Hyponatremia & Cirrhosis: New Insights, New Therapeutic Choices

Program Description
Patients with advanced cirrhosis develop hypervolemic or dilutional hyponatremia, which is recognized as a predictive factor of negative outcomes, such as poor quality-of-life, hospitalization, and early mortality. Hyponatremia in cirrhosis almost always occurs in patients with advanced liver failure, making exact identification of the consequences of hyponatremia difficult.

This program is intended to inform physicians about new insights regarding the therapeutic and management options for the treatment of hyponatremia in these patients. It will also provide physicians with the latest informed thinking about how to incorporate new therapeutic insights into clinical practice, in order to better manage patients.

Target Audience
This activity is intended for hepatologists and other physicians who treat patients with liver disease.

Learning Objectives
This program is designed to address the following IOM competencies: provide patient-centered care and employ evidence-based practice.

At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to demonstrate improved ability to:

1. Discuss the pathogenesis and underlying mechanisms of hyponatremia associated with liver disease
2. Identify the clinical manifestations, sequelae, and complications associated with hyponatremia of liver disease
3. Determine appropriate treatment strategies and the role of emerging agents to improve patient outcomes

Conflict of Interest Policy
The Potomac Center for Medical Education (PCME) adheres to the policies and guidelines, including the Standards for Commercial Support, set forth to providers by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and all other professional organizations, as applicable, stating those activities where continuing education credits are awarded must be balanced, independent, objective, and scientifically rigorous.

All persons in a position to control the content of a continuing medical education program sponsored by the Potomac Center for Medical Education are required to disclose any relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest to PCME as well as to learners. All conflicts are identified and resolved by PCME in accordance with the Standards for Commercial Support in advance of delivery of the activity to learners. Disclosures will be made known to the participants prior to the activity.

The content of this activity was vetted by an external medical reviewer to assure objectivity and that the activity is free of commercial bias.

The faculty reported the following relevant financial relationships that they or their spouse/partner have with commercial interests:

Douglas M. Heuman, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF: Research Support: Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Exelixis, Novartis, Osiris, Otsuka, Scynexis

Mónica Guevara, MD, PhD: Nothing to Disclose

Robert W. Schrier, MD: Nothing to Disclose

Planner and Manager Disclosures

Non-faculty content contributors and/or reviewers reported the following relevant financial relationships that they or their spouse/partner have with commercial interests:

Barry Watkins, PhD; Bradley Pine; Blair St. Amand; Jay Katz; Dana Simpler, MD: Nothing to Disclose

Accreditation
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the Potomac Center for Medical Education and Rockpointe Corporation. The Potomac Center for Medical Education is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Designation Statement
The Potomac Center for Medical Education designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

For questions regarding CME credit, the post-test, or evaluation, please email contact@potomacme.org.

Statement of Commercial Support
This program is supported through an educational grant from Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.

FDA Disclosure
The contents of some CME activities may contain discussions of non-approved or off-label uses of some agents mentioned. Please consult the prescribing information for full disclosure of approved uses.

System Requirements
In order to view this presentation, your computer must have audio capabilities (working speakers or headphones) and must have an Adobe Flash Player. The Adobe Flash Player can be downloaded here.

Instructions for Participants and Obtaining CME Credit
There is no fee for this activity. To receive credit, participants must take the pre-test, view this CME activity in its entirety, and then complete the post-test and evaluation. To complete the evaluation online, choose the best answer to each question. The estimated time for completion of this activity is 1 hour. To receive and print their certificates, participants must demonstrate mastery of the presented material via the post-test.

Jointly Sponsored by PCME and Rockpointe Corporation