Becker's ASC Review

25 KEY SPECIALTIES IBS-D Puts Financial Strain on Patients: 4 Study Insights By Eric Oliver A study published in the Journal of Man- aged Care & Specialty Pharmacy ex- amined the burden irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea places on patients. Jessica Buono, of Allergan, and colleagues examined 39,309 patients from the Truven Health MarketScan research database with a ≥ 1 medical claim diagnosis code for any position for IBS and diarrhea in 2013. Researchers compared those claims to a control group with no claims for IBS, diar- rhea, abdominal pain or symptom-related prescriptions in 2013. e experimental and control group were a one-to-one split. Mean age was 47 ± 17 years and 76.5 percent were female. Here's what they found. 1. IBS-D patients had a greater amount of hospitalizations, emergency department visits and monthly prescription fills. 2. Mean annual all-cause healthcare costs for IBS-D patients were $13,038 with 58.4 percent attributed to office visits and outpa- tient services. Of the total, 19.5 percent was attributable to prescriptions, 13.6 percent for inpatients admissions and 8.5 percent for emergency department visits. 3. Gastrointestinal-related costs were $3,817 and symptom-related costs were $1,693. Outpatient settings primarily addressed the symptom-related cost. 4. Researchers adjusted for demographics and comorbidities. Incremental annual all- cause costs were $2,268 per patient/year. Ap- proximately 78 percent of those costs were medical and 22 percent were prescription. Researchers concluded that IBS-D put a substantial burden on its patients. ey said, "Compared with matched controls, IBS-D patients had greater medical service use and incurred significantly more annual all-cause healthcare costs, even aer controlling for demographics and comorbidities." Note: Allergan funded this study. e authors received no compensation related to the development of the manuscript. n Underwater Colonoscopy More Effective Than Air Insufflation — 5 Insights By Eric Oliver A study presented at Digestive Disease Week 2017 examined the effectiveness of an underwater colonoscopy technique, Med- scape reports. UC Irvine gastroenterology resident Medical Center Anish Patel, MD, and colleagues used an underwa- ter technique that allows physicians to detect more polyps than traditional air insufflation. Here's what you should know. 1. Providers can routinely use the technique, which is most effective in higher risk patients. 2. Water 'floats' muscosa magnifies lesions to make detection easier, Dr. Patel said to Medscape. 3. According to several studies, underwater colo- noscopy improves patient comfort. 4. Dr. Patel said the technique leaves patients "more comfortable and encourages them to continue to get appropriate screening." 5. Some physicians debate the need for such a method, citing the increased amount of time it takes. These physicians also argued the technique unnecessarily focuses on patient comfort, when a patient is already under sedation. n 6 Things to Know About Gastroenterologist, 'Master of None' Actor Dr. Shoukath Ansari By Eric Oliver S houkath Ansari, MD, is a gastroenterologist and the medi- cal director of Hamlet, N.C.-based Sandhills Endoscopy Center, an actor and the father of comedian Aziz Ansari. Here are six things to know about Dr. Ansari. 1. Dr. Ansari has a regular role on Mr. Ansari's Netflix program "Master of None." Dr. Ansari is the father of Mr. Ansari's charac- ter, Dev. 2. He earned his medical degree from Tirunelveli Medical Col- lege in India. He completed an internship at SUNY Health Sci- ence Center in New York City and several residencies at Tren- ton, N.J.-based St. Francis Medical Center; Trenton, N.J.-based Capital Health Medical Center; Columbia-based University of South Carolina School of Medicine; Columbia, S.C.-based Richland Memorial Hospital; and Columbia, S.C.-based William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Hospital. 3. Dr. Ansari completed his fellowship at the University of South Carolina. 4. He has been the medical director of the Sandhills Endos- copy center for 32 years. 5. Richmond Memorial Hospital recognized Dr. Ansari as its physician of the year in 2017, the Richmond County Daily Journal reports. 6. Mr. Ansari said in an interview on KRCC that Dr. Ansari told him, "The reason I'm acting in the show and doing all of this is just to spend more time with you and to see you." n

• Cover