Itis (NASH) has risen substantially through the last decade. Both gender and ethnic disparities in indications for LT have been shown in the past but no data on this have been reported since the implementation of DAAs. METHODS: We assessed changes in etiologies for LT listing and in gender and ethnic differences in those listed for LT. Adult patients registered for LT in the United Network for Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2016 were included. Multinomial logistic regression modeling was used to test for changes in waitlist or liver transplant rates. RESULTS: The study included 127,164 adult patients registered for LT. By 2016, alcoholic liver disease (ALD) was the leading etiology for waitlisting and LT; NASH was second; hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to chronic HCV and chronic HCV alone were 3rd and 4th. NASH was the leading cause for LT for women and the 2nd leading cause for men (following ALD). NASH increased as the cause in all ethnic subgroups and was the leading cause in 2016 among Asian, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white females. We also found that although the indication for liver transplant for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to HCV has increased over the years, this indication decreased for the first time between 2015 and 2016 in both males and females. CONCLUSIONS: NASH is currently the second leading cause for LT waitlist registration/liver transplantation overall, and in females, the leading cause. Given the rate of increase, NASH will likely rise to become the leading indication for LT in males as well....

PURPOSE: Severe (grade 3-4) acute graft-versus-host disease (AGVHD) is a major cause of death after unrelated-donor (URD) hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT), resulting in particularly high mortality after HLA-mismatched transplantation. There are no approved agents for AGVHD prevention, underscoring the critical unmet need for novel therapeutics. ABA2 was a phase II trial to rigorously assess safety, efficacy, and immunologic effects of adding T-cell costimulation blockade with abatacept to calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)/methotrexate (MTX)-based GVHD prophylaxis, to test whether abatacept could decrease AGVHD.METHODS: ABA2 enrolled adults and children with hematologic malignancies under two strata: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled stratum (8/8-HLA-matched URD), comparing CNI/MTX plus abatacept with CNI/MTX plus placebo, and a single-arm stratum (7/8-HLA-mismatched URD) comparing CNI/MTX plus abatacept versus CNI/MTX CIBMTR controls. The primary end point was day +100 grade 3-4 AGVHD, with day +180 severe-AGVHD-free-survival (SGFS) a key secondary end point. Sample sizes were calculated using a higher type-1 error (0.2) as recommended for phase II trials, and were based on predicting that abatacept would reduce grade 3-4 AGVHD from 20% to 10% (8/8s) and 30% to 10% (7/8s). ABA2 enrolled 142 recipients (8/8s, median follow-up = 716 days) and 43 recipients (7/8s, median follow-up = 708 days).RESULTS: In 8/8s, grade 3-4 AGVHD was 6.8% (abatacept) versus 14.8% (placebo) ( P = .13, hazard ratio = 0.45). SGFS was 93.2% (CNI/MTX plus abatacept) versus 82% (CNI/MTX plus placebo, P = .05). In the smaller 7/8 cohort, grade 3-4 AGVHD was 2.3% (CNI/MTX plus abatacept, intention-to-treat population), which compared favorably with a nonrandomized matched cohort of CNI/MTX (30.2%, P < .001), and the SGFS was better (97.7% v 58.7%, P < .001). Immunologic analysis revealed control of T-cell activation in abatacept-treated patients.CONCLUSION: Adding abatacept to URD HCT was safe, reduced AGVHD, and improved SGFS. These results suggest that abatacept may substantially improve AGVHD-related transplant outcomes, with a particularly beneficial impact on HLA-mismatched HCT.

OBJECTIVE: Laparoscopic and robotic sacrocolpopexy are widely used for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) treatment. Evidence comparing outcomes and costs is lacking. We compared costs and clinically relevant outcomes in women randomized to laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy compared with robotic sacrocolpopexy. METHODS: Participants with symptomatic stage POP II or greater, including significant apical support loss, were randomized to either laparoscopic or robotic sacrocolpopexy. We compared surgical costs (including costs for robot, initial hospitalization) and rehospitalization within 6 weeks. Secondary outcomes included postoperative pain, POP quantification, symptom severity and quality of life, and adverse events. RESULTS: We randomized 78 women (mean age 59 years): laparoscopic (n=38) and robotic (n=40). The robotic sacrocolpopexy group had higher initial hospital costs ($19,616 compared with $11,573, P <.001) and over 6 weeks, hospital costs remained higher for robotic sacrocolpopexy ($20,898 compared with $12,170, P <.001). When we excluded costs of robot purchase and maintenance, we did not detect a statistical difference in initial day of surgery costs of robotic compared with laparoscopic ($12,586 compared with $11,573; P =.160) or hospital costs over 6 weeks ($13,867 compared with $12,170; P =.060). The robotic group had longer operating room times (202.8 minutes compared with 178.4 minutes, P =.030) and higher pain scores 1 week after surgery (3.5±2.1 compared with 2.6±2.2; P =.044). There were no group differences in symptom bother by Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory, POP stage, or rate of adverse events. CONCLUSION: Costs of robotic sacrocolpopexy are higher than laparoscopic, whereas short-term outcomes and complications are similar. Primary cost differences resulted from robot maintenance and purchase costs. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01124916. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I

Objective The objective of this study was to explore the efficacy of combination therapy with citalopram plus omega-3 fatty acids versus citalopram plus placebo (olive oil) in the initial treatment of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). We hypothesized that combination therapy would lead not only to greater efficacy but also to a more rapid onset of therapeutic response. Methods Forty-two subjects participated in this 9-week randomized, masked, placebo-controlled study of combination therapy (two 1 g capsules containing a blend of 900 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid, 200 mg of and docosahexaenoic acid, and 100 mg of other omega-3 fatty acids twice daily plus citalopram) versus monotherapy (two 1 g capsules of olive oil per day plus citalopram) treatment of MDD. Results The combination therapy demonstrated significantly greater improvement in Hamilton Depression Rating scale scores over time (F = 7.32; df 1,177; P = 0.008) beginning at week 4 (t = −2.48; df 177; P = 0.014). Conclusions Combination therapy was more effective than monotherapy in decreasing signs and symptoms of MDD during the 8 weeks of active treatment; however, combination therapy did not seem to enhance the speed of the initial antidepressant response. These findings suggest that there may be an advantage to combining omega-3 fatty acids with a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor in the initial treatment of individuals with MDD. A larger definitive study is warranted.