A Nationwide Study of Inpatient Admissions, Mortality, and Costs for Patients with Cirrhosis from 2005 to 2015 in the USA.

Background And Aims: Liver cirrhosis is a substantial health burden in the USA, but population-based data regarding the trend and medical expenditure are limited and outdated. We investigated the trends of inpatient admissions, costs, and inpatient mortality from 2005 to 2015 among cirrhotic patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using the National Inpatient Sample database.

Correction: Economic and clinical burden of viral hepatitis in California: A population-based study with longitudinal analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Rising Inpatient Encounters and Economic Burden for Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in the USA.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the fastest-growing chronic liver disease. However, little is known about NAFLD inpatient resource utilization and clinical outcomes.

Aims: The aim of this study was to quantify inpatient NAFLD encounters using patient-level data over time.

Higher mortality and hospital charges in patients with cirrhosis and acute respiratory illness: a population-based study.

Both cirrhosis and acute respiratory illness (ARI) carry substantial disease and financial burden. To compare hospitalized patients with cirrhosis with ARI to cirrhotic patients without ARI, a retrospective cohort study was conducted using the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development database. To balance the groups, propensity score matching (PSM) was used.

Economic and clinical burden of viral hepatitis in California: A population-based study with longitudinal analysis.

Background: Economic burden of HBV and HCV infection are trending upwards.

Aims: Compare hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) related hospital admission rates, charges, mortality rates, causes of death in a US population-based study.

Methods: Retrospective cohort analysis of HBV and HCV patients from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (2006-2013) database.

Nonresponse to interferon-α based treatment for chronic hepatitis C infection is associated with increased hazard of cirrhosis.

Background: The long-term consequences of unsuccessful interferon-α based hepatitis C treatment on liver disease progression and survival have not been fully explored.

Methods And Findings: We performed retrospective analyses to assess long-term clinical outcomes among treated and untreated patients with hepatitis C virus in two independent cohorts from a United States Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a University Teaching Hospital. Eligible patients underwent liver biopsy during consideration for interferon-α based treatment between 1992 and 2007.

How five leading safety-net hospitals are preparing for the challenges and opportunities of health care reform.

Safety-net hospitals will continue to play a critical role in the US health care system, as they will need to care for the more than twenty-three million people who are estimated to remain uninsured after the Affordable Care Act is implemented. Yet such hospitals will probably have less federal and state support for uncompensated care. At the same time, safety-net hospitals will need to reposition themselves in the marketplace to compete effectively for newly insured people who will have a choice of providers.

Supreme Court review of the Affordable Care Act: the future of health care reform and practice of gastroenterology.

After decades of failed attempts to enact comprehensive health care reform, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been regarded as the most significant piece of domestic policy legislation since the establishment of Medicare in 1965. The ACA would cover an estimated 32 of the 50 million uninsured Americans by expanding Medicaid, providing subsidies to lower income individuals, establishing health insurance exchanges, and restricting insurance companies from excluding patients from coverage.

Adverse effects of long-term proton pump inhibitor therapy.

Proton pump inhibitors have an excellent safety profile and have become one of the most commonly prescribed class of drugs in primary and specialty care. Long-term, sometimes lifetime, use is becoming increasingly common, often without appropriate indications. This paper is a detailed review of the current evidence on this important topic, focusing on the potential adverse effects of long-term proton pump inhibitor use that have generated the greatest concern: B12 deficiency; iron deficiency; hypomagnesemia; increased susceptibility to pneumonia, enteric infections, and fractures; hypergastrinemia and cancer; drug interactions; and birth defects.

Toward a 21st-century health care system: recommendations for health care reform.

The coverage, cost, and quality problems of the U.S. health care system are evident.