VIDEO: Important NASH outcomes to assess include clinical, quality of life, economic

BETHESDA, Maryland — In this exclusive video from the AASLD Industry Colloquium 2018, Zobair M. Younossi, MD, chairman of the department of medicine at Inova Fairfax Hospital, Virginia, discusses the importance of assessing different outcomes in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis treatment.

“When you look at nonalcoholic steatohepatitis there are really three different, important outcomes: the clinical outcomes, the patient-reported outcomes and the economic outcomes,” Younossi said. “The clinical outcomes that are important are those that are related ultimately to reduction of mortality or things that can be surrogate of mortality.”

While discussing patient-reported outcomes, Younossi stressed the importance of retrieving reports from patients about their health-related quality of life, functional status and any area related to their well-being, as the results of treatment should address not only histologic improvement, but patient quality of life and longevity.

“The third important outcome that needs to be measured is what I call economic outcome,” Younossi continued. “It's important because that's how you can actually assess value to the society. Value and value-based medicine is really going to look directly at what outcomes you're delivering to the patient ... and what is the cost of delivering these outcomes to the patient.”

Younossi concluded that these three outcomes will define whether a treatment provides value to the patient and what value the treatment course or intervention brings to society. – by Talitha Bennett

Disclosure: Younossi reports no relevant financial disclosures.