Publications by authors named "Romelia Barba"

Background: To investigate the trends in alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), liver cancer from alcohol, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) burden among older adults in the United States (US).

Methods: We gathered the ALD, liver cancer from alcohol, and AUD prevalence, mortality, and age-standardized rates (ASRs) from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021 between 2010 and 2021. We estimated the annual percent change (APC) with confidence intervals (CIs) for the burden of ALD, liver cancer from alcohol, and AUD in older adults (>70 years) in the United States.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Acute liver failure (ALF) rapidly damages the liver and can lead to multi-organ failure, with liver transplantation (LT) significantly improving survival rates in the U.S.
  • This study analyzed data from UNOS between 2002-2020 to examine long-term survival for ALF patients and identify risk factors affecting both waitlist and post-transplant outcomes.
  • Key findings reveal that acetaminophen (APAP) overdose and unknown causes increase waitlist removal risks, while Wilson disease (WD) is linked to better survival rates post-transplant; however, patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and APAP have poorer survival outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Gastrointestinal cancers account for about one-third of global cancer deaths, yet their overall impact has not been thoroughly analyzed.
  • A study in 2021 found 5.26 million new cases and 3.70 million deaths from these cancers, with colorectal cancer being the most prevalent.
  • While some types show a decrease in incidence, there's been a rise in colorectal, pancreatic, and liver cancer rates, highlighting the need for public health policies to address risk factors like alcohol consumption and metabolic diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Atrial myxoma is a rare primary tumour of the heart that typically arises from the left atrium. Patients typically present with obstructive symptoms such as dyspnoea, but constitutional and embolic symptoms can be seen as well. Gastrointestinal symptoms in the absence of embolisation are rarely reported in the literature.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Autoimmune liver diseases (AILDs) like autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cholangitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis show varied survival rates post-liver transplant (LT), influenced by factors such as disease severity and socio-economic conditions.
  • Analyzing data from 13,702 AILD patients listed for LT from 2002 to 2021, the study focused on waitlist removal, patient survival, and graft survival, taking into account demographics, health conditions, and social factors.
  • Findings revealed that lack of college education and public insurance increased waitlist removal and negatively affected both patient and graft survival, while unemployment had the most significant adverse effect on survival outcomes; U.S. citizenship status did not impact
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is the leading indication of liver transplantation (LT) among autoimmune liver disease patients. There is a scarcity of studies comparing survival outcomes between living-donor liver transplants (LDLT)s and deceased-donor liver transplants (DDLTs) in this population. Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database, we compared 4679 DDLTs and 805 LDLTs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction And Objectives: Autoimmune liver diseases such as autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cholangitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis are the primary indication for ∼24% of total liver transplants. The liver transplant allocation system is currently based upon the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease and it often underestimates the severity of autoimmune liver diseases. We aim to compare the rate of adverse waitlist removal among patients with all autoimmune liver diseases and other indications for liver transplant in the Model for End-Stage Liver -Na era.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are two types of chronic cholestatic liver disease (CCLD). Little is known regarding the relationship between these conditions and pregnancy. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis regarding the maternal and fetal outcomes amongst patients with a known diagnosis of PBC and PSC undergoing pregnancy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

(1) Background: Since 2015, exception points have been awarded to appropriate candidates after six months of waitlist time to allow more equitable access to liver transplants regardless of hepatocellular carcinoma status. However, it remains unknown whether racial disparities in outcomes among waitlisted patients remain after the introduction of a 6-month waiting period for exception points. (2) Methods: Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database, we identified 2311 patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma listed for liver transplant who received exception points from 2015 to 2019.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF