Publications by authors named "Mustafa Al-Karaghouli"
Background: Fibrosis 4 (FIB-4) is widely used to triage patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. Given that age is part of FIB-4, higher scores may be expected in the elderly population. This led to the proposal of using a higher threshold of FIB-4 to triage patients aged ≥65.
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- The study investigates the effects of prophylactic antibiotics in patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) undergoing steroid treatment, focusing on their impact on survival and various complications.
- A systematic review of six studies involving 510 patients found that prophylactic antibiotics reduced the risk of infections and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) but did not significantly improve 90-day survival rates or prevent acute kidney injury (AKI).
- The findings suggest that while prophylactic antibiotics can reduce certain risks, more extensive research is needed as the sample size required to establish a survival benefit is much larger than the studies reviewed.
Background: Alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is associated with significant mortality. Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score is used to predict short-term mortality and aid in treatment decisions. MELD is frequently updated in the course of AH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: In non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), fibrosis determines the risk of liver complications. Non-invasive tests (NITs) such as FIB-4, NAFLD Fibrosis Score (NFS) and Hepamet, have been proposed as a tool to triage NAFLD patients in primary care (PC). These NITs include AST±ALT in their calculations.
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- The study focused on evaluating the consistency and reliability of hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurements in patients with cirrhosis, specifically for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) addressing portal hypertension (PH).
- Analysis of 20 RCTs revealed that variability in HVPG measurements was lower in trials with only compensated cirrhosis patients, leading to smaller sample size requirements for these studies compared to those with decompensated cirrhosis.
- Findings indicate that while HVPG measurement is reliable, the variability is greater in populations with more severe liver disease, which is crucial for planning clinical trials and using HVPG to direct treatment strategies.
Background/aims: There is increased interest in the therapeutic use of statins in cirrhosis, but preferred statin and safety outcomes are still not well known. In this systematic review we aimed to address pharmacokinetics (PK), safety, and effects on cardiovascular (CV) outcomes of statins in cirrhosis.
Methods: Our systematic search in several electronic databases and repositories of two regulatory bodies up to 2020-06-11 yielded 22 articles and 2 drug monographs with relevant data.
Detection of advanced fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is essential for stratifying patients according to the risk of liver-related morbidity. Noninvasive methods such as vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) have been recommended to identify patients for further assessment. The aim of this study was to assess the potential impact of implementing a "FIB-4 First" strategy to triage patients entering a NAFLD assessment pathway.
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