The Week in Review: May 18 – May 25, 2018

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Friday, May 25, 2018

News Recap:

In Brief:

Liver Stiffness Measurement as a Potential Screening Tool for Liver-Related Events in HCV. The rate of advanced liver fibrosis in community as opposed to urban settings appears to be significant (16.5%) and often underdiagnosed; therefore, liver stiffness measurement is a feasible community screening tool that can be used to predict liver-related events, according to a study published in the Journal of Hepatology.

Hepatitis C Infections Resulting from Medical Treatment Occur Despite Clear Guidelines. In a 10 year span, more than 130,000 patients were notified of medical errors that may have exposed them to blood-borne illness, including Hepatitis C.  However, the majority of these notification events were discovered only after patients became acutely ill rather than through proactive reporting of violations of health safety protocols, according to a review in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

Study Finds Three Major Factors for Liver Cancer. Fatty liver disease, diabetes and a triglycerides level of above 160 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) are three major risk factors for developing liver cancer, and the disease’s progression does not necessarily include chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis, according to the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI).