Impact of sepsis and non-communicable diseases on prognostic models to predict the outcome of hospitalized chronic liver disease patients

AIM To evaluate the impact of sepsis and non-communicable diseases(NCDs) on the outcome of decompensated chronic liver disease(CLD) patients.METHODSIn this cross-sectional study, medical records of patients with CLD admitted to the Gastroenterology unit at the Aga Khan University Hospital were reviewed.Patients older than 18 years with decompensation of CLD(i.e., jaundice, ascites,encephalopathy, and/or upper gastrointestinal bleed) as the primary reason for admission were included, while those who were admitted for reasons other than decompensation of CLD were excluded. Each patient was followed for 6 wk after index admission to assess mortality, prolonged hospital stay(> 5 d), and early readmission(within 7 d).RESULTS A total of 399 patients were enrolled. The mean age was 54.3 ± 11.7 years and64.6%(n = 258) were male. Six-week mortality was 13%(n = 52). Prolonged hospital stay and readmission were present in 18%(n = 72) and 7%(n = 28) of patients, respectively. NCDs were found in 47.4%(n = 189) of patients. Acute kidney injury, sepsis, and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction were found in41%(n = 165), 17.5%(n = 70), and 1.75%(n = 7) of patients, respectively. Upon multivariate analysis, acute kidney injury, non-ST elevation myocardial infarction, sepsis, and coagulopathy were found to be statistically significant predictors of mortality. While chronic kidney disease(CKD), low albumin, and high Model for End-Stage Liver Disease(MELD)-Na score were found to be statistically significant predictors of morbidity. Addition of sepsis in conventionalMELD score predicted mortality even better than MELD-Na(area under receiver operating characteristic: 0.735 vs 0.686; P < 0.001). Among NCDs, CKD was found to increase morbidity independently.CONCLUSION Addition of sepsis improved the predictability of MELD score as a prognostic marker for mortality in patients with CLD. Presence of CKD increases the morbidity of patients with CLD.

Changes in Serum Lipid Profile among Patients Suffering from Chronic Liver Disease Secondary to Hepatitis C

Objective: To find out the changes in lipid metabolism among patients suffering from chronic liver disease secondary to hepatitis C. Study Design: Hospital based observational study. Setting: Medical Unit-I, Ward–5, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi. Duration: July 2013 to December 2013. Patients and Methods: About 110 patients admitted in Medical Unit-I with a diagnosis of chronic liver disease were included in the study. Patients suffering from DM, HTN, CKD were excluded from the study. Fasting lipid profile was done in all cases. Results and Observations: There were 44 (40%) male and 66 (60%) female patients. Mean age of the patients was 50.18 (±11.7) years. Total cholesterol was decreased in 76 (69.09%) patients. Normal range was present in 34 (30.91%) patients. None of the patient had hypercholesterolemia. Serum triglyceride levels were low in 14 (12.72%) patients, normal in 82 (74.54%), borderline high in 7 (6.36%) and hypertriglyceridemia was seen in 7 (6.36%). HDL-c was below normal in 26 (23.63%) cases, normal in 78 (70.91%), and high in 6 (5.45%). LDL was near optimal/above optimal in only 5 (4.5%) patients. Mean TC/HDL ratio was 2.53 (±1.02). Mean LDL/HDL ratio was 1.23 (±0.73). Mean TC of HCV +ve patients was 130.5 mg/dl as compared to that of HCV –ve patients which was 82.85 mg/dl (P-value: 0.011). Mean TGs of HCV +ve group was 151.5 mg/dl while that of HCV –ve was 79.9 mg/dl (P-value: 0.025). Mean HDL & LDL levels were 43.67 mg/dl and 39.78 mg/dl in HCV group while 34.83 mg/dl & 64.67 mg/dl in the other group with P-value of 0.026 and 0.081 respectively. Conclusion: When it comes to its relationship with lipid metabolism, HCV is a remarkable virus. Its interaction with lipoproteins and its ability to induce massive steatosis are quite unique and idiosyncratic. Despite of causing hepatic steatosis, chronic HCV infection is associated with a paradoxically favorable lipid profile, although its reason cannot be enlightened precisely. There is a need for very well settled molecular and genetic studies to well understand HCV infection and lipid metabolism.

Partial Splenic Artery Embolization in Cirrhosis Is a Safe and Useful Procedure

Background: Portal Hypertension is a common complication of cirrhosis. It leads to splenomegaly which manifests with features of hypersplenism. This results in leucopenia which increases the likelihood of sepsis and prevents treatment with interferon. Thrombocytopenia increases the risk of bleeding including variceal bleeds which make the anemia worse. This study was done to determine the usefulness and safety of partial splenic artery embolization (PSAE) in portal hypertension due to cirrhosis. Methods: Patients with PSAE were identified by using International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 coding from medical records and their charts were reviewed retrospectively. 25 patients underwent splenic artery embolization at The Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi from November 2000 to December 2016. 18 patients who underwent PSAE for disabling hypersplenism caused by cirrhosis were included. Patients who were under 18 year of age, or in whom PSAE were performed for reasons other than cirrhosis and those with missing records/incomplete data were excluded (n = 7). Information was collected regarding demographic details, procedure indications, nature, technique, clinical efficacy, repeat embolization and complications along with laboratory and radiological investigations. Results: Eighteen patients of cirrhosis with a mean age of 43.47 ± 10.926 years, of which 14 were males, underwent PSAE (19 procedures). Indications were severe hypersplenism which precluded treatment with interferon and ribavirin (n = 8) and recurrent Gastro-oesophageal variceal (GOV) bleeds due to advanced Child-Pugh grade and thrombocytopenia (n = 10). Hematological parameters improved significantly following PSAE. Three out of eight patients successfully completed interferon + ribavirin treatment for hepatitis C (HCV) infection post PSAE, and GOV bleeds stopped in eight out of 10 patients. Complications included mild Left upper quadrant (LUQ) abdominal pain n = 9 (47.3%), post-embolization syndrome n = 4 (21%), and clinically insignificant pleural effusion n = 4 (21%). One patient developed spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) which was appropriately managed. One patient needed re-emobilization after 6 months. Conclusion: PSAE is a safe and effective procedure in the treatment of hypersplenism due to cirrhosis.

Rapid Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Eradication of Hepatitis C Virus with Directly Acting Antiviral Treatment

Hepatitis C is a major risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), arising typically on a background of liver cirrhosis. Treatment of hepatitis C has been revolutionized by the addition of oral direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) with sustained virological response (SVR) rates above 90%. There is a recent concern under debate about the increased risk of early HCC recurrence in patients with chronic hepatitis C who were treated with direct-acting antivirals. Nonetheless, these reports mostly focused on patients who were cirrhotic and were already treated for HCC. We report 4 cases of treatment naive, chronic hepatitis C patients who were treated with DAAs and rapidly developed infiltrative HCC despite achieving SVR. Moreover, in our scenario, one of the patients appeared clinically non-cirrhotic until he developed HCC.