Development and Validation of a Noninvasive Model for the Detection of High-Risk Varices in Patients With Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background & Aims: Noninvasive variceal risk stratification systems have not been validated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which presents logistical barriers for patients in the setting of systemic HCC therapy. We aimed to develop and validate a noninvasive algorithm for the prediction of varices in patients with unresectable HCC.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study in 21 centers in the United States including adult patients with unresectable HCC and Child-Pugh A5-B7 cirrhosis diagnosed between 2007 and 2019.

Clinical outcomes: endoscopic resection of duodenal ampullary lesions.

Background: Ampullary adenomas are lesions at the duodenum's major papilla commonly associated with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) but may also occur sporadically. Historically, ampullary adenomas were removed surgically, however endoscopic resection has become the preferred method of resection. Most of the literature on management of ampullary adenomas are small single-center retrospective reviews.

COVID-19-Associated Liver Injury.

This review analyzes data regarding liver injury associated with COVID-19 infection. We discuss reported effects on the liver from both COVID-19 and COVID-19 treatment as well as pathophysiology, review the potential role of drug-induced liver injury as an etiology of COVID-19-associated liver injury, and touch on other reports of significant outcomes including COVID-19 cholangiopathy and autoimmune hepatitis. Finally, we review the implications of COVID-19 infection in liver transplant recipients.

Immunotherapy Use Prior to Liver Transplant in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and its incidence has increased rapidly in the United States over the past two decades. Liver transplant is considered curative, but is not always possible, and pre-transplant immunotherapy is of great interest as a modality for downstaging the tumor burden. We present a review of the literature on pre-liver transplant immunotherapy use in patients with HCC.

Alcohol-associated liver disease predicts increased post-liver transplant opioid use.

Background: Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a rising indication for liver transplantation (LT). Prolonged opioid use after LT leads to increased graft loss and mortality. The aim is to determine if patients transplanted with a primary diagnosis of ALD had higher risk of post-LT opioid use (p-LTOU) compared to non-ALD patients.

Highlights of the drug-induced liver injury literature for 2021.

Introduction: In 2021, over 3,000 articles on Drug-Induced Liver Injury (DILI) were published, nearly doubling the annual number compared to 2011. This review selected DILI articles from 2021 we felt held the greatest interest and clinical relevance.

Areas Covered: A literature search was conducted using PubMed between 1 March 2021 and 28 February 2022.

Herbal and dietary supplement induced liver injury: Highlights from the recent literature.

Herbal-induced liver injury (HILI) is an important and increasingly concerning cause of liver toxicity, and this study presents recent updates to the literature. An extensive literature review was conducted encompassing September 2019 through March 2021. Studies with clinically significant findings were analyzed and included in this review.

Long-term outcomes of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with fiducial tracking for inoperable stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Background: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is considered standard of care in the medically inoperable patient population. Multiple methods of SBRT delivery exist including fiducial-based tumor tracking, which allows for smaller treatment margins and avoidance of patient immobilization devices. We explore the long-term clinical outcomes of this novel fiducial-based SBRT method.

Training Substance Use Disorder Counselors in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression: Development and Initial Exploration of an Online Training Program.

Introduction: Evidence based psychotherapies (EBPs) remain underutilized. Models for EBP training and implementation that are cost-effective, minimally disruptive, and sufficiently flexible are needed. Internet-based technology is a promising platform, but questions remain about how this technology can address the barriers to implementation.

Cross-cultural verification of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire in mainland China.

Background: Simplified by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30), EORTC Quality-of-Life Questionnaire Core 15 Palliative Care (QLQ-C15-PAL) is specifically applied to evaluating palliative care patients' quality of life.

Aim: This study examined cross-cultural adaptability and validity of QLQ-C15-PAL for evaluating quality of life of palliative care patients with advanced cancer in mainland China.

Participants And Design: From May to October 2013, 243 palliative care patients in Tianjin Cancer Hospital completed the EORTC QLQ-C30.

Validation of EORTC IN-PATSAT32 for Chinese cancer patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to test the psychometric properties and acceptability of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) inpatient satisfaction with care questionnaire 32 (IN-PATSAT32) for evaluating Chinese cancer patients and to analyze the influence of age, educational level, diagnostic time, and tumor stage on patient satisfaction.

Methods: Three hundred two cancer inpatients in Tianjin Cancer Institution and Hospital from June 2013 to December 2013 were recruited for this study. All participants self-administered the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 and EORTC quality of life questionnaire-core 30 (QLQ-C30).

Investigation and analysis of oncologists' knowledge of morphine usage in cancer pain treatment.

Purpose: To examine oncologists' knowledge of cancer pain and morphine's clinical application in the People's Republic of China. In addition, this study analyzes and discusses the negative factors that currently affect the clinical application of morphine.

Patients And Methods: A questionnaire survey was given to a random sample of 150 oncologists from Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital.

Strategies for changing negative public attitudes toward organ donation in the People's Republic of China.

In recent decades, the demand for organ transplantation has risen rapidly worldwide, due to an increased incidence of vital organ failure. However, the scarcity of organs appropriate for transplantation has led to an organ shortage crisis. This article retrospectively reviews strategies to change negative public attitudes toward organ donation in the People's Republic of China.

A study of patient experience and perception regarding postoperative pain management in Chinese hospitals.

Background: This study aims to analyze the current status of postoperative pain management in the People's Republic of China's provincial-level hospitals, and the existing knowledge and opinions held by patients regarding these methods.

Methods: The 128 participants in this study were urology and hepatobiliary patients from three provincial-level hospitals in Hunan. The questionnaire assessing postoperative pain was designed using the typical pain assessment scales and pain management guidelines as references.

Training Addiction Counselors to Implement an Evidence-Based Intervention: Strategies for Increasing Organizational and Provider Acceptance.

One barrier to widespread public access to empirically supported treatments (ESTs) is the limited availability and high cost of professionals trained to deliver them. Our earlier work from two clinical trials demonstrated that front-line addiction counselors could be trained to deliver a manualized, group-based cognitive behavioral therapy (GCBT) for depression, a prototypic example of an EST, with a high level of adherence and competence. This follow-up article provides specific recommendations for the selection and initial training of counselors, and for the structure and process of their ongoing clinical supervision.

Is unawareness of psychotic disorder a neurocognitive or psychological defensiveness problem?

We examined whether deficits in attention and perceptual encoding as well as psychological defensiveness were associated with impaired awareness of disorder in schizophrenia. The Scale for Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD) was administered to 52 outpatients with a recent onset of schizophrenia approximately 1-2 months following hospital discharge. Two versions of the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) were used to measure attentional impairment--the Degraded Stimulus CPT (DS-CPT) and a memory-load version (3-7 CPT).

Relatives' affective style and the expression of subclinical psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia.

High expressed emotion (EE) is a measure of hostile, critical, and emotionally overinvolved attitudes expressed by a family member about a psychiatrically ill relative during an interview conducted in the patient's absence. EE is a robust predictor of relapse in schizophrenia, yet attempts to identify clinical characteristics that differentiate patients from high versus low EE families have mostly yielded negative findings. However, in a previous study, we found that patients with schizophrenia from high EE families exhibited greater levels of subclinical psychopathology when interacting with family members than did patients from low EE families.

Are communication deviance and expressed emotion related to family history of psychiatric disorders in schizophrenia?

Studies have reported that certain measures of intrafamilial transactions are associated with an increased risk both for the initial onset of schizophrenia and for its recurrence following the initial episode of disorder. Two of the most studied of these are communication deviance (CD), a measure of subclinical thought disorder expressed in speech, and expressed emotion (EE), defined as notable attitudes of criticism and/or emotional overinvolvement manifested in a semistructured interview. A previous study (Goldstein et al.