Controversies in Hepatology. the Experts Analyze Both Sides

Description

The field of hepatology is full of controversies and clinical dilemmas. Each day, gastroenterologists and hepatologists are faced with the challenge of making the best evidence-based decision in challenging cases that do not readily lend themselves to an easy answer, even with today’s available medical literature.

Controversies in Hepatology: The Experts Analyze Both Sides is based on the principle of an academic debate. Dr. Donald Jensen is joined by 50 colleagues who present evidence-based arguments for and against 17 key controversial areas in hepatology. Each point-counterpoint is then followed up by a summarization of key points by a leading expert in that topic area.

Some Chapter Topics Include:

• Should living donor liver transplantation be considered in adult acute liver failure?
• Should hepatitis C be treated in patients with chronic kidney disease prior to kidney transplant?
• Resect or observe asymptomatic hepatic adenoma?
• Strictly adhere to the “6-month rule” for recent history of alcohol abuse in potential liver transplant candidates?
• Autoimmune hepatitis: maintenance therapy for all patients or stop treatment after histologic remission?

With concise clinical information to reinforce the point-counterpoint text, Controversies in Hepatology: The Experts Analyze Both Sides will become the go-to resource for teaching and perfecting the important skills required to weigh the evidence and arrive at an outcome.

Contents

SECTION I: ACUTE LIVER DISEASE

• Chapter 1: Alcoholic Hepatitis: Pentoxifylline Versus Steroids
  Leila Gobejishvili, PhD; Neil Crittenden, MD; and Craig J. McClain, MD
• Chapter 2: Is N-Acetylcysteine Effective in All Cases of Non-Acetaminophen Acute Liver Failure?
  A. James Hanje, MD; Anthony Michaels, MD; and William M. Lee, MD
• Chapter 3: Should Living Donor Transplantation Be Considered in Adult Acute Liver Failure
  AnnMarie Liapakis, MD; Julia Wattacheril, MD, MPH; and Robert S. Brown Jr, MD, MPH

SECTION II: CHRONIC HEPATITIS B AND C

• Chapter 4: Do All Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Who Are Treatment Candidates Need an Assessment of Fibrosis?
  Hector Nazario, MD; Carmen Landaverde, MD; and Robert Perrillo, MD
• Chapter 5: Should the Decompensated Hepatitis C Cirrhotic Be Treated With Antiviral Therapy?
  Payam Afshar, MD; Jeffrey Weissman, MD; and Paul J. Pockros, MD
• Chapter 6: Should Hepatitis C Be Treated in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Prior to Kidney Transplant?
  Andres F. Carrion, MD; Seth N. Sclair, MD; and Paul Martin, MD
• Chapter 7: Retransplantation for Severe Recurrent Hepatitis C Virus and Previously Failed Pegylated-Interferon/Ribavirin Therapy
  Vandana Khungar, MD, MSc; Tyralee Goo, MD; and Fred Poordad, MD
• Chapter 8: Does a Sustained Virologic Response at Week 72 Indicate a Cure in Chronic Hepatitis C Virus?
  Andrew Aronsohn, MD; Arjmand R. Mufti, MD, MRCP; and Nancy Reau, MD

SECTION III: LIVER TUMORS

• Chapter 9: Should Living Donor Liver Transplantation Be an Option for Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Beyond the Milan Criteria?
  Brett E. Fortune, MD; Alvaro Martinez-Camacho, MD; and James R. Burton Jr, MD
• Chapter 10: Resect or Observe Asymptomatic Hepatic Adenoma?
  Joseph Ahn, MD, MS; Anjana Pillai, MD; and Stanley Martin Cohen, MD

SECTION IV: OTHER CHRONIC LIVER DISEASES AND CIRRHOSIS

• Chapter 11: Strictly Adhere to the "6-Month Rule" for Recent History of Alcohol Abuse in Potential Liver Transplant Candidates?
  Parul Dureja Agarwal, MD and Michael Ronan Lucey, MD
• Chapter 12: Should Liver Biopsy Be Performed in All Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?
  Neehar D. Parikh, MD; Lisa VanWagner, MD; and Mary E. Rinella, MD
• Chapter 13: Should the Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient Be Sequentially Measured to Monitor Beta-Blocker Therapy in the Prophylaxis of Variceal Hemorrhage?
  Cristina Ripoll, MD; Puneeta Tandon, MD; and Guadalupe Garcia-Tsao, MD
• Chapter 14: Standard Dose or Avoid Ursodiol Therapy in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis?
  Dr. JS Halliday, MBBS (Hons.), FRACP; Ashley Barnabas, MD; and Roger W. Chapman, MD, FRCP
• Chapter 15: Annual Screening of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Patients for Cholangiocarcinoma With Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography and CA 19-9?
  Boris Blechacz, MD, PhD; Nataliya Razumilava, MD; and Gregory J. Gores, MD
• Chapter 16: Lactulose or Rifaximin as First-Line Therapy for Hepatic Encephalopathy?
  Tarek I. Abu-Rajab Tamimi, MD; Thomas A. Brown, MD; and Kevin D. Mullen, MD
• Chapter 17: Autoimmune Hepatitis: Maintenance Therapy for All Patients or Stop Treatment After Histologic Remission?
  Ami Shah Behara, MD, MS; Cynthia K. Lau, MD; and David Hoffman Van Thiel, MD

Financial Disclosures
Index

About the Authors

Donald M. Jensen, MD is Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Liver Diseases, at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Jensen received his undergraduate (BS) and medical (MD) degrees from the University of Illinois in Urbana and Chicago, respectively. He completed a medicine internship and residency at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago where he also served as Chief Medical Resident. After completing one year of gastroenterology fellowship at Rush, Dr. Jensen went to King’s College Hospital in London, U.K., for a liver research fellowship under the mentorship of Professor Roger Williams. Returning to Chicago, Dr Jensen became a member of the Section of Digestive Diseases at Rush, specializing in clinical hepatology. In 1992, he became the Director, of the Section of Hepatology at Rush, and in 1999 the Richard B. Capps Professor of Medicine. In 2005, Dr. Jensen accepted his current position at the University of Chicago. He is board certified in both internal medicine and gastroenterology.

Dr. Jensen’s research interest is in newer treatment strategies and therapies for hepatitis C. His clinical interests are broad and include: viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma, among others. He has authored or co-authored 74 peer-reviewed articles, 18 invited reviews/editorials, 23 book chapters, and 2 books (in preparation). He is a member of three editorial boards. He has been a member of the national board of directors of the American Liver Foundation (ALF); president of the Illinois chapter of the ALF; and is currently Treasurer and Governing Board member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

Dr. Jensen has received numerous teaching awards, including Teacher of Year on three occasions at both Rush University and the University of Chicago, as well as Physician of the Year award on two occasions from the ALF. He has been named Top Doctor by Chicago Magazine for the past 12 years, and is listed in Who’s Who in the World. Dr. Jensen’s hobbies include competitive running, swimming, and cycling and he has competed in 6 marathons, 12 triathlons and one Half Ironman triathlon. He is married to Dr. Donna Hanlon and they have two children, Colin and Emily.