4th Annual Spring Hepatology Update
The epidemic of chronic viral hepatitis was responsible for almost 1.5 million deaths in 2013 and is a major public health crisis worldwide. This healthcare crisis has resulted in a call to action from the World Health Organization to eliminate chronic viral hepatitis. The rapid development of safe and highly effective antiviral regimens for chronic hepatitis C and effective therapies for chronic hepatitis B have made improvements possible in morbidity and mortality from this disease. Recent data suggest that 4 in 10 U.S. adults are obese; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is present in almost one-third of U.S. adults and a subset of individuals with NAFLD has nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the serious form of NAFLD; one-third of patients with NASH may develop advanced liver disease. New therapies are emerging for chronic cholestatic and autoimmune liver diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).
This course will include updates on new therapies for chronic hepatitis C, PBC, NASH and hepatitis B. Several novel therapies are being developed for complications of liver disease such as portal hypertension. The field of liver transplantation has evolved rapidly over the past several decades and many more clinicians from various disciplines are involved in the care of these patients. An update on management of complications of liver disease such as portal hypertension and end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma is timely and necessary for clinicians to provide optimal patient care.