Most fun study I have ever done:

We asked clinicians why they tested NH3, their pre-test prob of HE, and what they planned to do while they were blinded to the result

tl/dr: Clinicians are good at diagnosing HE in the ED, so no need for Nh3
doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.…
#livertwitter
We find that a clinicians' pre-test probability of HE is the same as the post-test probability. But! not only does Nh3 add nothing diagnostically, when high it leads to excess lactulose use even when tested in people without #cirrhosis

Now we need to design the QI intervention
I have always wanted to do this study. Huge thanks to @juanjgonMD 4 doing it. Even if u dont care about Nh3, we are very proud of our design, which allowed us to assess the value of a test using the clinician's real-time reasons for testing and prior probability

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More from @ebtapper

15 Dec 20
1/

WHERE does ascites come from?
HOW do diuretics treat ascites?
ARE you ready for a #tweetorial?

#livertwitter #medtwitter #MedEd
2/
First, ascites is:
1⃣Fluid in the belly
2⃣Awful
3⃣A cruel trick the liver plays on the heart and kidney

Throw back to my "what is #cirrhosis?" tweetorial
3/

The first 'lesion' in ascites formation is the fibrotic liver.

Fibrotic liver:
⬆️sinusoidal hydrostatic pressure
⬆️lymph formation

"Mo sinusoidal pressure, mo lymph"
- Ernest H. Starling MD, personal communication
Read 15 tweets
2 Sep 20
1/
HOW does gabapentin work?
DOES gabapentin work?
WHY is gabapentin so shady?

Join me for a #tweetorial?

Keywords: Glutatmate, Asterixis, Alcohol-use disorder
#livertwitter #MedTwitter #meded
2/

Admitting a non-#cirrhosis patient with gabapentin overdose as an intern, I saw asterixis

This 🤯

If it caused asterixis (throwback: ), did that mean it causes HE?

Gabapentin has confused me ever since
3/
Everything about gabapentin is🍌
What follows is no different

There once was a💡dream💡 of using GABA signaling 2 prevent seizures. Yada yada yada, we made GABApentin. It approved in 1993!

Just one prob:
GABApentin doesnt bind GABA-receptors!

Like I said…🍌
Read 13 tweets
12 Aug 20
What is asterixis?

👋Described~60 yrs ago by Adams/Foley
👋Methods:60pts w/impending hepatic coma vs controls
👋Flapping flexion/extension, best @ the🤚but happens even 2 the 👁️lids! Has intervening tremor (mini-asterixis)

Look 4 it while checking handgrip!
#livertwitter
1/4
Why asterixis?

1⃣Adams/Foley:🤷
2⃣Ammonia? Unlikely!(fig1)
3⃣Precipitating factors? Asterixis, like HE itself, is a biomarker of badness: bleeding, infection, sedatives(Fig2)
4⃣They looked @🧠; swollen astrocytes! Particularly in the basal ganglia!(Fig3)
#livertwitter 2/4
Why asterixis part 2

A study using magnetoencephalography showed:
1⃣There is 'excessive corticomuscular motor coherence' 2⃣Diseased basal ganglia fail to select and pace the motor areas

This seems to confirm what Adams/Foley found in the brain

3/4
Read 5 tweets
1 Jul 20
HepatoADrenal syndrome

Say WHAT?!

⌚️It's #tweetorial o'clock

Be prepared to:
1⃣Define adrenal insufficiency of critical illness
2⃣never look @ a lipid panel the same
3⃣respect how sick ppl w/#cirrhosis get

#MedTwitter #meded #livertwitter
1/
First, what is AI (adrenal insufficiency)?

1⃣Critical illness can make the HPA axis😢
Fig1
⬇️Cortisol release
⬇️ACTH response
⬇️Tissue response to cort

2⃣Definition
Fig2-3
➡️Random cort <10➡️AI!
➡️Random cort >9➡️ACTH stim
➡️Cort⬆️<9➡️AI!

2/
Second: adrenal insufficiency(AI) is real, common & matters

1⃣Fig1:People who die from sepsis have:
⬆️baseline cort
⬇️ACTH response

2⃣Fig2:This time: correlation is causation
➡️norepi🚫work in AI
➡️give steroids, norepi work

3⃣Fig2: steroids (may) help for AI

3/
Read 9 tweets
28 Jun 20
Muscle cramps!

We have all had them
But imagine they woke you up every night
For many people with #cirrhosis, that's life!

A #livertwitter #tweetorial featuring:
1⃣Who
2⃣Why
3⃣What to do

#meded #medtwitter #MedStudentTwitter

1/7
Cramps in #cirrhosis

1⃣Mainly @🌙,in the🦵, intense
2⃣Common: 1 in 3 people
3⃣Risk factors? anyone cramps! No diff in labs!
4⃣Turns quality of life into💩

2/
But why cramps in #cirrhosis⁉️

1⃣⬇️ATP in muscle of ppl w/cirrhosis
🤔ATP needed for myosin to detach from actin

2⃣cramping in cirrhosis associated with
⬇️plasma volume &
⬆️renin activity
🤔Nerve perfusion depends on volume
&⬇️vol also⬆️sympathetic nerve activity

3/
Read 7 tweets
22 May 20
Ammonia!

This test has such a big footprint in the landscape of liver disease management. But it is just too complicated to deserve its spotlight

Reposting this #tweetorial

NH3 levels:
1⃣a potent biomarker of illness
2⃣unreliable
3⃣only part of the HE story
#livertwitter
Since I posted this tweetorial:

1. ISHEN released a consensus, touching on NH3. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32224704/?from…. This features the fig below
2. A major publication on the variability and lability of Nh3 levels from @JasmohanBajaj @BloomPringle @AmCollegeGastro #amjgastro #livertwitter

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Read 4 tweets

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