Postoperative outcomes of acute-on-chronic liver failure in infants and children with biliary atresia.

INTRODUCTION: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is associated with increased mortality and morbidity in patients with biliary atresia (BA). Data on impact of ACLF on postoperative outcomes, however, are sparse. METHOD: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with BA aged <18 years who underwent LT between 2011 and 2021 at our institution. ACLF was defined using the pediatric ACLF criteria: ≥1 extra-hepatic organ failure in children with decompensated cirrhosis. RESULTS: Of 107 patients (65% female; median age 14 [9-31] months) who received a LT, 13 (12%) had ACLF during the index admission prior to LT. Two (15%) had Grade 1; 4 (30%) had Grade 2; and 7 (55%) had Grade ≥3 ACLF. ACLF cohort was younger at time of listing (5 [4-8] vs. 9 [6-24] months; p < .001) and at LT (8 [8-11] vs. 16 [10-40] months, p < .001) compared to no-ACLF group. Intraoperatively, ACLF patients had higher blood loss (40 [20-53] vs. 10 [6-19] mL/kg; p < .001) and blood transfusion requirements (33 [21-69] vs. 18 [7-25] mL/kg; p = .004). Postoperatively, they needed higher vasopressor support (31% vs. 10.6%; p = .04) and had higher total hospital length of stay (106 [45-151] vs. 13 [7-30] days; p = .023). Rate of return to the operating room, hospital readmission rates, and 1-year post-LT survival rates were comparable between the groups. CONCLUSION: Despite higher perioperative complications, survival outcomes for ACLF in BA after LT are favorable and comparable to those without ACLF. These encouraging data reiterate prioritization during organ allocation of these critically ill children for LT.

Recent advances in the prevention and treatment of decompensated cirrhosis and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and the role of biomarkers.

The progression of cirrhosis with clinically significant portal hypertension towards decompensated cirrhosis remains clinically challenging and the evolution towards acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), with one or more extrahepatic organ failures, is associated with very high mortality. In the last decade, significant progress has been made in the understanding of the mechanisms leading to decompensation and ACLF. As portal hypertension advances, bacterial translocation across an impaired gut barrier culminates in endotoxaemia, systemic inflammation and cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction (CAID). Gut-derived systemic inflammation and CAID have become the logical targets for innovative therapies that prevent hepatic decompensation episodes and the progression to ACLF.Furthermore, classification of disease and biomarker discovery to personalise care have advanced in the field. This review discusses progress in biomarker discovery and personalisation of treatment in decompensated cirrhosis and ACLF.

Rates, patterns, and predictors of specialty palliative care consultation among patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure.

Background & Aims: There is growing acceptance that principles of palliative care should be integrated into the management of serious illnesses affecting the liver, such as acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). However, rates, patterns, and predictors of specialty palliative care consultation among patients with ACLF have not been well-described. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients hospitalized with ACLF between 1/1/2008 and 12/31/2018 using the VOCAL cohort. Patients were followed until 6/2021. We used mixed-effects regression analyses to identify significant patient and facility factors associated with palliative care consultation. We examined timing of consultation, the influence of ACLF characteristics, and facility-level variation on receipt of palliative care consultation. Results: We identified 21,987 patients hospitalized with ACLF, of whom 30.5% received specialty palliative care consultation. Higher ACLF grade (ACLF-2 [odds ratio (OR) 1.82, 95% CI 1.67-1.99], ACLF-3 [OR 3.06, 95% CI 2.76-3.40]), prior specialty palliative care consultation (OR 2.62, 95% CI 2.36-2.91), and hepatocellular carcinoma (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.89-2.33) were associated with consultation. Consultation occurred latest and closest to the time of death for patients with ACLF-3 compared to ACLF-1 and ACLF-2. Significant facility-level variation in consultation persisted among patients with ACLF-3, despite adjusting for multiple patient and facility factors. Conclusion: In this large cohort of hospitalized patients with ACLF, specialty palliative care consultation was rare, more common in patients with higher grade ACLF, and tended to occur closer to the time of death for the sickest patients. Greater attention should be placed on earlier integration of palliative care during acute hospitalizations in patients with ACLF. Impact and implications: Though palliative care consultation is recommended for patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure, there is no data demonstrating how often this occurs during hospitalizations, on a population level. We found that consultation occurs in only 30.5% of patients and occurs later for patients with grade 3 acute-on-chronic liver failure. Our data should provoke clinicians to urgently consider quality improvement efforts to integrate palliative care into the management of these seriously ill patients.

Hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance may be associated with potential psychological harms in patients with cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The value of HCC surveillance is determined by the balance between benefits and harms; however, no studies have enumerated psychological harms. APPROACH AND RESULTS: We fielded surveys measuring psychological harms to patients with cirrhosis in a multicenter randomized trial of HCC surveillance outreach. All patients with positive or indeterminate surveillance results and matched patients with negative results were invited to complete surveys measuring (1) depression through the Patient Health Questionnaire-ninth version, (2) anxiety through State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, (3) HCC-specific worry through Psychological Consequences Questionnaire, and (4) decisional regret. Patients were classified into 4 groups: true positive (TP), false positive (FP), indeterminate, and true negative (TN). Multivariable longitudinal regression analysis using the generalized estimating equation method was performed to compare the means of measures across groups. We conducted 89 semistructured interviews in a subset of patients stratified by health system and test results. Of 2872 patients in the trial, 311 completed 1+ follow-up survey (63 FP, 77 indeterminate, 38 TP, and 133 TN). Moderate depression decreased in TN patients, increased in TP, and had intermittent but mild increases in those with FP and indeterminate results. High anxiety temporarily increased in patients with TP results but resolved over time and was stable in those with FP and indeterminate results. Decisional regret was low and did not differ across groups. In semistructured interviews, patients reported apprehension, anxiety, emotional distress, and coping related to HCC surveillance. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological harms of HCC surveillance appear mild but differ by test result. Future research should determine the impact of psychological harms on the value of HCC surveillance programs.

Improving Adherence to Clinical Practice Guidelines for Managing Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia Among Gastroenterologists at a US Academic Institution.

BACKGROUND: Clinical guidelines reserve endoscopic surveillance after a gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) diagnosis for high-risk patients. However, it is unclear how closely guidelines are followed in clinical practice. We examined the effectiveness of a standardized protocol for the management of GIM among gastroenterologists at a US hospital. METHODS: This was a preintervention and postintervention study, which included developing a protocol and education of gastroenterologists on GIM management. For the preintervention study, 50 patients with GIM were randomly selected from a histopathology database at the Houston VA Hospital between January 2016 and December 2019. For the postintervention study, we assessed change in GIM management in a cohort of 50 patients with GIM between April 2020 and January 2021 and surveyed 10 gastroenterologists. The durability of the intervention was assessed in a cohort of 50 GIM patients diagnosed between April 2021 and July 2021. RESULTS: In the preintervention cohort, GIM location was specified (antrum and corpus separated) in 11 patients (22%), and Helicobacter pylori testing was recommended in 11 of 26 patients (42%) without previous testing. Gastric mapping biopsies were recommended in 14% and surveillance endoscopy in 2%. In the postintervention cohort, gastric biopsy location was specified in 45 patients (90%, P <0.001) and H. pylori testing was recommended in 26 of 27 patients without prior testing (96%, P <0.001). Because gastric biopsy location was known in 90% of patients ( P <0.001), gastric mapping was not necessary, and surveillance endoscopy was recommended in 42% ( P <0.001). One year after the intervention, all metrics remained elevated compared with the preintervention cohort. CONCLUSIONS: GIM management guidelines are not consistently followed. A protocol for GIM management and education of gastroenterologists increased adherence to H. pylori testing and GIM surveillance recommendations.

Financial Burden of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening in Patients With Cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: The overall value of hepatocellular carcinoma screening is defined by the balance of benefits and harms. Studies have only reported physical harms with none describing financial harms. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter pragmatic randomized clinical trial of hepatocellular carcinoma screening outreach among 2872 patients with cirrhosis from March 2018 to April 2021. Patients with positive or indeterminate results and matched patients with negative results completed surveys at baseline and at follow-up measuring financial harms via Cancer Self-Administered Questionnaire and financial burden via Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy. Univariable and multivariable longitudinal regression analyses were performed to compare changes in financial harms across groups: true positive, true negative, false positive, and indeterminate. Semistructured interviews were conducted in a subset of patients, sampled by center and test result. RESULTS: Of 311 patients who completed at least 1 follow-up survey (75% response rate), 37 had true positive, 133 true negative, 64 false positive, and 77 indeterminate results. Financial harms increased in true positive and false positive patients with no significant changes noted among those with true negative or indeterminate results. At follow-up, 21.8% of patients reported moderate-severe financial burden, which was not significantly associated with test results. Semistructured interviews revealed variation in the frequency and severity of financial harms based on test results, with increased harm in those with false positive results. CONCLUSIONS: Financial harms of hepatocellular carcinoma screening vary by test result and can pose a barrier that must be considered when determining the optimal screening program.

Plasma exchange for acute and acute-on-chronic liver failure: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Plasma exchange (PE) is a promising therapeutic option in patients with acute liver failure (ALF) and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). However, the impact of PE on patient survival in these syndromes is unclear. We aimed to systematically investigate the use of PE in patients with ALF and ACLF compared with standard medical therapy (SMT). We searched PubMed/Embase/Cochrane databases to include all studies comparing PE versus SMT for patients ≥ 18 years of age with ALF and ACLF. Pooled risk ratios (RR) with corresponding 95% CIs were calculated by the Mantel-Haenszel method within a random-effect model. The primary outcome was 30-day survival for ACLF and ALF. Secondary outcomes were overall and 90-day survival for ALF and ACLF, respectively. Five studies, including 343 ALF patients (n = 174 PE vs. n = 169 SMT), and 20 studies, including 5,705 ACLF patients (n = 2,856 PE vs. n = 2,849 SMT), were analyzed. Compared with SMT, PE was significantly associated with higher 30-day (RR 1.41, 95% CI 1.06-1.87, p = 0.02) and overall (RR 1.35, 95% CI 1.12-1.63, p = 0.002) survival in ALF patients. In ACLF, PE was also significantly associated with higher 30-day (RR 1.36, 95% CI 1.22-1.52, p < 0.001) and 90-day (RR 1.21, 95% CI 1.10-1.34, p < 0.001) survival. On subgroup analysis of randomized controlled trials, results remained unchanged in ALF, but no differences in survival were found between PE and SMT in ACLF. In conclusion, PE is associated with improved survival in ALF and could improve survival in ACLF. PE may be considered in managing ALF and ACLF patients who are not liver transplant (LT) candidates or as a bridge to LT in otherwise eligible patients. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the survival benefit of PE in ACLF.

Using noninvasive clinical parameters to predict mortality and morbidity after cardiac interventions in patients with cirrhosis: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease commonly affects advanced liver disease patients. They undergo cardiac interventions to improve cardiac outcomes. Cirrhosis increases complication risk, including bleeding, renal and respiratory failure, and further decompensation, including death, posing a clinical dilemma to proceduralists. Predicting outcomes is crucial in managing patients with cirrhosis. Our aim was to systematically review clinical parameters to assess the mortality and complication risk in patients with cirrhosis undergoing cardiac interventions. METHODS: We searched cirrhosis and cardiovascular intervention terminology in PubMed and Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE) from inception to January 8, 2023. We included studies reporting clinical scores (e.g. Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD), Child-Pugh-Turcotte (CPT), cardiovascular interventions, mortality, and morbidity outcomes). We independently abstracted data from eligible studies and performed qualitative summaries. RESULTS: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Procedures included tricuspid valve surgery, catheterization-related procedures, aortic valve replacement (AVR), pericardiectomy, and left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement. MELD primarily predicted mortality (n = 4), followed by CPT (n = 2). Mortality is significantly increased for MELD > 15 after tricuspid valve surgery. Albumin, creatinine, and MELD were significantly associated with increased mortality after transcatheter AVR (TAVR), although specific values lacked stratification. CPT was significantly associated with increased mortality after cardiac catheterization or pericardiectomy. In LVAD placement, increasing MELD increased the unadjusted odds for perioperative mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Our systematic review showed that clinical parameters predict mortality and morbidity risk in patients with cirrhosis undergoing cardiac procedures.

Novel prognostic biomarkers in decompensated cirrhosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with decompensated cirrhosis experience high mortality rates. Current prognostic scores, including the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), may underperform in settings other than in those they were initially developed. Novel biomarkers have been proposed to improve prognostication accuracy and even to predict development of complications. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on novel urine and blood biomarkers and their ability to predict 90-day mortality in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Secondary outcomes included 28-day and 1-year mortality, and development of acute-on-chronic liver failure, acute kidney injury and other complications. To overcome differences in units, temporal changes in assays and reporting heterogeneity, we used the ratio of means (RoM) as measure of association for assessing strength in predicting outcomes. An RoM>1 implies that the mean biomarker level is higher in those that develop the outcome than in those that do not. RESULTS: Of 6629 unique references, 103 were included, reporting on 29 different biomarkers, with a total of 31 362 biomarker patients. Most studies were prospective cohorts of hospitalised patients (median Child-Pugh-Turcotte score of 9 and MELD score of 18). The pooled 90-day mortality rate was 0.27 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.29). The RoM for predicting 90-day mortality was highest for interleukin 6 (IL-6) (2.56, 95% CI 2.39 to 2.74), followed by urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) (2.42, 95% CI 2.20 to 2.66) and copeptin (2.33, 95% CI 2.17 to 2.50). These RoMs were all higher than for MELD (1.44, 95% CI 1.42 to 1.46). CONCLUSION: Novel biomarkers, including IL-6, uNGAL and copeptin, can probably improve prognostication of patients with decompensated cirrhosis compared with MELD alone.

Behavioral weight-loss interventions for patients with NAFLD: A systematic scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Clinically significant weight loss-which requires sustained dietary and physical activity changes-is central to treating NAFLD. Although behavioral interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in promoting weight loss among primary prevention populations, the data are limited among patients with NAFLD who need weight loss for treatment. We undertook this scoping review to map the existing data on the characteristics, weight-loss outcomes, and determinants of success of interventions evaluated among patients with NAFLD. METHODS: We searched Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane, PsycINFO, and Web of Science from inception to January 1, 2023 to identify publications reporting weight loss among adults with NAFLD in behavioral weight-loss interventions. We summarized interventions and classified them as successful if there was an average weight loss of ≥ 5% from baseline across enrolled participants or achieved by ≥ 50% of enrolled participants. RESULTS: We included 28 studies: 10 randomized control trials, ten quasi-experimental, and 8 observational studies. Intervention delivery, duration, and counseling frequency varied; 12 were successful. Retention was highest among telephone interventions and lowest among "real-world" face-to-face interventions. Patients who were women, younger, and/or had multiple metabolic conditions were most likely to dropout. Successful interventions had biweekly counseling, specific physical activity, and calorie targets, behavioral theory grounding, and promoted goal-setting, self-monitoring, and problem-solving. CONCLUSION: There are limited data on behavioral weight-loss interventions in NAFLD. Research is needed to develop effective interventions generalizable to diverse patient populations and that maximize adherence, particularly among patients who are diabetic, women, and younger.

Development, validation, and prognostic evaluation of a risk score for long-term liver-related outcomes in the general population: a multicohort study.

BACKGROUND: Liver cirrhosis is a major cause of death worldwide. Cirrhosis develops after a long asymptomatic period of fibrosis progression, with the diagnosis frequently occurring late, when major complications or cancer develop. Few reliable tools exist for timely identification of individuals at risk of cirrhosis to allow for early intervention. We aimed to develop a novel score to identify individuals at risk for future liver-related outcomes. METHODS: We derived the LiverRisk score from an international prospective cohort of individuals from six countries without known liver disease from the general population, who underwent liver fibrosis assessment by transient elastography. The score included age, sex, and six standard laboratory variables. We created four groups: minimal risk, low risk, medium risk, and high risk according to selected cutoff values of the LiverRisk score (6, 10, and 15). The model's discriminatory accuracy and calibration were externally validated in two prospective cohorts from the general population. Moreover, we ascertained the prognostic value of the score in the prediction of liver-related outcomes in participants without known liver disease with median follow-up of 12 years (UK Biobank cohort). FINDINGS: We included 14 726 participants: 6357 (43·2%) in the derivation cohort, 4370 (29·7%) in the first external validation cohort, and 3999 (27·2%) in the second external validation cohort. The score accurately predicted liver stiffness in the development and external validation cohorts, and was superior to conventional serum biomarkers of fibrosis, as measured by area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve (AUC; 0·83 [95% CI [0·78-0·89]) versus the fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4; 0·68 [0·61-0·75] at 10 kPa). The score was effective in identifying individuals at risk of liver-related mortality, liver-related hospitalisation, and liver cancer, thereby allowing stratification to different risk groups for liver-related outcomes. The hazard ratio for liver-related mortality in the high-risk group was 471 (95% CI 347-641) compared with the minimal risk group, and the overall AUC of the score in predicting 10-year liver-related mortality was 0·90 (0·88-0·91) versus 0.84 (0·82-0·86) for FIB-4. INTERPRETATION: The LiverRisk score, based on simple parameters, predicted liver fibrosis and future development of liver-related outcomes in the general population. The score might allow for stratification of individuals according to liver risk and thus guide preventive care. FUNDING: European Commission under the H20/20 programme; Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria de Salud; Instituto de Salud Carlos III; Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness; the European Regional Development Fund; and the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Cost of Care for Patients With Cirrhosis.

INTRODUCTION: There are limited longitudinal data on the cost of treating patients with cirrhosis, which hampers value-based improvement initiatives. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with cirrhosis seen in the Veterans Affairs health care system from 2011 to 2015. Patients were followed up through 2019. We identified a sex-matched and age-matched control cohort without cirrhosis. We estimated incremental annual health care costs attributable to cirrhosis for 4 years overall and in subgroups based on severity (compensated, decompensated), cirrhosis complications (ascites, encephalopathy, varices, hepatocellular cancer, acute kidney injury), and comorbidity (Deyo index). RESULTS: We compared 39,361 patients with cirrhosis with 138,964 controls. The incremental adjusted costs for caring of patients with cirrhosis were $35,029 (95% confidence interval $32,473-$37,585) during the first year and ranged from $14,216 to $17,629 in the subsequent 3 years. Cirrhosis complications accounted for most of these costs. Costs of managing patients with hepatic encephalopathy (year 1 cost, $50,080) or ascites ($50,364) were higher than the costs of managing patients with varices ($20,488) or hepatocellular cancer ($37,639) in the first year. Patients with acute kidney injury or those who had multimorbidity were the most costly at $64,413 and $66,653 in the first year, respectively. DISCUSSION: Patients with cirrhosis had substantially higher health care costs than matched controls and multimorbid patients had even higher costs. Cirrhosis complications accounted for most of the excess cost, so preventing complications has the largest potential for cost saving and could serve as targets for improvement.

Unusual Initial Presentation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma as a Clavicular Head Mass.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer worldwide. Extrahepatic spread is not unusual during HCC disease, but bone metastases at initial presentation are rare. CASE DESCRIPTION: We describe a case of HCC presenting with a clavicular head mass and spinal metastases with normal α-fetoprotein (AFP) level and hepatitis C virus infection without cirrhosis. After undergoing bone and liver biopsies, the patient started a 12-week course of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir and bevacizumab/atezolizumab for lifelong therapy with palliative intent. Since 2021, the patient has been receiving a combination of bevacizumab and atezolizumab every 21 days. On this regimen as of March 2023, his osseous metastases were stable and his liver lesions had not enlarged. CONCLUSIONS: This case demonstrates a very unusual HCC presentation, the importance of a thorough workup of bone metastasis, and the limited value of AFP for HCC screening, even in disseminated disease.

Definition, diagnosis and epidemiology of acute-on-chronic liver failure.

This narrative review addresses the definition of acute-on-chronic liver failure, a condition associated with high short-term mortality in patients with chronic liver disease and/or cirrhosis. We provide two major points of view: the East and the West perspective. Both definitions vary regarding the underlying patient population and organ failure(s) definition. Nevertheless, all the definitions have their clinical utility: from the core concept of having the "liver" as a conditio sine qua non, the syndrome cannot exist (Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver); a data-driven, robust definition (European Association for the Study of the Liver); a bedside tool that can quickly identify patients at high risk of dying (North American Consortium for the Study of End-stage Liver Disease [NACSELD]). In each section, we provide the overall definitions, the criteria of organ failure(s), and some epidemiological data illustrating how these apply in each area of the world.

The novel SALT-M score predicts 1-year post-transplant mortality in patients with severe acute-on-chronic liver failure.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Twenty-eight-day mortality ranges from 30-90% in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure grades 2/3 (severe ACLF). Though liver transplantation (LT) has demonstrated a survival benefit, the scarcity of donor organs and uncertainty regarding post-LT mortality among patients with severe ACLF may cause hesitancy. We developed and externally validated a model to predict 1-year post-LT mortality in severe ACLF, called the Sundaram ACLF-LT-Mortality (SALT-M) score, and estimated the median length of stay (LoS) after LT (ACLF-LT-LoS). METHODS: In 15 LT centers in the US, we retrospectively identified a cohort of patients with severe ACLF transplanted between 2014-2019, followed up to Jan'2022. Candidate predictors included demographics, clinical and laboratory values, and organ failures. We selected predictors in the final model using clinical criteria and externally validated them in two French cohorts. We provided measures of overall performance, discrimination, and calibration. We used multivariable median regression to estimate LoS after adjusting for clinically relevant factors. RESULTS: We included 735 patients, of whom 521 (70.8%) had severe ACLF (120 ACLF-3, external cohort). The median age was 55 years, and 104 with severe ACLF (19.9%) died within 1-year post-LT. Our final model included age >50 years, use of 1/≥2 inotropes, presence of respiratory failure, diabetes mellitus, and BMI (continuous). The c-statistic was 0.72 (derivation) and 0.80 (validation), indicating adequate discrimination and calibration based on the observed/expected probability plots. Age, respiratory failure, BMI, and presence of infection independently predicted median LoS. CONCLUSIONS: The SALT-M score predicts mortality within 1-year after LT in patients with ACLF. The ACLF-LT-LoS score predicted median post-LT stay. Future studies using these scores could assist in determining transplant benefits. IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS: Liver transplantation (LT) may be the only life-saving procedure available to patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), but clinically instability can augment the perceived risk of post-transplant mortality at 1 year. We developed a parsimonious score with clinically and readily available parameters to objectively assess 1-year post-LT survival and predict median length of stay after LT. We developed and externally validated a clinical model called the Sundaram ACLF-LT-Mortality score in 521 US patients with ACLF with 2 or ≥3 organ failure(s) and 120 French patients with ACLF grade 3. The c-statistic was 0.72 in the development cohort and 0.80 in the validation cohort. We also provided an estimation of the median length of stay after LT in these patients. Our models can be used in discussions on the risks/benefits of LT in patients listed with severe ACLF. Nevertheless, the score is far from perfect and other factors, such as patient's preference and center-specific factors, need to be considered when using these tools.

Telehealth interventions in patients with chronic liver diseases: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Telehealth interventions may improve access to care, disease-specific, and quality outcomes in chronic liver diseases (CLDs). We aimed to systematically evaluate outcomes of telehealth interventions in CLDs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used key terms and searched PubMed/EMBASE from inception to January 10, 2022. Two authors independently screened abstracts. Disagreements were resolved by a third reviewer. We included any type of CLD, including posttransplant patients, and extracted outcomes as defined by authors for each etiology of CLD (sustained virological response in HCV or weight loss in NAFLD). Meta-analysis was not performed because of the heterogeneity of data. Quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for clinical trials. RESULTS: Of 4250 studies screened, 43 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 28 reported HCV treatment outcomes. All studies showed no statistically significant differences between sustained virological response rates in TH groups compared with control groups or historic cohorts. Eight studies evaluating liver transplant-related processes and outcomes demonstrated improved rates of transplant evaluation and referrals and decreased short-term readmission rates. Three randomized controlled trials and 1 observational study on NAFLD showed improved weight loss outcomes. One retrospective study showed reduced mortality risk in CLD patients with at least 1 TH encounter. CONCLUSIONS: TH interventions in patients with CLDs consistently show equivalent or improved clinical outcomes compared with traditional encounters. TH in CLDs can bridge the gap in access while maintaining the quality of care for underserved populations.

Using Telemedicine to Facilitate Patient Communication and Treatment Decision-Making Following Multidisciplinary Tumor Board Review for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A rapid increase in the use of telemedicine for delivering healthcare has occurred since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is evidence for using telemedicine to facilitate cancer care delivery for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Examining how telemedicine can be used to communicate multidisciplinary tumor board (MTB) recommendations for HCC has not been studied. This study has two specific aims: (1) to evaluate the patient perspective of the MTB review process and identify best strategies for communicating treatment recommendations for HCC and (2) to pilot test a telemedicine intervention following MTB review to assess patient feasibility and satisfaction with using telemedicine to facilitate treatment decision-making and treatment referral. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods study. First, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted among patients diagnosed with HCC who were discussed in MTB review at one of three VA Medical Centers (VAMC). We collected information about the MTB process from the patient perspective and identified strategies for improving communication and delivery of care. Rapid qualitative analysis was used to inform intervention development. Using our qualitative data, a MTB telemedicine pilot intervention was developed and implemented to assess the feasibility of using this approach for patients with HCC. RESULTS: Almost all patients (94%) in the pilot study would recommend telemedicine to other patients with HCC, and half of the patients (50%) preferred telemedicine over in-person visits. Many patients (81%) found communication through telemedicine an acceptable platform to deliver difficult cancer information. Overall, patients felt they understood their treatment recommendations and found them clear and useful. Further, patients reported that they enjoyed being included in the decision-making process and appreciated being able to have family members easily join them for the telemedicine visit. CONCLUSIONS: Using telemedicine to communicate treatment recommendations following MTB review was found to be feasible and an acceptable alternative to an in-person visit for patient with HCC. Future studies could include expanding this approach for communicating MTB recommendations to patients with other types of cancers.