Surfing the NASH Tsunami begins its year-end series to reflect on a momentous 2022 for NAFLD and Season 3 of the podcast. In this conversation, Surfers Jörn Schattenberg, Louise Campbell and Roger Green share their respective highlights.
All three agree that a return to in-person meetings offered both opportunities to reconnect and meet for the first time those who have been part of the podcast since launching in 2020. This leads Jörn to harken back to how the role of the podcast changed through the duration of the pandemic. At the outset, it was possibly one of the only places for colleagues to exchange and engage in regular discussion about pivotal medical issues. Today, he notes, while colleagues can once again meet fairly regularly at different meetings, the podcast remains a source of excitement and valuable discourse. Roger points out that the transition to on-site meetings actually coincided with a rise in listenership. This rise is attributed to the explosion of knowledge about drugs, devices and pathophysiology alongside burgeoning discussions around guidelines and care pathways.
The discussion next focuses on an announcement from Louise that NICE is expected to approve FibroScan for primary care under specific circumstances. In light of this news, the trio take a minute to review the history and process by which NICE came to modify its initial position on the subject. Jörn notes that FibroScan is not only a tool for detecting liver disease, but also that it provides patients with a way to improve liver health. As the conversation winds down, Louise, who is recording in Perth, describes that FibroScan use in Australia is late and limited, possibly contributing to the country’s rapid rise in NASH prevalence.