Worldwide Alcohol related Liver Disease Outcomes study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Worldwide Alcohol related Liver Disease Outcomes study
IRAS ID
254195
Contact name
Richard Parker
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
9 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Alcohol related liver disease (ArLD) is a common disease that causes significant ill health and premature deaths. ArLD is by far the commonest cause of liver-related deaths in the UK. Despite its prevalence, research into ArLD has historically been underfunded. As a consequence, understanding and treatments for ArLD have lagged behind compared to other, less common, liver diseases.
The Worldwide ArLD Outcomes (WALDO) study is designed to be a comprehensive natural history study of ArLD and to underpin the design of a universally applicable assessment system in ArLD. This will improve our knowledge of the course of the disease and improve the consistency of assessment, allowing improvements in both clinical and academic management of ArLD.
To do this WALDO will use routinely collected medical data from a number of centres to create a cohort of patients with biopsy-proven ALD. No additional tests are planned and no additional sources of data will be used other than the medical notes in each contributing centre. Fully anonymised data will be pooled to allow for evaluation of medical outcomes in the first stage of the project, which will describe the natural history of ArLD. In the second stage of the study, the assessment of liver biopsies in ArLD will be addressed using digital pathology techniques to allow the development of a system of histological assessment that is firmly linked to patient-relevant outcomes.REC name
London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/2132
Date of REC Opinion
7 Dec 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion