Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Winning The Battle And The War Against C. Difficile, Emily Villegas

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

In 2016 Providence St. Patrick Hospital Serious Infection Rate (SIR) for Hospital Acquired C. difficile Infections (HACDI) was well above the acceptable standard. Several departments were working independently of each other to develop and implement interventions. However, these efforts did not result in sustained improvement and in some cases there where downstream consequences that made the problem worse.

A Pilot Genome-Wide Analysis Study Identifies Loci Associated With Response To Obeticholic Acid In Patients With Nash., Samer Gawrieh, Xiuqing Guo, Jingyi Tan, Marie Lauzon, Kent D Taylor, Rohit Loomba, Oscar W Cummings, Sreekumar Pillai, Pallav Bhatnagar, Kris V Kowdley, Katherine Yates, Laura A Wilson, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Jerome I Rotter, Naga Chalasani

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

A significantly higher proportion of patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) who received obeticholic acid (OCA) had histological improvement relative to placebo in the FLINT (farnesoid X nuclear receptor ligand obeticholic acid for noncirrhotic, NASH treatment) trial. However, genetic predictors of response to OCA are unknown. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in FLINT participants to identify variants associated with NASH resolution and fibrosis improvement. Genotyping was performed using the Omni2.5 content GWAS chip. To avoid false positives introduced by population stratification, we focused our GWAS on white participants. Six regions on chromosomes 1, 4, 6, 7, 15, and 17 …

Precision Medicine In Pancreatic Disease-Knowledge Gaps And Research Opportunities: Summary Of A National Institute Of Diabetes And Digestive And Kidney Diseases Workshop., Mark E Lowe, Dana K Andersen, Richard M Caprioli, Jyoti Choudhary, Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate, Anil K Dasyam, Christopher E Forsmark, Fred S Gorelick, Joe W Gray, Mark Haupt, Kimberly A Kelly, Kenneth P Olive, Sylvia K Plevritis, Noa Rappaport, Holger R Roth, Hanno Steen, S Joshua Swamidass, Temel Tirkes, Aliye Uc, Kirill Veselkov, David C Whitcomb, Aida Habtezion

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

A workshop on research gaps and opportunities for Precision Medicine in Pancreatic Disease was sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases on July 24, 2019, in Pittsburgh. The workshop included an overview lecture on precision medicine in cancer and 4 sessions: (1) general considerations for the application of bioinformatics and artificial intelligence; (2) omics, the combination of risk factors and biomarkers; (3) precision imaging; and (4) gaps, barriers, and needs to move from precision to personalized medicine for pancreatic disease. Current precision medicine approaches and tools were reviewed, and participants identified knowledge gaps and research needs …

Characterization Of Patients With Both Alcoholic And Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease In A Large United States Cohort., George Khoudari, Amandeep Singh, Mazen Noureddin, Danielle Fritze, Rocio Lopez, Imad Asaad, Eric Lawitz, Fred Poordad, Kris V Kowdley, Naim Alkhouri

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and is characterized by steatosis in the absence of significant alcohol consumption. However, MetS and significant alcohol intake coexist in certain individuals which may lead to the development of BAFLD.

AIM: To assess the clinical characteristics of patients with both alcoholic and NAFLD (BAFLD) in a large cohort in the United States.

METHODS: Adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003-2014 were included. NAFLD was diagnosed based on elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and being overweight or obese in the absence of other …

Association Of Histologic Disease Activity With Progression Of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease., David E Kleiner, Elizabeth M Brunt, Laura A Wilson, Cynthia Behling, Cynthia Guy, Melissa Contos, Oscar Cummings, Matthew Yeh, Ryan Gill, Naga Chalasani, Brent A Neuschwander-Tetri, Anna Mae Diehl, Srinivasan Dasarathy, Norah Terrault, Kris V Kowdley, Rohit Loomba, Patricia Belt, James Tonascia, Joel E Lavine, Arun J Sanyal

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Importance: The histologic evolution of the full spectrum of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and factors associated with progression or regression remain to be definitively established.

Objective: To evaluate the histologic evolution of NAFLD and the factors associated with changes in disease severity over time.

Design, Setting, and Participants: A prospective cohort substudy from the Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN) NAFLD Database study, a noninterventional registry, was performed at 8 university medical research centers. Masked assessment of liver histologic specimens was performed, using a prespecified protocol to score individual biopsies. Participants included 446 adults with NAFLD enrolled in …

Early Experience With Cap-Assisted Endoscopic Pancreatic Necrosectomy: A Technique To Enhance Safe Tissue Extraction And Decrease Interventions., Nishant Puri, Alexander Hallac, Wichit Srikureja

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

The Value Of Quick Sepsis-Related Organ Failure Assessment Scores In Patients With Acute Pancreatitis Who Present To Emergency Departments: A Three-Year Cohort Study., Alexander Hallac, Nishant Puri, David Applebury, Kurt Myers, Parag Dhumal, Ashish Thatte, Wichit Srikureja

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Background: Distinguishing sepsis from other inflammatory syndromes continues to be a clinical challenge. The goal of risk stratification tools is to differentiate sepsis from other conditions. We compare the ability of quick sepsis-related organ failure assessment (qSOFA) and systemic inflammatory responses syndrome (SIRS) scores to predict prolonged length of stay (LOS) among patients who presented to the emergency department and hospital ward with acute pancreatitis (AP).

Methods: We compiled a retrospective database of all adult patients hospitalized for AP during 2015 - 2018 at a single tertiary care center. Independent

Results: The sensitivity and specificity of an SIRS score of …

Commentary: Adherence With A Low-Fodmap Diet In Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Are Eating Disorders The Missing Link?, Bruno P Chumpitazi, Ligia Alfaro-Cruz, Jasmine K Zia, Robert J Shulman, Margaret M Heitkemper

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Blockade Of Fibroblast Activation Protein In Combination With Radiation Treatment In Murine Models Of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma., Andrew J Gunderson, Tomoko Yamazaki, Kayla Mccarty, Michaela Phillips, Alejandro F Alice, Shelly Bambina, Lauren Zebertavage, David Friedman, Benjamin Cottam, Pippa Newell, Michael J. Gough, Marka R Crittenden, Pieter Van Der Veken, Kristina H Young

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by a fibrotic stroma with a poor lymphocyte infiltrate, in part driven by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). CAFs, which express fibroblast activation protein (FAP), contribute to immune escape via exclusion of anti-tumor CD8+ T cells from cancer cells, upregulation of immune checkpoint ligand expression, immunosuppressive cytokine production, and polarization of tumor infiltrating inflammatory cells. FAP is a post-proline peptidase selectively expressed during tissue remodeling and repair, such as with wound healing, and in the tumor microenvironment by cancer-associated fibroblasts. We targeted FAP function using a novel small molecule inhibitor, UAMC-1110, and mice with germline knockout …