Spike Seen in Transplants for Fatty Liver Disease
.The authors pointed to a reduced mortality from graft failure as a possible explanation for the improved survival of NASH patients after liver transplantation.
"Only 8.6% of deaths in patients with NASH were caused by graft failure compared with 16.6% of deaths in patients without NASH," wrote Anita Afzali, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, and co-authors. "This is likely due to lower rates of recurrence of NASH and cirrhosis in transplanted livers as compared to recurrence of other diseases such as hepatitis C and hepatitis B."
Detailed screening of transplantation candidates for cardiovascular disease might have excluded more high-risk patients with NASH, they added.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease in the U.S., affecting almost 30% of the population. In 15% to 20% of cases, NAFLD progresses to NASH, according to the authors.
Central obesity and insulin resistance are the most common factors in NAFLD and NASH. Given the growing prevalence of obesity, as many as 25 million Americans could have NASH, which can progress to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure.
The historic continuity and consistency of census data is also priceless, he adds. What, then, might replace it? "We're a little bemused in the demographic community," he says. "While it's possible, maybe even desirable, to move towards some kind of
When an inspector finds a discrepancy, the defect is noted into a database of the truck history. Reports can be generated from the database to highlight repetitive problems. The problems then can be added to the inspection checklist or the SWI as a