Evaluating a Collaborative Approach to Improve Prior Authorization Efficiency in the Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus.

Objective: A team-based approach to obtaining prior authorization approval was implemented utilizing a specialty pharmacy, a clinic-based pharmacy technician specialist, and a registered nurse to work with providers to obtain approval for medications for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The objective of this study was to evaluate the time to approval for prescribed treatment of HCV infection.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted including patients treated for HCV infection by clinic providers who received at least 1 oral direct-acting antiviral HCV medication.

Sofosbuvir plus ledispasvir for recurrent hepatitis C in liver transplant recipients.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurrence after liver transplantation (LT) is associated with worse outcomes. The combination of ledipasvir (LDV) and sofosbuvir (SOF) has been approved for HCV treatment after LT, but there are limited data on the effectiveness and safety of LDV/SOF in the "real-world" setting. This multicenter study is the largest report to date on the effectiveness and safety of LDV/SOF in the post-LT setting.

The Klatskin Tumor That Wasn't: An Unusual Presentation of Sarcoidosis.

We present the case of a patient who presented with signs and symptoms associated with a Klatskin tumor. After endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and biopsy, she was found instead to have granulomatous infiltration of the extrahepatic biliary tree consistent with biliary sarcoidosis. The patient was treated successfully with systemic corticosteroids and azathioprine.

Pharmacokinetics and Tolerability of Intravenous Sildenafil in Two Subjects with Child-Turcotte-Pugh Class C Cirrhosis and Renal Dysfunction.

Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors have been used successfully in patients with cirrhosis to treat porto-pulmonary hypertension. Additionally, in cirrhosis, PDE-5 inhibitors can potentially improve portal hypertension and renal hemodynamics. No pharmacokinetics and tolerability studies of intravenous (IV) sildenafil have been conducted in Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class C cirrhosis and renal dysfunction.

Percutaneous endovascular creation of an inferior vena cava in a patient with caval agenesis, Budd-Chiari syndrome, and iliofemorocaval thrombosis.

A 29-year-old woman with acute iliofemorocaval thrombosis was discovered to have suprarenal caval agenesis with azygous continuation, hepatic congestion, and fibrosis as a result of chronic Budd-Chiari syndrome. Three staged procedures were performed: pharmacomechanical thrombolysis of acute thromboses, transfemoral liver biopsy and hemodynamic assessment, and percutaneous endovascular creation of a "neocava" lined with endografts. Symptomatic improvement and patency were maintained at 12-week follow-up.

Safety of belatacept bridging immunosuppression in hepatitis C-positive liver transplant recipients with renal dysfunction.

Background: Perioperative renal dysfunction in liver transplant recipients complicates maintenance immunosuppressive therapy, particularly in patients with hepatitis C. Calcineurin inhibitors exacerbate renal dysfunction and mammalian target-of-rapamycin inhibitors are generally avoided because of perceived perioperative risks. The authors' experience with seven liver transplant patients who received belatacept and mycophenolic acid maintenance immunosuppression is reported.

Spermine oxidation induced by Helicobacter pylori results in apoptosis and DNA damage: implications for gastric carcinogenesis.

Oxidative stress is linked to carcinogenesis due to its ability to damage DNA. The human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori exerts much of its pathogenicity by inducing apoptosis and DNA damage in host gastric epithelial cells. Polyamines are abundant in epithelial cells, and when oxidized by the inducible spermine oxidase SMO(PAOh1) H(2)O(2) is generated.