Personalizing Diabetes Management in Liver Transplant Recipients: The New Era for Optimizing Risk Management.

Post-transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in liver transplant recipients (LTRs). With concurrent comorbidities and use of various immunosuppression medications, identifying a safe and personalized regimen for management of PTDM is needed. There are many comorbidities associated with the post-transplant course including chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, allograft steatosis, obesity, and de novo malignancy.

An Anomalous Cause of Portal Hypertension.

Portal hypertension is a syndrome marked by an increase in the pressure of the portal vein. Portal hypertension can be diagnosed clinically or if the measurement of the hepatic venous pressure gradient is greater than 5 mm Hg. Cirrhosis is the most common etiology in Western countries, but there are other causes which lead to presinusoidal portal hypertension.

Pharmacotherapy for Weight Loss in Cirrhosis and Liver Transplantation: Translating the Data and Underused Potential.

Background And Aims: Thirty percent of patients with cirrhosis are obese and the prevalence of obesity increases after transplant to >40% post-transplant. There are currently four weight loss medications approved by the FDA for treatment of obesity (orlistat, phentermine-topiramate, naltrexone-bupropion, and liraglutide). The aim of this review was to investigate the data on the use of these weight loss medications and alternative medicines in patients with cirrhosis and in liver transplant recipients (LTRs).

Proactive Drug Monitoring Is Associated With Higher Persistence to Infliximab and Adalimumab Treatment and Lower Healthcare Utilization Compared With Reactive and Clinical Monitoring.

Background: Serum drug-level assays for infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADA) are widely available and are most often obtained reactively, to determine the next steps in patients with loss of response. Studies done thus far on the use of these assays proactively, or during symptom remission, have had mixed results. Here we investigate persistence on therapy and healthcare utilization in patients on 3 drug-level monitoring strategies.

Predictors of Early Readmission in Hospitalized Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: Readmissions are being increasingly used as an indicator of quality of care. We sought to identify risk factors for 30-day readmission in hospitalized patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Methods: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease hospitalized between 2004 and 2013 at the University of Maryland were identified.