Patient survey augments detection of harmful alcohol relapse after liver transplant for alcohol-associated cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Predicting the risk of alcohol relapse after a liver transplant for alcohol-associated liver disease is critical to guide candidate selection and optimize alcohol use disorder management. We aimed to use patient survey to augment the detection of alcohol relapse and its risk factors and to understand patient perceptions of the importance of alcohol abstinence. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we used a telephone survey and chart review to assess the incidence of post-transplant harmful alcohol relapse, risk factors, and long-term outcomes for patients transplanted for alcohol-associated cirrhosis at our center from 2002 to 2016. RESULTS: Over the median follow-up of 5.9 years, 20.4% relapsed, with 9.3% harmful relapse after median of 4.0 years. The survey response rate was 44.0% (n=110). Of survey responders, 44.3% did not recall discussing alcohol in post-transplant clinics, and 17.6% of relapses were identified by the survey alone. In univariate analysis, shorter pretransplant sobriety (OR: 0.96 per month, p=0.02) and history of pretransplant relapse (OR: 2.99, p=0.02) were associated with post-transplant harmful relapse. After adjusting for these factors, High-risk Alcoholism Relapse score ≥4 predicted harmful relapse (OR: 3.43, p=0.049). A total of 27.3% of patients with both pretransplant relapse and High-risk Alcoholism Relapse score ≥4 relapsed to harmful use compared with 5.2% of those with 1 or neither risk factor (p < 0.001). Harmful relapse was associated with increased graft loss (30.4% vs. 17.4%) and inferior 10-year post-liver transplant survival (61.5% vs. 80.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating patient survey data allowed the detection of relapses otherwise unreported to clinicians, highlighting the need for novel strategies to detect relapse. Utilizing this augmented data, we identified pretransplant sobriety length, pretransplant relapse, and High-risk Alcoholism Relapse score ≥4 as risk factors that should be evaluated pretransplant to guide candidate selection and peritransplant alcohol use disorder management.

Nonheavy Alcohol Use Associates With Liver Fibrosis and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in the Framingham Heart Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: While heavy alcohol use consistently associates with liver disease, the effects of nonheavy alcohol consumption are less understood. We aimed to investigate the relationship between nonheavy alcohol use and chronic liver disease. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 2629 current drinkers in the Framingham Heart Study who completed alcohol use questionnaires and transient elastography. We defined fibrosis as liver stiffness measurement (LSM) ≥8.2 kPa. We defined at-risk nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) as FibroScan-aspartate aminotransferase (FAST) score >0.35 (90% sensitivity) or ≥0.67 (90% specificity). We performed logistic regression to investigate associations of alcohol use measures with fibrosis and NASH, adjusting for sociodemographic and metabolic factors. Subgroup analysis excluded heavy drinkers (>14 drinks per week for women or >21 for men). RESULTS: In this sample (mean age 54.4 ± 8.9 years, 53.3% women), mean LSM was 5.6 ± 3.4 kPa, 8.2% had fibrosis, 1.9% had NASH by FAST ≥0.67, and 12.4% had NASH by FAST >0.35. Participants drank 6.2 ± 7.4 drinks per week. Total drinks per week and frequency of drinking associated with increased odds of fibrosis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-1.33; and aOR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01-1.16, respectively). Risky weekly drinking, present in 17.4%, also associated with fibrosis (aOR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.03-2.14). After excluding 158 heavy drinkers, total drinks per week remained associated with fibrosis (aOR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.001-1.35). Multiple alcohol use measures positively associated with FAST >0.35. CONCLUSIONS: In this community cohort, we demonstrate that nonheavy alcohol use associates with fibrosis and NASH, after adjustment for metabolic factors. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the benefits of moderating alcohol use to reduce liver-related morbidity and mortality.

Beyond "Asian": Specific East and Southeast Asian Races or Ethnicities Associated With Jaundice Readmission.

OBJECTIVES: Clinical practice guidelines have recognized "Asian" and "East Asian" as risk factors for newborn jaundice and readmission. We sought to identify more detailed and specific, parent-identified races or ethnicities associated with jaundice readmission. METHODS: We conducted a case control study of 653 newborn infants born (2014-2016) at a West-Coast, urban hospital to examine specific parent-described races or ethnicities that are associated with newborn hospital readmissions for hyperbilirubinemia. Parent-reported race or ethnicity was abstracted from the California Newborn Screening Test. RESULTS: Our sample included 105 infants readmitted for jaundice (cases) and 548 infants as controls. In the full cohort, 66 infants (10.1%) were Coombs positive, 39 infants (6.0%) were born before 37 weeks' gestational age, and 405 infants (62.0%) were born to first-time mothers. The parents described the 653 infants using 45 unique races and ethnicities. In a multivariable model that controlled for Coombs positivity, gestational age <37 weeks, and primiparity, infants described as "Far East Asian" (odds ratio [OR] = 3.17; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.94-5.18) or "Southeast Asian" (OR = 3.17; 95% CI = 1.66-6.08) had increased risk for jaundice readmission. Infants described as Southeast Asian (eg, Laotian, Cambodian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Filipino) and Far East Asian (eg, Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Mongolian) had an increased risk of readmission. Finally, we did not find an association between South Asian (OR = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.33-1.92) race or ethnicity and risk of jaundice readmission. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we help clarify and move beyond the term "Asian" as a risk factor for readmission due to hyperbilirubinemia.

Registry study to assess hair loss prevention with the Penguin Cold Cap in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is a distressing side effect of cancer treatment. The aim of this registry study was to assess efficacy and tolerability of scalp hypothermia using Penguin Cold Caps (Penguin) in breast cancer patients. METHODS: Hair loss was assessed by patients using a 100-point Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and by physicians using the 5-point Dean Scale at baseline, every 3-4 weeks during chemotherapy, and at least 1 month after completion of chemotherapy. The primary efficacy endpoint for success was defined as ≤50% hair loss by patient report (VAS) at follow-up (FUP). Tolerability and satisfaction were assessed by patient report. RESULTS: 103 patients enrolled between 7/2010 and 6/2015; 97 are evaluable for the primary endpoint. Chemotherapy included docetaxel/cyclophosphamide (TC; n = 50) for 4-6 cycles every 3 weeks, weekly paclitaxel for 12 weeks then doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (P/AC; n = 23) for 4 cycles every 2-3 weeks, AC then paclitaxel (AC/P; n = 10), docetaxel/carboplatin ± trastuzumab (TCH; n = 4) for 4-6 cycles every 3 weeks. Overall, 61% of patients successfully prevented CIA; impact was regimen specific: TCH 100%, TC × 4 84%, TC × 5-6 50%, P/AC 43%, AC/P 20%. The most common toxicity was headache, reported by 78.5% of patients with mean pain level 37/100. Satisfaction among those who completed scalp cooling (SC) and FUP ranged from 74 to 100%. All patients who completed SC/FUP recommended Penguin. CONCLUSIONS: Scalp hypothermia with Penguin is effective in reducing alopecia, particularly for non-anthracycline-based shorter regimens. Penguin was well tolerated and viewed favorably by most patients.

Neural substrates of cognitive load changes during a motor task in subjects with stroke.

PURPOSE: A critical component to rehabilitation is the degree to which we challenge patients to facilitate learning without providing excessive competition for cognitive resources. The purpose of this study was to examine brain activation and motor performance during changes in cognitive load in a continuous motor task in subjects with stroke (n = 7) and healthy subjects (n = 17). METHODS: Subjects participated in a joystick drawing task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subjects attempted to continuously draw a square under three conditions of varying cognitive demands. RESULTS: In subjects with stroke, results showed significantly less activation in contralateral primary motor area when the task did not require working memory demands and no change when the condition required online visual feedback processing. Bilaterally, the premotor cortex also demonstrated a significant decrease in activation when the task did not require working memory and then an increase in activation when online visual feedback processing was required. Despite these changes in activation, the accuracy of performance was maintained across the three conditions. Healthy subjects demonstrated no significant differences in activation between conditions. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the sensorimotor areas investigated have the greatest demand when the task requires working memory, but that only the bilateral premotor area has increased demands when online visual feedback processing is required. Use of working memory and visual feedback should be carefully considered when designing rehabilitation programs to balance challenging patients with overwhelming their potentially limited cognitive resources.