Publications by authors named "Zahid I Tarar"

Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease with a significant risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recent clinical evidence indicates the potential benefits of statins in cancer chemoprevention and therapeutics. However, it is still unclear if these drugs can lower the specific risk of HCC among patients with MASLD.

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  • Patients who have undergone solid organ transplants are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 due to immunosuppressive therapy, necessitating better vaccination and treatment strategies.
  • A study assessed the outcomes of liver and kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with COVID-19, focusing on factors like vaccine doses and monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy.
  • Results showed that while some vaccine doses had no impact, liver transplant patients on mycophenolate had significantly higher mortality rates, and those receiving mAb therapy had lower hospitalization rates, highlighting the need for tailored treatment approaches in this vulnerable group.*
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  • TC-325 powder has shown effective results in managing upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) related to malignancies compared to standard treatments, as indicated by a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
  • The study analyzed data from four RCTs involving 227 patients, revealing that TC-325 significantly improved immediate hemostasis rates without affecting other important outcomes like rebleeding, surgery needs, or mortality.
  • The conclusion emphasizes that TC-325 is a superior option for achieving immediate control of bleeding in malignancy-related UGIB.
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No consensus exists on the standard of intraoperative airway management approach to prevent endoscopy complications in acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Eight years after our initial meta-analysis, we reassessed the effect of prophylactic endotracheal intubation in acute GI bleeding in hospitalized patients. Multiple databases were reviewed in 2024, identifying 10 studies that compared prophylactic endotracheal intubation (PEI) versus no intubation in acute upper GI bleeding in hospitalized patients.

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Background: Initiation of feeding after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement has been debated. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been performed on early feeding compared with delayed feeding after PEG placement with varying results. Therefore, a meta-analysis was conducted examining early vs delayed feeding after placement of a PEG.

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Background And Aims: Drainage of pancreatic fluid collections (PFCs) is required in select cases including infected or symptomatic collections. In this network meta-analysis, we have compared lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS), fully covered self-expandable metal stents (FCSEMS), and double-pigtail stents (DPS) to identify the most useful stent type in the management of PFCs.

Methods: We reviewed several databases to identify studies that compared DPS or FCSEMS with LAMS and the ones which compared DPS with FCSEMS for the treatment of PFCs.

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Introduction: Bleeding, especially non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB), remains the most common cause of readmission in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients. Any readmission after NVUGIB carries a worse prognosis.

Aim: To compare readmission outcomes in NVUGIB patients with and without LVAD.

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Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a significant gastrointestinal cause of hospitalization with increasing incidence. Risk stratification is crucial for determining AP outcomes, but the association between frailty and AP outcomes is poorly understood. Moreover, age disparities in severity indices for AP complicate risk assessment.

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Background: Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) frequently complicates alcoholic hepatitis (AH) and portends poor survival in this population. Published literature indicates mixed benefits from renal replacement therapy (RRT) for HRS refractory to medical management. Therefore, we sought to assess the utilization of RRT in AH and clinical outcomes at a national level.

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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder associated with other somatic disorders. We studied the prevalence and predictors of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in IBS patients. We used the National Inpatient Sample and included hospitalization of individuals with IBS, using ICD-10 codes, from 2016-2019.

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Recently studies have compared early (<4 weeks) vs. late or standard (>4 weeks) endoscopic treatment of pancreatic necrotic collections (PNC) and have reported favorable results for early treatment. In this meta-analysis, we compared the efficacy and safety of early vs.

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Introduction: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is common in liver cirrhosis patients. Studies have described the prognostic impact of liver disease in non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB), but a direct subgroup comparison is lacking using a large database.

Aim: To study the impact of NVUGIB on hospital-based outcomes in patients with cirrhosis.

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Background: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is performed to treat biliary complications after a liver transplantation; however, the previously available literature on the safety of ERCP in liver transplant patients is limited. We aimed to study the safety of ERCP in liver transplant patients.

Methods: We used a National Inpatient Sample database from 2016-2019 to identify patients who underwent ERCP and had a history of a liver transplantation, using the international classification of diseases, 10 revision.

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Background And Aim: Acute ischemic colitis (IC) has been linked with the use of oral decongestants. However, clinical evidence on this association remains limited. We aim to evaluate the occurrence and clinical outcomes of acute IC following over-the-counter (OTC) use of pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine.

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Objectives: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a high prevalence of nausea, vomiting, postprandial fullness, and abdominal pain; these are symptoms that are similar to those in gastroparesis (GP). The aim of this study was to assess the association between GP and RA and the determinants of GP.

Methods: We identified patients with RA and patients with GP from the 2012-2014 National Inpatient Sample database.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, most healthcare services, including inpatient and outpatient procedures, got delayed. We reviewed the effect of COVID-19 infection on the timing of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in variceal bleeding patients and analyzed the complications of delayed EGD. Using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) 2020, we identified patients admitted for variceal bleeding with COVID-19 infection.

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Article Synopsis
  • Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is a severe inflammation of the gallbladder without gallstones, showing a high mortality rate of 30-50%, and its link to COVID-19 is poorly understood.* -
  • The study examined 3 patients with AAC resulting from COVID-19 and analyzed 23 relevant studies, finding a mean patient age of 64.7 years, with common symptoms like fever and abdominal pain, and many patients had underlying conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.* -
  • Results indicated that AAC can occur before, after, or concurrently with COVID-19 pneumonia; the majority of cases were severe (grade II), and treatments included surgery for over half of the patients
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Background And Aim: Anticoagulation use for portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients with advanced liver disease is controversial. We investigated the effect of anticoagulation on outcomes in patients with PVT with cirrhosis.

Methods: We reviewed National Inpatient Sample data from 2016 to 2018 to identify patients with PVT.

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Background/aims: The safety of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in hepatic cirrhosis and the impact of Child-Pugh class on post-ERCP complications need to be better studied. We investigated the post-ERCP complication rates in patients with cirrhosis compared with those without cirrhosis.

Methods: We conducted a literature search of relevant databases to identify studies that reported post-ERCP complications in patients with hepatic cirrhosis.

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Objectives: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is used in addition to stent placement to manage extrahepatic malignant biliary obstruction. We aimed to study the effect of RFA on overall survival (OS) and stent patency in malignant biliary obstruction.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed from inception to May 2022 for all studies measuring the effect of RFA plus stents compared to stents placement only on OS and stent patency in patients with malignant biliary obstruction.

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Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is known to be a marker of mortality in patients with cirrhosis and variceal hemorrhage.

Aim: To study the effect of AKI on hospital-based outcomes in patients with variceal hemorrhage.

Material And Methods: We obtained data from the National Inpatient Sample for the years 2016-2018.

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Background And Objectives: ERCP is the first line of treatment for benign and malignant biliary obstruction and EUS-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) is usually used for patients who have failed ERCP. Recently, several studies have evaluated the role of EUS-BD in the management of benign biliary obstruction. This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy and safety of EUS-BD in the management of benign biliary obstruction.

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There is growing evidence of the association of Microscopic Colitis (MC) with the use of specific medications such as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), Non-Steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), Statins and H2-receptor antagonists (H2RA). In our study, we calculated the pooled odds of MC in patients using these drugs. We performed a detailed search of major databases, including PubMed/Medline, Scopus, web of science, and Embase, to include the studies in which odds of MC were reported after using above mentioned drugs.

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