An Unusual Cause of Abdominal Ascites.

Abdominal ascites is most commonly caused by portal hypertension from liver cirrhosis. When present, portal hypertension is associated with an elevated serum-ascites albumin gradient (SAAG) ≥1.1 g/dL.

Racial/ethnic disparities in hepatocellular carcinoma treatment and survival in California, 1988-2012.

Aim: To describe racial/ethnic differences in treatment and survival among liver cancer patients in a population-based cancer registry.

Methods: Invasive cases of primary hepatocellular carcinoma, = 33270, diagnosed between January 1, 1988-December 31, 2012 and reported to the California Cancer Registry were analyzed by race/ethnicity, age, gender, geographical region, socio-economic status, time period of diagnosis, stage, surgical treatment, and survival. Patients were classified into 15 racial/ethnic groups: non-Hispanic White (White, = 12710), Hispanic ( = 8500), Chinese ( = 2723), non-Hispanic Black (Black, = 2609), Vietnamese ( = 2063), Filipino ( = 1479), Korean ( = 1099), Japanese ( = 658), American Indian/Alaskan Native (AIAN, = 281), Laotian/Hmong ( = 244), Cambodian ( = 233), South Asian ( = 190), Hawai`ian/Pacific Islander ( = 172), Thai ( = 95), and Other Asian ( = 214).

Improving Healthcare Systems to Reduce Healthcare Disparities in Viral Hepatitis.

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and C (CHC) represent significant public health problems worldwide. Combined, over 7 million persons in the USA are chronically infected with either the hepatitis B or the hepatitis C virus. Although the populations affected by the viruses differ, both CHB and CHC are ideal conditions for preventive screening because of a high prevalence and low rate of diagnosis; an early asymptomatic period; highly sensitive and specific test; and treatments which have been shown to result in improved clinical outcomes including liver-related mortality and hepatocellular carcinoma.