VIDEO: Inappropriate hepatitis A, B tests may be widespread in hospitals

SAN FRANCISCO – A majority of inpatients with suspected acute hepatitis A and acute hepatitis B underwent inappropriate ordering of lab tests for those conditions, a study in one U.S. medical center showed.

“We looked at all the patients that came into our hospital who had acute hepatitis A or acute hepatitis B panels ordered,” explained Dr. Kamran Hussaini of Saint Louis (Mo.) University.

How frequently were those labs ordered inappropriately? “What we found was that the majority of patients who had acute hepatitis A and acute hepatitis B labs had ALT [alanine aminotransferase] and AST [aspartate aminotransferase] levels that were below 100,” Dr. Hussaini said.

In an interview at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Dr. Hussaini discussed the study’s findings, what may be driving physicians to order inappropriate and costly hepatitis testing, and which strategies could reduce those trends.

SAN FRANCISCO – A majority of inpatients with suspected acute hepatitis A and acute hepatitis B underwent inappropriate ordering of lab tests for those conditions, a study in one U.S. medical center showed.

“We looked at all the patients that came into our hospital who had acute hepatitis A or acute hepatitis B panels ordered,” explained Dr. Kamran Hussaini of Saint Louis (Mo.) University.

How frequently were those labs ordered inappropriately? “What we found was that the majority of patients who had acute hepatitis A and acute hepatitis B labs had ALT [alanine aminotransferase] and AST [aspartate aminotransferase] levels that were below 100,” Dr. Hussaini said.

In an interview at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Dr. Hussaini discussed the study’s findings, what may be driving physicians to order inappropriate and costly hepatitis testing, and which strategies could reduce those trends.

SAN FRANCISCO – A majority of inpatients with suspected acute hepatitis A and acute hepatitis B underwent inappropriate ordering of lab tests for those conditions, a study in one U.S. medical center showed.

“We looked at all the patients that came into our hospital who had acute hepatitis A or acute hepatitis B panels ordered,” explained Dr. Kamran Hussaini of Saint Louis (Mo.) University.

How frequently were those labs ordered inappropriately? “What we found was that the majority of patients who had acute hepatitis A and acute hepatitis B labs had ALT [alanine aminotransferase] and AST [aspartate aminotransferase] levels that were below 100,” Dr. Hussaini said.

In an interview at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Dr. Hussaini discussed the study’s findings, what may be driving physicians to order inappropriate and costly hepatitis testing, and which strategies could reduce those trends.