Vanishing bile duct and Stevens-Johnson syndrome associated with ciprofloxacin treated with tacrolimus

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) is a serious and potentially life-threatening disease. Vanishing bile duct syndrome (VBDS) is a rare cause of progressive cholestasis. Both syndromes are mostly related with drugs. We report a case of a patient with ciprofloxacin-induced SJS and acute onset of VBDS, and reviewed the related literature. It is the fi rst case of ciprofloxacin-induced VBDS successfully treated with tacrolimus. This case reminds physicians of the importance of drug reactions, their severity, techniques for diagnosis and methods of management.

Intrahepatic and peripheral T-cell responses in genotype 1b hepatitis C virus-infected patients with persistently normal and elevated aminotransferase levels

AIM： To evaluate whether the cytokine responses in liver and serum differ in chronic hepatitis C patients with normal and high alanine aminotransferase （ALT） levels. METHODS： Thirty-three （16 with normal ALT level as group 1 and 17 with elevated ALT level as group 2） patients infected with genotype lb hepatitis C virus （HCV） were examined. Liver infiltrating lymphomononuclear cells （LILMCs） were isolated from liver biopsy by collagenase type 1 and stimulated with phytohemagglutinin and interleukin 2 （IL-2）. IL-10, IL-12, interferon gamma （IFN-γ） and tumor necrosis factor alpha （TNF-α were determined in serum and LILMCs by ELISA. RESULTS： Serum cytokine levels were similar in both groups （P〉0.05）. Stimulated IFN-γ and TNF-α levels in LILMCs were increased in both groups. IL-12 and IL-10 levels stimulated with IL-2 were higher in group 1 than in group 2 （P = 0.023）. Histological activity index （HAI） and stage had a negative correlation with TNF-α and IFN-γ levels in group 2. CONCLUSION： Increased T-helper type 2 （Th2） cytokine response may regress inflammatory and biochemical activity. Progression of histological abnormalities in persons with elevated ALT probably depends on insufficient Th2 cytokine response, which does not balance Th1 cytokine response.

What is the impact of capsule endoscopy in the long term period?

AIM: To assess the clinical impact of capsule endoscopy(CE) in the long-term follow-up period in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding(OGIB). METHODS: One hundred and forty-one patients who applied CE for OGIB between 2009 and 2012 were retrospectively analyzed, and this cohort was then questioned prospectively. Demographic data of the patients were determined via the presence of comorbid diseases, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs anticoagulant-antiaggregant agents, previous diagnostic tests for bleeding episodes, CE findings, laboratory tests and outcomes.RESULTS: CE was performed on 141 patients becauseof OGIB. The capsule was retained in the upper gastrointestinal(GI) system in two of the patients, thus video monitoring was not achieved. There were 139 patients [62% male, median age: 72 years(range: 13-93 years) and a median follow-up duration: 32 mo(range: 6-82 mo)]. The overall diagnostic yield of CE was 84.9%. Rebleeding was determined in 40.3%(56/139) of the patients. The rebleeding rates of patients with positive and negative capsule results at the end of the follow-up were 46.6%(55/118) and 4.8%(1/21), respectively. In the multivariate analysis, usage of NSAIDs, anticoagulant-antiaggregant therapies(OR = 5.8; 95%CI: 1.86-18.27) and vascular ectasia(OR = 6.02; 95%CI: 2.568-14.146) in CE were detected as independent predictors of rebleeding. In the univariate analysis, advanced age, comorbidity, and overt bleeding were detected as predictors of rebleeding.CONCLUSION: CE is a reliable method in the diagnosis of obscure GI bleeding. Negative CE correlated with a significantly lower rebleeding risk in the long-term follow-up period.

Current state and clinical outcome in Turkish patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM To investigate clinical, etiological, and prognostic features in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.METHODS Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who were followed-up from 2001 to 2011 were included in the study. The diagnosis was established by histopathological and/or radiological criteria. We retrospectively reviewed clinical and laboratory data, etiology of primary liver disease, imaging characteristics and treatments. ChildPugh and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage was determined at initial diagnosis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was done to find out treatment effect on survival. Risk factors for vascular invasion and overall survival were investigated by multivariate Cox regression analyses. RESULTS Five hundred and forty-five patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were included in the study. Viral hepatitis was prevalent and 68 patients either had normal liver or were non-cirrhotic. Overall median survival was 16(13-19) mo. Presence of extrahepatic metastasis was associated with larger tumor size(OR = 3.19, 95%CI: 1.14-10.6). Independent predictor variables of vascular invasion were AFP(OR = 2.95, 95%CI: 1.38-6.31), total tumor diameter(OR = 3.14, 95%CI: 1.01-9.77), and hepatitis B infection( OR = 5.37, 95 % CI : 1.23-23.39). Liver functional reserve, tumor size/extension, AFP level and primary treatment modality were independent predictors of overall survival. Transarterial chemoembolization(HR = 0.38, 95%CI: 0.28-0.51) and radioembolization(HR = 0.36, 95%CI: 0.18-0.74) provided a comparable survival benefit in the real life setting. Surgical treatments as resection and transplantation were found to be associated with the best survival compared with loco-regional treatments(log-rank, P < 0.001).CONCLUSION Baseline liver function, oncologic features including AFP level and primary treatment modality determines overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Risk factors associated with progression to intestinal complications of Crohn disease

Background:Crohn disease is a chronic bowel disease that causes serious complications. Prevalence of Crohn disease is increasing. Studies have shown that the behavior of the disease is not stable and severe complications secondary to behavior change over time have been shown. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prognostic risk factors associated with phenotypic change in Crohn disease in a Turkish patient cohort.Methods:Patients followed up from March 1986 to August 2011 were evaluated for demographic and clinical characteristics to determine possible risk factors and initial clinical phenotype of the disease based on the Montreal classification. The cumulative probabilities of developing stricturing or penetrating intestinal complications were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox-proportional hazard models were used to assess associations between baseline clinical characteristics and intestinal complications.Results:Three hundred and thirty patients (mean age, 30.6 ± 11.1 years;148 female) were included in the study. Mean follow-up duration was 7.4 ± 5.3 years (range: 1.0-25.0 years). At baseline 273 patients had inflammatory-type disease, 57 patients experienced stricturing/penetrating intestinal complications before or at the time of diagnosis. The cumulative probability of developing complicated disease was 37.4% at 5 years, 54.3% at 10 years, 78.8% at 25 years. Independent predictors associated with progression to intestinal complications were current smoking, perianal disease, extra-intestinal manifestations, and location of disease.Conclusions:Location of disease is the most powerful indicator for the development of stenosis and penetrating complications in inflammatory-type disease. Patients with ileal involvement should be considered for more aggressive immunosuppressive therapy.

A mysterious cause of recurrent acute liver dysfunction for over a decade

Introduction Acute liver failure(ALF)is an uncommon disease in pediatric cases.Etiology includes infections,autoimmune diseases,inborn errors of metabolism,and intoxications.Metabolic disorders account for 25%of resolved cases.However,the etiology remains unknown in half of pediatric ALF[1].The recognition of molecular etiopathogenesis has been facilitated after the common use of next-generation sequencing techniques.Recently,biallelic variants in neuroblastoma-amplified sequence(NBAS),Leucyl-tRNA synthetase 1(LARS1),and RAD50-interacting protein(RINT1)were identified in recurrent ALF(RALF)[2–4].