Becker's Hospital Review

85 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY Increased alcohol use driving uptick in hospitalizations for liver disease By Mackenzie Bean H ospitals nationwide have reported a spike in alcohol-related admissions for serious liver disease, reported the Los Angeles Times. At Los Angeles-based Keck Hospital of USC, admis- sions for alcoholic liver disease jumped 30 percent last year compared to 2019. Hospitals affiliated with Chi- cago-based Northwestern Medicine, Boston-based Harvard University and New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System have reported up to 50 percent increases in these admissions since March 2020, spe- cialists at each organization told the publication. Many liver disease specialists and psychiatrists said they believe pandemic-related stressors such as isola- tion and unemployment are causing more people to drink and are fueling the spike in liver disease cases. "There's been a tremendous influx," Haripriya Maddur, a hepatologist at Northwestern Medicine, told the Los Angeles Times, adding that many of her patients with alcoholism have relapsed during the pandemic and required hospitalization. Dr. Maddur and other physicians have expressed con- cerns that the stressors leading to higher alcohol con- sumption will continue well after lockdowns are lifted. "I think we're only on the cusp of this," Dr. Maddur said. "Quarantine is one thing, but the downturn of the economy, that's not going away anytime soon." n WHO to develop 'agreed clinical description' for long COVID-19 diagnosis By Erica Carbajal T he World Health Organization is working to establish a clinical description for the lingering symptoms, known as long-COVID, some people experience months af- ter being cleared of their initial COVID-19 illness, CNBC reported Feb. 13. WHO held a global meeting that involved "patients, clinicians and other stakeholders" to gain a clearer picture of long- COVID, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, the organiza- tion's director-general, said during a Feb. 12 news conference. WHO also released a case reporting form meant to standard- ize the collection of data related to long COVID-19. Standard- izing the data will help inform guidelines for clinical manage- ment of the condition, Dr. Tedros added. CNBC cited research published in The Lancet in early January that found 76 percent of COVID-19 patients discharged from a hospital in Wuhan, China, reported at least one symptom six months after the initial illness. The most commonly reported symptoms were fatigue or muscle weakness, sleep difficulties, and anxiety or depression, according to the research. "There's a question of whether this is something that's unique to COVID itself — and it's the COVID virus that's triggering these symptoms — or if this could be part of a general post-viral syn- drome," Allison Navis, MD, a professor at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine in New York City, said during a Feb. 12 call with the Infectious Diseases Society of America, CNBC reported. The WHO has yet to release the clinical description, as of March 10. n Imaging may uncover how COVID-19 can 'cause body to attack itself,' study finds By Erica Carbajal T he use of radiological imaging, such as CT scans and MRIs, may uncover the reasons behind prolonged musculo- skeletal symptoms some COVID-19 patients experience, according to a research paper published Feb. 17 in Skeletal Radiology. Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of nine patients who were evaluated for muscu- loskeletal complications related to COVID-19 at Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial Hospital between May and December. ey found imaging methods including CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds, identified swell- ing or fluid in tissues, hematomas, gangrene, nerve damage and blood clots. In one case, for example, a 72-year-old woman experienced a multijoint rheumatoid arthritis flare-up af- ter contracting COVID-19. Prior to that, her rheumatoid arthritis was dormant for two years. e MRI images in the study show in- flammation in the patient's shoulder. "We've realized that the COVID-19 virus can trigger the body to attack itself in different ways, which may lead to rheumatological issues that require lifelong management," said Swati Deshmukh, MD, study author and musculoskeletal radiologist at Northwestern Medicine. "at imaging allows us to see if COVID-related muscle and joint pain, for example, are not just body aches similar to what we see from the flu — but something more insidious." e findings may inform healthcare provid- ers on the best treatment path for patients who report musculoskeletal symptoms aer contracting COVID-19, researchers said. n

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