BALLETS - 10 Year Follow Up
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Birmingham and Lambeth Liver Evaluation Testing Strategies - 10 Year Follow Up
IRAS ID
246575
Contact name
Richard J Lilford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
We recruited 1290 patients in primary care who had an abnormal liver function test (LFT) in a study called Birmingham and Lambeth Liver Evaluation Testing Strategies (BALLETS). While only a small proportion had a serious disease we found that 40% had fat on the liver on ultrasound examination. Many people think that fat on the liver ('fatty liver')is a serious problem that requires follow up and treatment but accurate data on this point is lacking. The BALLETS patients have been fully characterised so we can find out when fat is serious and needs to be treated and when it is innocent. We want to follow up the patients who contributed to BALLETS by using routinely available data to see who has died or come to hospital for liver disease over the 13 years since BALLETS began.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/WM/0071
Date of REC Opinion
26 Mar 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion