Viehman, Jason K.

Goals: We aimed to describe the diagnostic and prognostic performance of transient elastography (TE) and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). Background: The diagnostic performance of TE and MRE in detecting advanced fibrosis in PBC and in predicting outcomes independent of existing serologic prognostic markers is incompletely understood. Materials and Methods: Five hundred thirty-eight consecutive patients with PBC at 3 centers with liver stiffness (LS) measurements by TE (n=286) or MRE (n=332) were reviewed. LS cutoffs for predicting fibrosis stages were determined by receiver operating characteristic curves among those with a liver biopsy (TE, n=63; MRE, n=98). Cox proportional hazard regression modeling was used to identify associations between covariates and hepatic decompensation. Results: The optimal LS thresholds for predicting histologic stage F4 were 14.40 kPa (area under the curve=0.94) for TE and 4.60 kPa (area under the curve=0.82) for MRE. Both TE and MRE outperformed biochemical markers for the prediction of histologic advanced fibrosis. Optimal LS thresholds to predict hepatic decompensation were 10.20 kPa on TE and 4.30 kPa on MRE. LS by TE and MRE (respectively) remained predictors of hepatic decompensation after adjusting for ursodeoxycholic acid responsiveness [hazard ratio (HR), 1.14; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05-1.24 and HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.28-2.19] and the GLOBE score (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.07-1.19 and HR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.57-2.78). Conclusion: LS measurement with either TE or MRE can accurately detect advanced fibrosis and offers additional prognostic value beyond existing serologic predictive tools.

Background – The impact of post-operative complications on long-term survival is not well characterized. We sought to study the prevalence of post-operative complications after cardiac surgery and their impact on long-term survival. Methods – Operative survivors (n=26,221) who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) (n=13054, 49.8%), valve surgery (n=8667, 33.1%) or combined CABG and valve surgery (n=4500, 17.2%) from 1993 to 2019 were included in the study. Records were reviewed for post-operative complications and long-term survival. The associations between post-operative complications and survival were assessed using a Cox-proportional model. Results – Complications occurred in 17,463 (66.6%) of 26,221 operative survivors. A total of 17 post-operative complications were analyzed. Post-operative blood product use was the commonest (n=12397, 47.3%), followed by atrial fibrillation (n=8399, 32.0%), prolonged ventilation (n=2336, 8.9%), renal failure (n=870, 3.3%), re-operation for bleeding (n=859, 3.3%) and pacemaker/ICD insertion (n=795, 3.0%). Stroke (HR 1.55, 95%CI 1.36-1.77), renal failure (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.33-1.58) anticoagulant-related events (HR 1.26, 95%CI 1.02-1.56) and pneumonia (HR 1.23, 95%CI 1.11-1.36) had the strongest impact on long-term survival. Long-term survival decreased as the number of post-operative complications increased. Conclusions – Post-operative complications after cardiac surgery significantly impact outcomes that extend beyond the post-operative period. The presence, number and type of post-operative complications adversely impact long-term survival. Stroke, renal failure, anticoagulant-related events and pneumonia are particularly associated with poor long-term survival.