In the News

Effects of gastric acid suppression drugs on COVID-19 outcomes still unclear

A meta-analysis didn't find an association between famotidine use and severe disease or death from COVID-19, and the association of these outcomes with proton-pump inhibitors varied by study type.

Amoxicillin-clavulanate appears safe, effective for diverticulitis in outpatients

A retrospective cohort study compared amoxicillin-clavulanate with metronidazole-fluoroquinolone and found no differences in outcomes including risks for inpatient admission or surgery, while Clostridioides difficile risk appeared higher in older patients on the latter regimen.

Half of overweight, obese adults may have fatty liver disease

The global prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, a newly proposed term for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, is “astonishingly high,” the authors of a recent meta-analysis found.

MKSAP Quiz: Management of walled-off necrosis of the pancreas

This month's quiz asks readers to manage a 6-cm fluid collection with solid debris in the body of the pancreas in a 48-year-old man presenting to the ED with left flank pain and dysuria six months after hospitalization for severe acute gallstone pancreatitis.

Spotlight on colorectal cancer prevention

This past month featured research on colorectal cancer prevention with both aspirin and diet, as well as a new clinical practice update from the American Gastroenterological Association on chemoprevention of colorectal neoplasia.

Sessions from ACG 2020 tackled persistent GERD, acute colonic pseudo-obstruction

Coverage of the American College of Gastroenterology's annual meeting in the February ACP Internist and ACP Hospitalist offered advice on managing patients with persistent gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and recognizing acute colonic pseudo-obstruction.

Antibiotic may prevent hepatic encephalopathy after TIPS in patients with cirrhosis

A French trial found that 34% of patients who received rifaximin before and after placement of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) had hepatic encephalopathy versus 53% of those who received placebo, with no differences in adverse events or transplant-free survival.

Ulcerative colitis medicine may increase risk of serious heart-related problems, cancer

Preliminary results from a safety clinical trial indicate that tofacitinib may be associated with an increased risk of serious heart-related events and cancer compared to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors.