Profile of Anemia in Cirrhotic Patients at the National Hospital of Niamey

Objective: To study the profile of anemia in cirrhotic patients diagnosed in the Hepato-Gastroenterology (HGE) department of the National Hospital of Niamey. Patients and Method: This was a prospective and descriptive study carried out from August 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024, including cirrhotic patients, with anemia on the blood count, outside of any recent blood transfusion and/or treatment. History of anemia. Results: The diagnosis of anemia was made in 91 patients out of the 100 cirrhotics recorded, 91%. Men were more common, with a sex ratio of 2.79. The average age was 50 ± 14.22 years old. Anemia was moderate in 52.75% of cases (n = 48). It was non-microcytic in 50.55% (n = 46) and iron deficient in 55.56% of cases (n = 20). There was a statistically significant correlation between the severity of anemia and upper gastrointestinal bleeding with a p-value = 0.000. Conclusion: Cirrhotic anemia is multifactorial, which makes its etiological diagnosis complex.

Assessment of Liver Fibrosis in HBsAg-Negative and Anti HBc Positive Patients

Background: Surface antigen (HBsAg) is the mean marker of hepatitis B virus infection. During the course of the infection, some patients lose the HBsAg and only the presence of anti-HBc antibody indicates previous contact with the virus. Among these patients, some have detectable viral load (occult infection) but most without viral replication. There is no guideline regarding these patients. The aim of this study was to assess hepatic fibrosis in patients with only the hepatitis B virus contact marker “total anti-HBc”. Patients and methods: it was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study, conducted in three private hospitals from January to August 2022. Were included HBsAg-negative and HBc-positive patients, consulting in Gastroenterology departments. Noninvasive methods (APRI, FIB-4 and FIBROSCAN) were used to evaluate liver stiffness because of their easy accessibility and low-cost. The hepatic fibrosis was considered significant when the score determined by APRI, FIB-4 and FIBROSCAN® tests was respectively greater than 1.5;2.67 and 8 kPa corresponding to fibrosis level 2 (F2). Results: A total of 63 HBsAg-negative/total HBcAg-positive patients were included. The mean age was 49.9 ± 13.4 years. The male/female sex ratio was 1.78. Of the 63 patients, 19 had significant liver fibrosis (30.1%) among which 9 patients had HCC. The FIB-4 score outperformed the APRI score in assessing liver fibrosis, with a sensitivity of 84.2%, a specificity of 100% and a negative predictive value of 93.6%. In univariate analysis, there was a significant association between the occurrence of significant liver fibrosis and age over 40 years, dyslipidaemia, obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking, herbal medicine, negative anti-HBs immunological status and detectable viral load. Conclusion: Our study revealed a high prevalence of significant to severe hepatic fibrosis in anti-HBc positive patients. In most of the cases, the fibrosis was severe. Progression to HCC has also been possible. There is no consensus on the follow-up strategy for those patients. However, screening for hepatic fibrosis using noninvasive methods should be recommended for patients aged over 40 years, alcohol or herbal medicine users, patients with metabolic syndrome or occult hepatitis B. In HBsAg-negative/anti-HBc-positive patients, liver stiffness should be evaluated and if it is greater than F2, HCC screening should be started.