S3-E52.5 - 2022 AASLD Preview: Final Thoughts

Send us Fan MailIn a follow-up preview, Jörn Schattenberg, Louise Campbell, Mazen Noureddin, Ian Rowe and patient advocate Jeff McIntyre join Roger Green to discuss key presentations and posters of interest at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). On November 4th-8th in Washington DC, as many as 10,000 attendees will convene in an effort to advance and disseminate the science and practice of hepatology, and to promote liver health and quality patient care. Ian leads with a reference to the preceding conversation on a poster that describes ways to utilize AI or other analytics of items in basic medical charts to predict NAFLD. He endorses the idea of putting as few barriers in the way of primary care as possible, speaking to FIB-4 as an excellent front-line tool for primary care initial triage. He discusses the value of BMI as being a superior predictor to more complex measures and recalls Stephen Harrison’s KISS principle as a goal. He notes that patients will be referred for obesity if their BMIs are high enough regardless of whether they exhibit proven NAFLD. Next, he describes the process the NHS used in the UK to select reimbursed programs. He suggests that while there are questions regarding diet and rate of weight loss relevant to the Fatty Liver community, patients with obesity should be treated for weight loss as a simple solution. From here the other panelists provide final thoughts and closing comments on what the field can do to drive NAFLD care and screening to primary care providers. Surf on for their response, and stay tuned for more 2022 AASLD coverage.