Browsing by Author "Towbin, Alexander J."

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    Association Between Transient Elastography and Controlled Attenuated Parameter and Liver Ultrasound in Children With Cystic Fibrosis
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2021-05-13) Ye, Wen; Leung, Daniel H.; Molleston, Jean P.; Ling, Simon C.; Murray, Karen F.; Nicholas, Jennifer L.; Huang, Suiyuan; Karmazyn, Boaz W.; Harned, Roger K.; Masand, Prakash; Alazraki, Adina L.; Navarro, Oscar M.; Otto, Randolph K.; Palermo, Joseph J.; Towbin, Alexander J.; Alonso, Estella M.; Karnsakul, Wikrom W.; Schwarzenberg, Sarah Jane; Seidel, Glenn F.; Siegel, Marilyn; Magee, John C.; Narkewicz, Michael R.; Freeman, A. Jay; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Methods to identify children with cystic fibrosis (CF) at risk for development of advanced liver disease are lacking. We aim to determine the association between liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) with research ultrasound (US) patterns and conventional hepatic markers as a potential means to follow liver disease progression in children with CF. ELASTIC (Longitudinal Assessment of Transient Elastography in CF) is a nested cohort of 141 patients, ages 7-21, enrolled in the Prediction by US of Risk of Hepatic Cirrhosis in CF (PUSH) Study. We studied the association between LSM with research-grade US patterns (normal [NL], heterogeneous [HTG], homogeneous [HMG], or nodular [NOD]) and conventional hepatic markers. In a subgroup (n = 79), the association between controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and US pattern was explored. Among 133 subjects undergoing VCTE, NOD participants (n = 26) had a significantly higher median (interquartile range) LSM of 9.1 kPa (6.3, 15.8) versus NL (n = 72, 5.1 kPa [4.2, 7.0]; P < 0.0001), HMG (n = 17, 5.9 kPa [5.2, 7.8]; P = 0.0013), and HTG (n = 18, 6.1 kPa [4.7, 7.0]; P = 0.0008) participants. HMG participants (n = 14) had a significantly higher mean CAP (SD) (270.5 dB/m [61.1]) compared with NL (n = 40, 218.8 dB/m [46.5]; P = 0.0027), HTG (n = 10, 218.1 dB/m [60.7]; P = 0.044), and NOD (n = 15, 222.7 dB/m [56.4]; P = 0.041) participants. LSM had a negative correlation with platelet count (rs = − 0.28, P = 0.0071) and positive correlation with aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (rs = 0.38, P = 0.0002), Fibrosis-4 index (rs = 0.36, P = 0.0007), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT; rs = 0.35, P = 0.0017), GGT-to-platelet ratio (rs = 0.35, P = 0.003), and US spleen size z-score (rs = 0.27, P = 0.0073). Conclusion: VCTE is associated with US patterns and conventional markers in patients with liver disease with CF.
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    Enhancing Patient Communication With Chat-GPT in Radiology: Evaluating the Efficacy and Readability of Answers to Common Imaging-Related Questions
    (Elsevier, 2023) Gordon, Emile B.; Towbin, Alexander J.; Wingrove, Peter; Shafique, Umber; Haas, Brian; Kitts, Andrea B.; Feldman, Jill; Furlan, Alessandro; Radiology and Imaging Sciences,School of Medicine
    Purpose To assess ChatGPT's accuracy, relevance, and readability in answering patients' common imaging-related questions and examine the effect of a simple prompt. Methods 22 imaging-related questions were developed from categories previously described as important to patients: safety, the radiology report, the procedure, preparation before imaging, meaning of terms, and medical staff. These questions were posed to ChatGPT with and without a short prompt instructing the model to provide an accurate and easy-to-understand response for the average person. Four board-certified radiologists evaluated the answers for accuracy, consistency, and relevance. Two patient advocates also reviewed responses for their utility for patients. Readability was assessed by Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL). Statistical comparisons were performed using chi-square and paired t-tests. Results 264 answers were assessed for both unprompted and prompted questions. Unprompted responses were accurate 83% (218/264) of the time, which did not significantly change for prompted responses (87% [229/264]; P=0.2). The consistency of the responses increased from 72%f (63/88) to 86% (76/88) when prompted (P=0.02). Nearly all responses (99% [261/264]) were at least partially relevant for both question types. Fewer unprompted responses were considered fully relevant at 67% (176/264), though this increased significantly to 80% when prompted (210/264) (P=0.001). The average FKGL was high at 13.6 [12.9-14.2], unchanged with the prompt (13.0 [12.41-13.60], P=0.2). None of the responses reached the eighth-grade readability recommended for patient-facing materials. Conclusions ChatGPT demonstrates the potential to respond accurately, consistently, and relevantly to patients' imaging-related questions. However, imperfect accuracy and high complexity necessitate oversight before implementation. Prompts reduced response variability and yielded more targeted information but did not improve readability. Relevance and Application ChatGPT has the potential to increase accessibility to health information and to streamline the production of patient-facing educational materials, though its current limitations require cautious implementation and further research.
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    Health-related Quality of Life in a Prospective Study of Ultrasound to Detect Cystic Fibrosis-related Liver Disease in Children
    (Wiley, 2022) Schwarzenberg, Sarah Jane; Palermo, Joseph J.; Ye, Wen; Huang, Suiyuan; Magee, John C.; Alazraki, Adina; Freeman, A. Jay; Harned, Roger; Karmazyn, Boaz; Karnsakul, Wikrom; Leung, Daniel H.; Ling, Simon C.; Masand, Prakash; Molleston, Jean P.; Murray, Karen F.; Navarro, Oscar M.; Nicholas, Jennifer L.; Otto, Randolph K.; Paranjape, Shruti M.; Siegel, Marilyn J.; Stoll, Janis; Towbin, Alexander J.; Narkewicz, Michael R.; Alonso, Estella M.; CFLD NET; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Objectives: Cystic fibrosis liver disease (CFLD) begins early in life. Symptoms may be vague, mild, or nonexistent. Progressive liver injury may be associated with decrements in patient health before liver disease is clinically apparent. We examined Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in children enrolled in a multi-center study of CFLD to determine the impact of early CFLD on general and disease-specific QOL. Methods: Ultrasound (US) patterns of normal (NL), heterogeneous (HTG), homogeneous (HMG), or nodular (NOD) were assigned in a prospective manner to predict those at risk for advanced CFLD. Parents were informed of results. We assessed parent/child-reported (age ≥5 years) HRQOL by PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core and CF Questionnaire-revised (CFQ-R) prior to US and annually. HRQOL scores were compared by US pattern at baseline (prior to US), between baseline and 1 year and at 5 years. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with Hotelling-Lawley trace tested for differences among US groups. Results: Prior to US, among 515 participants and their parents there was no evidence that HTG or NOD US was associated with reduced PedsQL/CFQ-R at baseline. Parents of NOD reported no change in PedsQL/CFQ-R over the next year. Child-report PedsQL/CFQ-R (95 NL, 20 NOD) showed improvement between baseline and year 5 for many scales, including Physical Function. Parents of HMG children reported improved CFQ-R scores related to weight. Conclusions: Early undiagnosed or pre-symptomatic liver disease had no impact on generic or disease-specific HRQoL, and HRQoL was remarkably stable in children with CF regardless of liver involvement.
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    Health-related Quality of Life in a Prospective Study of Ultrasound to Detect Cystic Fibrosis-related Liver Disease in Children
    (Wiley, 2022-09-06) Schwarzenberg, Sarah Jane; Palermo, Joseph J.; Ye, Wen; Huang, Suiyuan; Magee, John C.; Alazraki, Adina; Freeman, A. Jay; Harned, Roger; Karmazyn, Boaz; Karnsakul, Wikrom; Leung, Daniel H.; Ling, Simon C.; Masand, Prakash; Molleston, Jean P.; Murray, Karen F.; Navarro, Oscar M.; Nicholas, Jennifer L.; Otto, Randolph K.; Paranjape, Shruti M.; Siegel , Marilyn J.; Stoll, Janis; Towbin, Alexander J.; Narkewicz, Michael R.; Alonso, Estella M.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Background: Cystic fibrosis-related liver disease (CFLD) begins early in life. Symptoms may be vague, mild or nonexistent. Progressive liver injury may be associated with decrements in patient health before liver disease is clinically apparent. We examined Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in children enrolled in a multi-center study of cystic fibrosis-related liver disease (CFLD) to determine the impact of early CFLD on general and disease-specific QOL. Methods: US patterns of normal (NL), heterogeneous (HTG), homogeneous (HMG), or nodular (NOD) were assigned in a prospective manner to predict those at risk for advanced CFLD. Parents were informed of results. We assessed parent/child-reported (age≥5 y) HRQOL by PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core and CF Questionnaire-revised (CFQ-R) prior to US and annually. HRQOL scores were compared by US pattern at baseline (prior to US), between baseline and 1-year and at 5 years. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with Hotelling-Lawley trace tested for differences among US groups. Results: Prior to US, among 515 participants and their parents there was no evidence that HTG or NOD US was associated with reduced PedsQL/CFQ-R at baseline. Parents of NOD reported no change in PedsQL/CFQ-R over the next year. Child-report PedsQL/CFQ-R (95 NL, 20 NOD) showed improvement between baseline and year 5 for many scales, including Physical Function. Parents of HMG children reported improved CFQ-R scores related to weight. Conclusions: Early undiagnosed or pre-symptomatic liver disease had no impact on generic or disease-specific HRQoL, and HRQoL was remarkably stable in children with CF regardless of liver involvement.