Gut Check-in: Healio Gastroenterology recaps trends that will shape GI practice in 2024
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From a shift in nomenclature for steatotic liver disease to how a boom in live biotherapeutics will revamp treatment for Clostridioides difficile infection, Healio was at the forefront of gastroenterology and hepatology coverage in 2023.
Last year, Healio spoke with experts on the impact of renaming nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. Additionally, Healio sat down with esteemed experts to get their insights on the growing influence of patient/physician advocacy groups in GI, as well as the importance of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach for improving GI patient outcomes.
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In case you missed any of these, Healio recaps Healio Exclusives and their editorial counterparts from the last few months of the Healio Gastroenterology print publication.
No patient left behind: MASLD rebranding provides ‘affirmative diagnosis’ without stigma
In June 2023, 74% of respondents from a multinational, multisociety Delphi process agreed that the term nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was “sufficiently flawed” and 89% preferred nomenclature that described the underlying cause of disease.
Members from international liver societies, along with patient advocacy organizations, have since chosen steatotic liver disease (SLD) as the new overarching term. Read more.
Nomenclature change brings new opportunities for research, drug development
The renaming of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease is a long time coming.
It is something that people have wanted to have for quite some time, but nobody ever took the time or effort to pull together all the stakeholders to discuss what is in a name, what is in this disease and how it should be properly referenced. Read more.
A multidisciplinary approach may ‘unlock the solution’ for treating complex GI cases
In this month’s issue, we are highlighting the important topic of multidisciplinary care of our gastroenterology patients.
For those with inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome, there is increasing recognition of the importance of diet and behavioral therapy as adjunctive treatments. Medication alone is often not the complete answer. Read more.
Drag multidisciplinary care from ‘academic ivory tower’ to optimize GI patient outcomes
What the poet John Donne observed about humanity — “no man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main” — holds true for health care providers. No provider operates in a vacuum; no provider stands alone.
Gastroenterologists will often manage patients with difficult-to-treat gastrointestinal conditions whose symptoms and concerns fall outside their expertise. However, with a multidisciplinary approach, they do not have to be alone in the process. Read more.
Advocacy in gastroenterology is ‘not about achieving perfection but progress’
At AGA’s annual Advocacy Day in 2022, more than 90 member advocates confronted dozens of federal lawmakers and their staff about pivotal issues and regulatory burdens that affect patient care and delay treatment.
Concerns about prior authorization, step-therapy reform, Medicare reimbursement and federal research funding garnered the most attention and helped inform the AGA’s 2023 policy agenda and advocacy efforts. Read more.
Fecal transplant ‘not over yet’ for C. difficile despite boom in live microbiota therapies
Clostridioides difficile infection presents a unique treatment paradox for clinicians: Antibiotics are often both its cause and its cure.
The broad-spectrum antibiotics doled out to treat infections also radically alter the composition of the microbiota, wiping out a significant portion of the bacterial community and upsetting the natural balance of gut flora. Without competition from healthy bacteria, the uniquely antibiotic-resistant C. difficile is finally able to flourish in the colon. Read more.
FMT future ‘still being written,’ ideally with more options for recurrent C. difficile
From the early days of homemade “poop shakes” blended in a backroom 15 years ago to the current world of FDA-approved live biotherapeutic products, it feels like we are at an inflection point with fecal microbiota transplantation.
With credit to Robert Hunter, collaborator and lyricist for the Grateful Dead: “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” Read more.