VOCAL Publications

The VOCAL team has spearheaded and collaborated on dozens of high-impact studies addressing key clinical questions in chronic liver disease, viral hepatitis, acute-on-chronic-liver failure, cirrhosis surgical risk, COVID-19 infection and vaccination, cirrhosis pharmacoepidemiology, and many other domains.

Publications

• External Validation of the FIPS Score for Post-TIPS Mortality in a National Veterans Affairs Cohort.
  Digestive diseases and sciences. 2022 Sep;67(9):4581-4589 Epub 2021 Nov 19; Authors: Chapin SE, Goldberg DS, Kaplan DE, Mahmud N

• Inpatient Gastroenterology Consultation and Outcomes of Cirrhosis-Related Hospitalizations in Two Large National Cohorts.
  Digestive diseases and sciences. 2022 Jun;67(6):2094-2104 Epub 2021 Aug 10; Authors: Serper M, Kaplan DE, Lin M, Taddei TH, Parikh ND, Werner RM, Tapper EB

• Risk Prediction Models for Postoperative Decompensation and Infection in Patients With Cirrhosis: A Veterans Affairs Cohort Study.
  Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. 2022 May;20(5):e1121-e1134 Epub 2021 Jul 8; Authors: Mahmud N, Fricker Z, Lewis JD, Taddei TH, Goldberg DS, Kaplan DE

• Race Adjustment in eGFR Equations Does Not Improve Estimation of Acute Kidney Injury Events in Patients with Cirrhosis.
  Digestive diseases and sciences. 2022 Apr;67(4):1399-1408 Epub 2021 Mar 24; Authors: Mahmud N, Asrani SK, Reese PP, Kaplan DE, Taddei TH, Nadim MK, Serper M

• Rates of decompensation, hepatocellular carcinoma and mortality in AMA-negative primary biliary cholangitis cirrhosis.
  Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver. 2022 Feb;42(2):384-393 Epub 2021 Oct 12; Authors: John BV, Dahman B, Deng Y, Khakoo NS, Taddei TH, Kaplan DE, Levy C

• Evaluation Within 30 Days of Referral for Liver Transplantation is Associated with Reduced Mortality: A Multicenter Analysis of Patients Referred Within the VA Health System.
  Transplantation. 2022 Jan 1;106(1):72-84; Authors: John BV, Schwartz K, Scheinberg AR, Dahman B, Spector S, Deng Y, Goldberg D, Martin P, Taddei TH, Kaplan DE

• Identifying Patients at Highest Risk of Remaining Unvaccinated Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in a Large Veterans Health Administration Cohort.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society. 2021 Nov;27(11):1665-1668 Epub 2021 Aug 20; Authors: Mahmud N, Chapin SE, Kaplan DE, Serper M

• Effects of Metformin Exposure on Survival in a Large National Cohort of Patients With Diabetes and Cirrhosis.
  Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. 2021 Oct;19(10):2148-2160.e14 Epub 2020 Aug 13; Authors: Kaplan DE, Serper M, John BV, Tessiatore KM, Lerer R, Mehta R, Fox R, Aytaman A, Baytarian M, Hunt K, Albrecht J, Taddei TH, Veterans Outcomes and Cost Associated with Liver disease Study Group

• Impact of SGLT2 inhibitors in comparison with DPP4 inhibitors on ascites and death in veterans with cirrhosis on metformin.
  Diabetes, obesity & metabolism. 2021 Oct;23(10):2402-2408 Epub 2021 Jul 28; Authors: Saffo S, Kaplan DE, Mahmud N, Serper M, John BV, Ross JS, Taddei T

• Association of BNT162b2 mRNA and mRNA-1273 Vaccines With COVID-19 Infection and Hospitalization Among Patients With Cirrhosis.
  JAMA internal medicine. 2021 Oct 1;181(10):1306-1314; Authors: John BV, Deng Y, Scheinberg A, Mahmud N, Taddei TH, Kaplan D, Labrada M, Baracco G, Dahman B

• Ursodeoxycholic Acid Response Is Associated With Reduced Mortality in Primary Biliary Cholangitis With Compensated Cirrhosis.
  The American journal of gastroenterology. 2021 Sep 1;116(9):1913-1923; Authors: John BV, Khakoo NS, Schwartz KB, Aitchenson G, Levy C, Dahman B, Deng Y, Goldberg DS, Martin P, Kaplan DE, Taddei TH

• Male Sex Is Associated With Higher Rates of Liver-Related Mortality in Primary Biliary Cholangitis and Cirrhosis.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 2021 Aug;74(2):879-891 Epub 2021 May 26; Authors: John BV, Aitcheson G, Schwartz KB, Khakoo NS, Dahman B, Deng Y, Goldberg D, Martin P, Taddei TH, Levy C, Kaplan DE

• External Validation of the VOCAL-Penn Cirrhosis Surgical Risk Score in 2 Large, Independent Health Systems.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society. 2021 Jul;27(7):961-970; Authors: Mahmud N, Fricker Z, Panchal S, Lewis JD, Goldberg DS, Kaplan DE

• Impact of Obeticholic acid Exposure on Decompensation and Mortality in Primary Biliary Cholangitis and Cirrhosis.
  Hepatology communications. 2021 Aug;5(8):1426-1436 Epub 2021 May 6; Authors: John BV, Schwartz K, Levy C, Dahman B, Deng Y, Martin P, Taddei TH, Kaplan DE

• Frailty Is a Risk Factor for Postoperative Mortality in Patients With Cirrhosis Undergoing Diverse Major Surgeries.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society. 2021 May;27(5):699-710 Epub 2021 Feb 15; Authors: Mahmud N, Kaplan DE, Taddei TH, Goldberg DS

• Changes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance and Risk Factors for Noncompletion in the Veterans Health Administration Cohort During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.
  Gastroenterology. 2021 May;160(6):2162-2164.e3 Epub 2021 Jan 9; Authors: Mahmud N, Kaplan DE, Goldberg DS, Taddei TH, Serper M

• SACRED: Effect of simvastatin on hepatic decompensation and death in subjects with high-risk compensated cirrhosis: Statins and Cirrhosis: Reducing Events of Decompensation.
  Contemporary clinical trials. 2021 May;104:106367 Epub 2021 Mar 24; Authors: Kaplan DE, Mehta R, Garcia-Tsao G, Albrecht J, Aytaman A, Baffy G, Bajaj J, Hernaez R, Hunt K, Ioannou G, Johnson K, Kanwal F, Lee TH, Monto A, Pandya P, Schaubel D, Taddei TH

• The Predictive Role of Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Lactate and Lactate Clearance for In-Hospital Mortality Among a National Cirrhosis Cohort.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society. 2021 Feb;27(2):177-189 Epub 2020 Dec 9; Authors: Mahmud N, Asrani SK, Kaplan DE, Ogola GO, Taddei TH, Kamath PS, Serper M

• Mortality and Hepatic Decompensation in Patients With Cirrhosis and Atrial Fibrillation Treated With Anticoagulation.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 2021 Jan;73(1):219-232 Epub 2020 Nov 9; Authors: Serper M, Weinberg EM, Cohen JB, Reese PP, Taddei TH, Kaplan DE

• Risk Prediction Models for Post-Operative Mortality in Patients With Cirrhosis.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 2021 Jan;73(1):204-218 Epub 2020 Dec 10; Authors: Mahmud N, Fricker Z, Hubbard RA, Ioannou GN, Lewis JD, Taddei TH, Rothstein KD, Serper M, Goldberg DS, Kaplan DE

• Patient Frailty Is Independently Associated With the Risk of Hospitalization for Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society. 2021 Jan;27(1):16-26 Epub 2020 Oct 28; Authors: Shah S, Goldberg DS, Kaplan DE, Sundaram V, Taddei TH, Mahmud N

• Trends in surgical volume and in-hospital mortality among United States cirrhosis hospitalizations.
  Annals of gastroenterology. 2021;34(1):85-92 Epub 2020 Nov 20; Authors: Tessiatore KM, Mahmud N

• Care quality and outcomes among US veterans with chronic hepatitis B in the hepatitis C direct-acting antiviral era.
  Journal of viral hepatitis. 2020 Oct;27(10):1082-1092 Epub 2020 Jun 29; Authors: Kaplan DE, Medvedeva E, Serper M

• Declining Cirrhosis Hospitalizations in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Cohort Study.
  Gastroenterology. 2020 Sep;159(3):1134-1136.e3 Epub 2020 May 6; Authors: Mahmud N, Hubbard RA, Kaplan DE, Serper M

• Validating a non-invasive, ALT-based non-alcoholic fatty liver phenotype in the million veteran program.
  PloS one. 2020;15(8):e0237430 Epub 2020 Aug 25; Authors: Serper M, Vujkovic M, Kaplan DE, Carr RM, Lee KM, Shao Q, Miller DR, Reaven PD, Phillips LS, O'Donnell CJ, Meigs JB, Wilson PWF, Vickers-Smith R, Kranzler HR, Justice AC, Gaziano JM, Muralidhar S, Pyarajan S, DuVall SL, Assimes TL, Lee JS, Tsao PS, Rader DJ, Damrauer SM, Lynch JA, Saleheen D, Voight BF, Chang KM, VA Million Veteran Program

• Grade 1 Acute on Chronic Liver Failure Is a Predictor for Subsequent Grade 3 Failure.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 2020 Jul;72(1):230-239 Epub 2020 Apr 3; Authors: Mahmud N, Sundaram V, Kaplan DE, Taddei TH, Goldberg DS

• Models for acute on chronic liver failure development and mortality in a veterans affairs cohort.
  Hepatology international. 2020 Jul;14(4):587-596 Epub 2020 Jun 9; Authors: Xiao KY, Hubbard RA, Kaplan DE, Taddei TH, Goldberg DS, Mahmud N

• Risk prediction scores for acute on chronic liver failure development and mortality.
  Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver. 2020 May;40(5):1159-1167 Epub 2019 Dec 26; Authors: Mahmud N, Hubbard RA, Kaplan DE, Taddei TH, Goldberg DS

• Survival Benefit of Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
  Transplantation. 2020 Jan;104(1):104-112; Authors: Kanneganti M, Mahmud N, Kaplan DE, Taddei TH, Goldberg DS

• Quality Measures, All-Cause Mortality, and Health Care Use in a National Cohort of Veterans With Cirrhosis.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 2019 Dec;70(6):2062-2074 Epub 2019 Jun 26; Authors: Serper M, Kaplan DE, Shults J, Reese PP, Beste LA, Taddei TH, Werner RM

• Increased Risk for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Persists Up to 10 Years After HCV Eradication in Patients With Baseline Cirrhosis or High FIB-4 Scores.
  Gastroenterology. 2019 Nov;157(5):1264-1278.e4 Epub 2019 Jul 26; Authors: Ioannou GN, Beste LA, Green PK, Singal AG, Tapper EB, Waljee AK, Sterling RK, Feld JJ, Kaplan DE, Taddei TH, Berry K

• Setting ambitious targets for surveillance and treatment rates among patients with hepatitis C related cirrhosis impacts the cost-effectiveness of hepatocellular cancer surveillance and substantially increases life expectancy: A modeling study.
  PloS one. 2019;14(8):e0221614 Epub 2019 Aug 26; Authors: Uyei J, Taddei TH, Kaplan DE, Chapko M, Stevens ER, Braithwaite RS

• In-Hospital mortality varies by procedure type among cirrhosis surgery admissions.
  Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver. 2019 Aug;39(8):1394-1399 Epub 2019 Jun 17; Authors: Mahmud N, Fricker Z, Serper M, Kaplan DE, Rothstein KD, Goldberg DS

• Pre-transplant alpha-fetoprotein is associated with post-transplant hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence mortality.
  Clinical transplantation. 2019 Jul;33(7):e13634 Epub 2019 Jun 25; Authors: Mahmud N, John B, Taddei TH, Goldberg DS

• Incidence and Mortality of Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure Using Two Definitions in Patients with Compensated Cirrhosis.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 2019 May;69(5):2150-2163 Epub 2019 Mar 20; Authors: Mahmud N, Kaplan DE, Taddei TH, Goldberg DS

• Effects of Hypercholesterolemia and Statin Exposure on Survival in a Large National Cohort of Patients With Cirrhosis.
  Gastroenterology. 2019 May;156(6):1693-1706.e12 Epub 2019 Jan 18; Authors: Kaplan DE, Serper MA, Mehta R, Fox R, John B, Aytaman A, Baytarian M, Hunt K, Albrecht J, Njei B, Taddei TH, VOCAL Study Group

• Differences in Posttransplant Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence by Etiology of Liver Disease.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society. 2019 Mar;25(3):388-398; Authors: Mahmud N, Shaked A, Olthoff KM, Goldberg DS

• Rare clinically significant hepatic events and hepatitis B reactivation occur more frequently following rather than during direct-acting antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C: Data from a national US cohort.
  Journal of viral hepatitis. 2018 Feb;25(2):187-197 Epub 2017 Sep 21; Authors: Serper M, Forde KA, Kaplan DE

• Healthcare Costs Related to Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among Veterans With Cirrhosis in the United States.
  Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. 2018 Jan;16(1):106-114.e5 Epub 2017 Jul 26; Authors: Kaplan DE, Chapko MK, Mehta R, Dai F, Skanderson M, Aytaman A, Baytarian M, D'Addeo K, Fox R, Hunt K, Pocha C, Valderrama A, Taddei TH, VOCAL Study Group

• Identifying Patient and Provider-specific Gaps in Care Among Patients With Hepatitis B.
  Journal of clinical gastroenterology. 2017 Nov/Dec;51(10):900-906; Authors: Kushner T, Lam R, Gray DL, Kaplan DE, Serper M

• Starting Dose of Sorafenib for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Retrospective, Multi-Institutional Study.
  Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. 2017 Nov 1;35(31):3575-3581 Epub 2017 Sep 5; Authors: Reiss KA, Yu S, Mamtani R, Mehta R, D'Addeo K, Wileyto EP, Taddei TH, Kaplan DE

• Association of Provider Specialty and Multidisciplinary Care With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Mortality.
  Gastroenterology. 2017 Jun;152(8):1954-1964 Epub 2017 Mar 7; Authors: Serper M, Taddei TH, Mehta R, D'Addeo K, Dai F, Aytaman A, Baytarian M, Fox R, Hunt K, Goldberg DS, Valderrama A, Kaplan DE, VOCAL Study Group

• Identifying barriers to hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in a national sample of patients with cirrhosis.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 2017 Mar;65(3):864-874 Epub 2016 Oct 5; Authors: Goldberg DS, Taddei TH, Serper M, Mehta R, Dieperink E, Aytaman A, Baytarian M, Fox R, Hunt K, Pedrosa M, Pocha C, Valderrama A, Kaplan DE

• Efficacy of Sofosbuvir Plus Ribavirin in Veterans With Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 2 Infection, Compensated Cirrhosis, and Multiple Comorbidities.
  Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. 2017 Feb;15(2):282-288 Epub 2016 May 27; Authors: Ho SB, Monto A, Peyton A, Kaplan DE, Byrne S, Moon S, Copans A, Rossaro L, Roy A, Le H, Dvory-Sobol H, Zhu Y, Brainard DM, Guyer W, Shaikh O, Fuchs M, Morgan TR, VALOR study team

• Recalibrating the Child-Turcotte-Pugh Score to Improve Prediction of Transplant-Free Survival in Patients with Cirrhosis.
  Digestive diseases and sciences. 2016 Nov;61(11):3309-3320 Epub 2016 Jul 12; Authors: Kaplan DE, Dai F, Skanderson M, Aytaman A, Baytarian M, D'Addeo K, Fox R, Hunt K, Knott A, Mehta R, Pedrosa M, Pocha C, Valderrama A, Taddei T, VOCAL Study Group

• Care delivery and outcomes among US veterans with hepatitis B: A national cohort study.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.). 2016 Jun;63(6):1774-82 Epub 2016 Feb 25; Authors: Serper M, Choi G, Forde KA, Kaplan DE

• Improved Survival Among all Interferon-α-Treated Patients in HCV-002, a Veterans Affairs Hepatitis C Cohort of 2211 Patients, Despite Increased Cirrhosis Among Nonresponders.
  Digestive diseases and sciences. 2016 Jun;61(6):1744-56 Epub 2016 Apr 8; Authors: Cozen ML, Ryan JC, Shen H, Cheung R, Kaplan DE, Pocha C, Brau N, Aytaman A, Schmidt WN, Pedrosa M, Anand BS, Chang KM, Morgan T, Monto A

• Development and Performance of an Algorithm to Estimate the Child-Turcotte-Pugh Score From a National Electronic Healthcare Database.
  Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. 2015 Dec;13(13):2333-41.e1-6 Epub 2015 Jul 15; Authors: Kaplan DE, Dai F, Aytaman A, Baytarian M, Fox R, Hunt K, Knott A, Pedrosa M, Pocha C, Mehta R, Duggal M, Skanderson M, Valderrama A, Taddei TH, VOCAL Study Group

• Delta hepatitis within the Veterans Affairs medical system in the United States: Prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes.
  Journal of hepatology. 2015 Sep;63(3):586-92 Epub 2015 May 8; Authors: Kushner T, Serper M, Kaplan DE