AP) management remains largely supportive and can be challenging in patients with severe disease. This study aims to describe a ten-year US tertiary-center experience in managing AP patients. METHODS: Clinical management and outcomes of 400 prospectively enrolled AP patients stratified by the Revised Atlanta Classification were analyzed; trends in management between early (2004-2008) and late enrollment phase (2009-2014) were assessed. RESULTS: Fifty-two% of patients were classified as mild AP (MAP); moderately severe (MoAP) and severe (SAP) grades contained 23.5% and 24.5% of participants. Intravenous fluid administration during the first 24 h (MAP 3.7, MoAP 4.7, and SAP 4.8 L), need for ICU (6%, 23%, 93%), and nutritional support (7%, 51%, 90%) increased significantly with greater AP severity (p < 0.001). One hundred fifty five (39%) patients developed necrotizing AP, of which 41% received prophylactic antibiotics, and 44% underwent pancreatic drainage/debridement. Prophylactic antibiotics (58% vs. 27%) and interventions (63% vs. 27%) were noted more frequently in SAP than MoAP (p < 0.001). Enteral nutrition (18% vs. 30%) and minimally invasive pancreatic interventions (19% vs. 41%) were more commonly used in the late phase (p < 0.05). The overall median length of hospitalization was 7 days reaching 29 days in SAP group. Mortality was 5%; all deaths occurred in SAP group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an extensive report on clinical management of AP and its trends overtime. Pancreatic intervention is required in less than 50% of patients with necrotizing pancreatitis. Utilization of enteral nutrition and minimally invasive pancreatic interventions has been increasing over time.

Admission Hematocrit and Rise in Blood Urea Nitrogen at 24 h Outperform other Laboratory Markers in Predicting Persistent Organ Failure and Pancreatic Necrosis in Acute Pancreatitis: A Post Hoc Analysis of Three Large Prospective Databases.

OBJECTIVES: Predicting severe acute pancreatitis (AP) remains a challenge. The present study compares admission blood urea nitrogen (BUN), hematocrit, and creatinine, as well as changes in their levels over 24 h, aiming to determine the most accurate laboratory test for predicting persistent organ failure and pancreatic necrosis. METHODS: Clinical data of 1,612 AP patients, enrolled prospectively in three independent cohorts (University of Pittsburgh, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group), were abstracted. The predictive accuracy of the studied laboratories was measured using area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis. A pooled analysis was conducted to determine their impact on the risk for persistent organ failure and pancreatic necrosis. Finally, a classification tree was developed on the basis of the most accurate laboratory parameters. RESULTS: Admission hematocrit ≥44% and rise in BUN at 24 h were the most accurate in predicting persistent organ failure (AUC: 0.67 and 0.71, respectively) and pancreatic necrosis (0.66 and 0.67, respectively), outperforming the other laboratory parameters and the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation-II score. In a pooled analysis, admission hematocrit ≥44% and rise in BUN at 24 h were associated with an odds ratio of 3.54 and 5.84 for persistent organ failure, and 3.11 and 4.07, respectively, for pancreatic necrosis. In addition, the classification tree illustrated that when both admission hematocrit was ≥44% and BUN levels increased at 24 h, the rates of persistent organ failure and pancreatic necrosis reached 53.6% and 60.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Admission hematocrit ≥44% and rise in BUN at 24 h may be the optimal predictive tools in clinical practice among existing laboratory parameters and scoring systems.

Association between telephone activity and features of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Telephone communication is common between healthcare providers and patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We analyzed telephone activity at an IBD care center to identify disease and patient characteristics associated with high levels of telephone activity and determine if call volume could identify individuals at risk for future visits to the emergency department (ED) or hospitalization. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational study in which we categorized telephone calls received by nursing staff over 2 years at a tertiary care IBD clinic (2475 patients in 2009 and 3118 in 2010). We analyzed data on 21,979 ingoing and outgoing calls in 2009 and 32,667 calls in 2010 and assessed associations between clinical factors and logged telephone encounters, and between patterns of telephone encounters and future visits to the ED or hospitalization. RESULTS: Telephone encounters occurred twice as frequently as office visits; 15% of the patients generated >10 telephone encounters per year and were responsible for half of all telephone encounters. A higher percentage of these high telephone encounter (HTE) patients were female, had Crohn's disease, received steroid treatment, had increased levels of C-reactive protein and rates of erythrocyte sedimentation, had psychiatric comorbidities, and had chronic abdominal pain than patients with lower telephone encounters. The HTE patients were also more frequently seen in the ED or hospitalized over the same time period and in subsequent years. Forty-two percent of patients with >8 telephone encounters within 30 days were seen in the ED or hospitalized within the subsequent 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Based on an analysis of telephone records at an IBD clinic, 15% of patients account for half of all calls. These HTE patients are a heterogeneous group with refractory disease who are likely to visit the ED or be hospitalized.

Time trends in gastroparesis treatment.

INTRODUCTION: While delayed emptying is the defining criterion for gastroparesis, prokinetics often only have a limited impact on symptoms and have been associated with potentially serious adverse effects. The goal of this study was to determine how this information and regulatory changes affected gastroparesis management. METHODS: The electronic medical records of patients seen between 2003 and 2012 in the outpatient clinic of a large tertiary center were retrieved based on the billing diagnosis of gastroparesis. Demographic, clinical, and survival data were abstracted. RESULTS: A total of 709 patients were identified, with diabetes (21.2 %) and prior surgery (9.8 %) being the most common identifiable causes. The majority of patients (56 %) had idiopathic gastroparesis. The cohort was female predominant (79.5 %) with an average age of 45.4 ± 0.6 years. At the index encounter, 61.8 % received prokinetics. About one-third (37.7 %) used antiemetics at least intermittently. Between 2003 and 2012, prokinetic use dropped from 81 to 43 %, while the use of antiemetics increased from 14 to 41 %. Similarly, there was a significant increase in prescribed opioids and antidepressants. During the period of the study, 44 patients (6.2 %) died. Increasing age, a higher comorbidity burden, anxiety, and medication use were associated with higher mortality risks. CONCLUSION: This large outpatient cohort suggests that treatment trends move away from prokinetics and focus on symptom-oriented therapy and/or confounding mood disorders.

Cholecystectomy for biliary dyskinesia: how did we get there?

BACKGROUND: The focus of biliary dyskinesia (BD) shifted within the last 30 years, moving from symptoms after cholecystectomy (CCY) to symptoms with morphological normal gallbladder, but low gallbladder ejection fraction. METHODS: We searched the pubmed database to systematically review studies focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of gallbladder dysfunction. RESULTS: Impaired gallbladder contraction can be found in about 20% of healthy controls and an even higher number of patients with various other disorders. Surgery for BD increased after introduction of laparoscopic CCY, with BD now accounting for >20% of CCY in adults and up to 60% in pediatric patients. The majority of cases reported were operated in the USA, which differs from surgical series for cholelithiasis. Postoperative outcomes do not differ between groups with abnormal or normal gallbladder function. CONCLUSION: Functional gallbladder testing should not be seen as an indicator of relevant biliary tract disease or prognostic marker to identify patients who may benefit from operative intervention. Instead biliary dyskinesia should be considered as a part of a spectrum of functional disorders, which are generally managed conservatively. Small proof of concept studies have demonstrated effects of medical therapy on biliary dysfunction and should thus be never tested in appropriately designed trials.

Hospitalizations and testing in gastroparesis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Gastroparesis significantly impairs the quality of life in affected individuals and may lead to repeat hospitalizations due to refractory symptoms. We hypothesized that pain is a key reason for emergency encounters and diagnostic testing. METHODS: Using the ICD9 code 536.3, electronic medical records were analyzed retrospectively. Multivariate regression was used to determine predictors of hospital stays and use of diagnostic testing. RESULTS: In total, 326 patients (80% women, age: 44.1 ± 0.8 years) were identified. During 504 patient-years of follow up, patients were hospitalized on average slightly more than once annually for about 8 days and underwent 320 endoscopies, 366 computed tomography scans, 390 abdominal X-rays, 90 upper gastrointestinal contrast studies and 163 gastric emptying studies; 37 patients exceeded an annual radiation exposure of 20 mSv at least once. The majority of tests were confirmatory, with results not altering treatment. Vomiting and pain were the most common cause for emergency encounters and diagnostic testing. Age and comorbidity, but not opioid use (present in 25%) or the presence of chronic pain disorders (present in 32%) correlated with increased hospital days. CONCLUSIONS: While surrogate markers of pain do not predict repeat hospitalizations, pain was the primary reason for emergency encounters and frequent diagnostic testing. Repeated testing had a limited impact on treatment and outcome, but certainly contributes to the cost and even risk of care. Concerted efforts are needed to not only improve the care and quality of life of patients with gastroparesis, but also to reduce the number of potentially unnecessary or even harmful interventions.

Bandages, dressings, and cranial neurosurgery.

OBJECT: Bandages and dressings are commonly applied to incisional scalp wounds to prevent complications, particularly infection, during the early stages of wound healing. Bandaging cranial incisional wounds requires resources, consumes healthcare workers' time, and incurs expense; it is therefore important to examine its efficacy. METHODS: All cranial operations (excluding shunt placements, procedures on the scalp alone, and bur hole procedures) performed between June 30, 2001 and January 1, 2006, by two neurosurgeons at either of two hospitals, one adult and one pediatric institution, were reviewed. Surgical site infections (SSIs) and other postoperative complications were investigated with respect to the use of bandaging for incisional wounds and other aspects of postoperative wound management. The operations were classified into four categories based on wound type: "clean," "clean-contaminated," "contaminated," and "dirty," according to the criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CONCLUSIONS: A total of 702 operations were performed in 577 patients; only five patients received any type of surgical bandaging. There were four SSIs (0.57%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16-1.45). The postoperative infection rate in the 626 clean cases was 0.48% (95% CI 0.10-1.39) and was 2.63% (95% CI 0.07-13.81) in the 38 clean-contaminated cases. The data obtained in this investigation is consistent with the position that bandaging incisional scalp wounds after cranial surgery adds little if any benefit beyond the easier, simpler, and cheaper practice of using antibiotic ointment as a dressing without bandaging.

Clinical outcomes of isolated renal failure compared to other forms of organ failure in patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

AIM: To assess differences in clinical outcomes of isolated renal failure (RF) compared to other forms of organ failure (OF) in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). METHODS: Using a prospectively maintained database of patients with acute pancreatitis admitted to a tertiary medical center between 2003 and 2016, those with evidence of persistent OF were classified to renal, respiratory, cardiovascular, or multi-organ (2 or more organs). Data regarding demographics, comorbidities, etiology of acute pancreatitis, and clinical outcomes were prospectively recorded. Differences in clinical outcomes after development of isolated RF in comparison to other forms of OF were determined using independent t and Mann-Whitney U tests for continues variables, and χ2 test for discrete variables. RESULTS: Among 500 patients with acute pancreatitis, 111 patients developed persistent OF: mean age was 54 years, and 75 (67.6%) were male. Forty-three patients had isolated OF: 17 (15.3%) renal, 25 (21.6%) respiratory, and 1 (0.9%) patient with cardiovascular failure. No differences in demographics, etiology of acute pancreatitis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome scores, or development of pancreatic necrosis were seen between patients with isolated RF vs isolated respiratory failure. Patients with isolated RF were less likely to require nutritional support (76.5% vs 96%, P = 0.001), ICU admission (58.8% vs 100%, P = 0.001), and had shorter mean ICU stay (2.4 d vs 15.7 d, P < 0.001), compared to isolated respiratory failure. None of the patients with isolated RF or isolated respiratory failure died. CONCLUSION: Among patients with SAP per the Revised Atlanta Classification, approximately 15% develop isolated RF. This subgroup seems to have a less protracted clinical course compared to other forms of OF. Isolated RF might be weighed less than isolated respiratory failure in risk predictive modeling of acute pancreatitis.

Operative Trends for Pancreatic Diseases in the USA: Analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 1998-2011.

The epidemiology of pancreatic diseases is changing. Our aim was to determine the change in indications, frequency, and type of operations being performed for primary pancreatic diseases in the USA. Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, all patients aged ≥18 years who underwent pancreatic operations for a primary pancreatic indication between 1998-2011 were identified. Age- and sex-adjusted rates per million adult population were calculated using the 2010 US population as reference. Changes in patient characteristics and outcomes were analyzed. Of 151,454 operations, 82% were resections and 64% were performed for tumors (malignant 52%, benign 12%). Operative rates/million population increased from 41.36 in 1998 to 62.3 in 2011. Population rates increased significantly for distal pancreatectomy, but decreased significantly for drainage procedures (p < 0.05). Additionally, operative rates increased significantly for tumors and cysts/pseudocysts, but decreased significantly for acute pancreatitis (p < 0.05). During this period, mean age, and comorbidity burden for patients undergoing pancreatic operations increased significantly, while their length of hospital stay and in-hospital mortality decreased significantly (p trend <0.05). The number of pancreatic operations performed in the USA is increasing. Although being offered to older patients with more comorbidities, surgeries are being performed with increasing safety and better outcomes.

Impact of Obesity on the Management and Clinical Course of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has been linked with a proinflammatory state and the development of inflammatory diseases. Data on the clinical course and treatment of obese patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are limited. We used an institutional IBD registry to investigate the impact of obesity on IBD severity and treatment. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data for 3 years (2009-2011). Patients with IBD were categorized by body mass index (BMI). IBD-related quality of life, biochemical markers of inflammation, comorbidities, health care utilization, and treatment were characterized. Obesity was defined as a BMI ≥30 (type I: 30-34.9, type II: 35-39.9, and type III ≥40). RESULTS: Among 1494 patients with IBD, 71.9% were above their ideal BMI and 31.5% were obese. Obesity was more common in ulcerative colitis compared with patients with Crohn's disease (P = 0.04). Obese class II and class III patients were predominantly female. Obesity in IBD was associated with female gender (P < 0.0001), diabetes mellitus (P < 0.001), hypertension (P < 0.001), hyperlipidemia (P < 0.001), poor quality of life (P < 0.0001), and increased rates of C-reactive protein elevation (P = 0.008). In logistic regression analysis, quality of life and C-reactive protein elevation were not independently correlated with obesity. There was no association between increasing BMI and annual prednisone use, emergency department visits, hospitalization, and surgery. Obesity was associated with lower milligrams per kilogram doses of purine analogs and biologics. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity in IBD is not associated with increased health care utilization and IBD-related surgeries. Optimal regimens for drug dosing in obese patients with IBD have yet to be defined.

Weight loss in nonalcoholic Fatty liver disease patients in an ambulatory care setting is largely unsuccessful but correlates with frequency of clinic visits.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NALFD) is a leading cause of liver disease. Weight loss improves clinical features of NAFLD; however, maintenance of weight loss outside of investigational protocols is poor. The goals of this study were to characterize patterns and clinical predictors of long-term weight loss in ambulatory patients with NAFLD. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 924 non-cirrhotic patients with NAFLD presenting to a liver clinic from May 1st 2007 to April 30th 2013. Overweight and obese patients were counseled on lifestyle modifications for weight loss as per USPSTF guidelines. The primary outcome was percent weight change between the first and last recorded visits: % weight change  =  (weightinitial - weightfinal)/(weightinitial). Baseline BMI and percent BMI change were secondary measures. Predictors of weight loss were determined using logistic regression. RESULTS: The mean baseline BMI was 33.3±6.6 kg/m2, and the mean follow-up duration was 17.3±17.6 months. Most patients with NAFLD were in either overweight (26.1%) or class I obesity (30.5%) categories at baseline, while the prevalence of underweight and class III obesity was lower (0.2% and 15.4%, respectively). Overall, there was no change in mean weight or BMI during the follow-up period, and only 183 patients (19.8%) lost at least 5% body weight during the follow up period. Independent predictors of weight loss included number of clinic visits and baseline BMI, and patients with higher baseline BMI required more clinic visits to lose weight. CONCLUSIONS: Weight loss is largely unsuccessful in NAFLD patients in the ambulatory care setting. Frequent clinical encounters are associated with weight reduction, especially among individuals with high baseline BMI. Future studies are required to define effective weight loss strategies in NAFLD patients.