Assessment of correlation between serum titers of hepatitis c virus and severity of liver disease

AIM:The significance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) serum titers has been examined in several clinical situations. There is much evidence that patients with a lower viral load have better response rates to anti-viral therapy compared to those with higher levels.Moreover,a direct association has been observed between serum titers of HCV and transmission rates of the virus.The aim of the present study was to determine if there was any correlation between HCV viral load and the severity of liver disease. METHODS:Fifty patients with HCV infection were included in the study.These comprised of 34 subjects with a history of alcohol use and 16 non-alcoholics.Quantitative serum HCV RNA assay was carried out using the branched DNA (bDNA) technique.Linear regression analysis was performed between serum viral titers and liver tests.In addition,for the purpose of comparison,the subjects were divided into two groups:those with low viral liters (≤50 genome mEq/mL) and high titers (>50 mEq/mL). RESULTS:All subjects were men,with a mean±SD age of 47±7.8 years.The mean HCV RNA level in the blood was 76.3×10~5±109.1 genome equivalents/mL.There was no correlation between HCV RNA levels and age of the patients (r=0.181),and the history or amount (g/d) of alcohol consumption (r=0.07).Furthermore,no correlation was observed between serum HCV RNA levels and the severity of liver disease as judged by the values of serum albumin (r=0.175),bilirubin (r=0.217),ALT (r=0.06) and AST (r=0.004) levels.Similarly,no significant difference was observed between patients with low viral titers and high liters with respect to any of the parameters. CONCLUSION:Our results indicate that the severity of liver disease is independent of serum levels of hepatitis C virus.These findings are important since they have a direct impact on the current debate regarding the role of direct cytopathic effect of hepatitis C virus versus immune-mediated injury in the pathogenesis of HCV-related liver damage.

Can ultrasound predict the severity of acute pancreatitis early by observing acute fluid collection?

INTRODUCTIONThe spectrum of acute pancreatitis (AP) ranges from a mild spontaneously resolved disorder to severe disease with mortality up to 20%-48.4%[1-3]. sAP is defined as the AP with organ failure and /or local complications which developed form acute fluid collection (AFC) including necrosis ,abscess , pseudocyst formation into or around the pancreas [4].

Impact of disease severity on gastric residual volume in critical patients

AIM: To investigate whether illness severity has an impact on gastric residual volume (GRV) in medical critically ill patients. METHODS: Medical intensive care unit (ICU) patients requiring nasogastric feeding were enrolled. Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was assessed immediately preceding the start of the study. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) Ⅱ scores were recorded on the first, fourth, seventh, and fourteenth day of the study period. GRV was measured every 4 h during enteral feeding. The relationship be-tween mean daily GRV and SOFA scores and the correlation between mean daily GRV and mean APACHE Ⅱ score of all patients were evaluated and compared. RESULTS: Of the 61 patients, 43 patients were survivors and 18 patients were non-survivors. The mean daily GRV increased as SOFA scores increased (P < 0.001, analysis of variance). Mean APACHE Ⅱ scores of all patients correlated with mean daily GRV (P = 0.011, Pearson correlation) during the study period. Patients with decreasing GRV in the first 2 d had better survival than patients without decreasing GRV (P = 0.017, log rank test). CONCLUSION: GRV is higher in more severely ill medical ICU patients. Patients with decreasing GRV had lower ICU mortality than patients without decreasing GRV.

Effect of Bifidobacterium longum 35624 on disease severity and quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

BACKGROUND Bifidobacterium longum 35624 has shown efficacy in improving irritable bowel syndrome(IBS)symptoms compared with placebo in double-blind randomized studies.However,few data are available from real-life clinical practice or from studies that used Rome IV criteria to diagnose IBS.AIM To assess the effect of B.longum 35624 on IBS severity and quality of life in a reallife setting.METHODS From November 2018 to January 2020,278 patients with IBS(according to Rome IV criteria)were enrolled in a prospective,open-label,multicenter observational study by private practice gastroenterologists to received one capsule of B.longum 35624(10^(9) colony-forming units)per day for 30 d.Participation in the study was independently proposed to patients during spontaneous consultations.Disease severity(assessed by the IBS severity scoring system)and patient quality of life(assessed by the IBS quality of life questionnaire)were compared between the inclusion visit(baseline)and the visit at the end of 30 d of treatment.The characteristics of patients were described at baseline.Continuous variables comparisons between inclusion and end-of-treatment visits were performed using the t-test and Kruskal-Wallis test.Categorical variables comparisons were performed using theχ^(2) test.RESULTSA total of 233 patients,with a mean age of 51.4 years and composed of 71.2%women,were included in the study.Of these patients,48.1%had moderate IBS and 46.4%had severe IBS.After a 30-d treatment period with one B.longum 35624 capsule per day,a significant decrease in IBS severity was observed compared to baseline(mean±SD,IBS severity scoring system scores:208±104 vs 303±81,P<0.001)and 57%of patients moved to lower severity categories or achieved remission.The quality of life of patients was also improved by the treatment(IBS Quality of Life questionnaire score:68.8±20.9 vs 60.2±20.5;P<0.001)and 63.8%of patients were satisfied with the treatment.CONCLUSION Thirty days of treatment with B.longum 35624 reduces disease severity and improves the quality of life of patients with IBS,particularly those with the most severe forms of IBS.

Severity of gastroesophageal reflux disease influences daytime somnolence: A clinical study of 134 patients underwent upper panendoscopy

AIM: To asses the relationship between severity of gastroesophageal refluxe disease and Epworth sleepiness scale as an indicator of daytime somnolence. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-four patients underwent an upper panendoscopy as indicated by the typical reflux symptoms and were also investigated with regard to somnolence. Sleepiness was evaluated by Epworth Sleepiness Scale, which was compared to the severity of endoscopic findings (Savary-Miller/modified by Siewert). Patients with psychiatric disorders or being on sedato-hypnotics as well as shift workers were excluded from the study. The relationship between the severity of the reflux disease and daytime somnolence was analyzed with the help of multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: A positive tendency was found between the severity of the reflux disease and the corresponding Epworth Sleepiness Scale. In the case of the more severe type-Savary-Miller Ⅲ- at least a mild hypersomnia was found. For this group daytime somnolence was significantly higher than in the case of the non-erosive type of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease representing the mildest stage of reflux disease. CONCLUSION: The severity of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease influences daytime somnolence.

Role of oxygen free radicals in patients with acute pancreatitis

AIM:The generation of oxygen free radicals has been implicated in the pathogenesis of experimental pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to determine the role of oxygen free radicals in patients with acute pancreatitis. METHODS:The plasma levels of C-reactive protein(CRP), lipid peroxide(LPO),myeloperoxidase(MPO)and superoxide dismutase(SOD)were measured in 13 patients with acute pancreatitis and 14 healthy volunteers. RESULTS:Among the patients with acute pancreatitis,there were higher plasma levels of LPO and MPO and lower SOD activity in patients with severe pancreatitis than in those with mild pancreatitis.However,there was no significant difference in the serum marker of oxidative stress no matter what the etiology was.The LPO level was especially correlated with the concentration of serum CRP and CT severity index. CONCLUSION:The oxygen free radicals may be closely associated with inflammatory process and the severity of acute pancreatitis.Especially,the concentration of plasma LPO is a meaningful index for determining the severity of the disease.

Expression of lipopolysaccharide binding protein and its receptor CD14 in experimental alcoholic liver disease

AIM: To evaluate the relationship between the expression of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) binding protein (LBP) and CD14 mRNA and the severity of liver injury in alcohol-fed rats. METHODS: Twenty Wistar rats were divided into two groups:ethanol-fed group (group E) and control group (group C). Group E was fed with ethanol(5-12 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and group C received dextrose instead of ethanol. Rats of the two groups were sacrificed at 4 weeks and 8 weeks. Levels of endotoxin and alanine transaminase (ALT) in blood were measured, and liver pathology was observed under light and electronic microscopy. Expressions of LBP and CD14 mRNA in liver tissues were determined by RT-PCR analysis. RESULTS: Plasma endotoxin levels were increased more significantly in group E(129+/-21) ng x L(-1) and (187+/-35) ng x L(-1) at 4 and 8 wk than in control rats(48+/-9) ng x L(-1) and (53+/-11) ng x L(-1), respectively (P【0.05). Mean values of plasma ALT levels were (1867+/-250) nkat x L(-1) and (2450+/-367) nkat x L(-1) in Group E. The values were increased more dramatically in ethanol-fed rats than in Group C after 4 and 8 weeks. In liver section from ethanol-fed rats, there were marked pathological changes (steatosis, cell infiltration and necrosis). In ethanol-fed rats, ethanol administration led to a significant increase in LBP and CD14 mRNA levels compared with the control group (P【0.05). CONCLUSION: Ethanol administration led to a significant increase in endotoxin levels in serum and LBP and CD14 mRNA expressions in liver tissues. The increase of LBP and CD14 mRNA expression might wake the liver more sensitive to endotoxin and liver injury.

Model for end-stage liver disease score versus Child score in predicting the outcome of surgical procedures in patients with cirrhosis

AIM： To determine factors affecting the outcome of patients with cirrhosis undergoing surgery and to compare the capacities of the Child-Turcotte-Pugh （CTP） and model for end-stage liver disease （MELD） score to predict that outcome. METHODS： We reviewed the charts of 195 patients with cirrhosis who underwent surgery at two teaching hospitals over a five-year period. The combined endpoint of death or hepatic decompensation was considered to be the primary endpoint. RESULTS： Patients who reached the endpoint had a higher MELD score, a higher CTP score and were more likely to have undergone an urgent procedure. Among patients undergoing elective surgical procedures, no statistically significant difference was noted in the mean MELD （12.8 ＋ 3.9 vs 12.6 ＋ 4.7, P = 0.9） or in the mean CTP （7.6 ± 1.2 vs 7.7 ± 1.7, P = 0.8） between patients who reached the endpoint and those who did not. Both mean scores were higher in the patients reaching the endpoint in the case of urgent procedures （MELD： 22.4 ± 8.7 vs 15.2 ± 6.4, P = 0.0007; CTP： 9.9 ± 1.8 vs 8.5 ± 1.8, P = 0.008）. The performances of the MELD and CTP scores in predicting the outcome of urgent surgery were only fair, without a significant difference between them （AUC = 0.755 ± 0.066 for MELD vs AUC = 0.696 ± 0.070 for CTP, P = 0.3）. CONCLUSION： The CTP and MELD scores performed equally, but only fairly in predicting the outcome of urgent surgical procedures. Larger studies are needed to better define the factors capable of predicting the outcome of elective surgical procedures in patients with cirrhosis.equally, but only fairly in predicting the outcome of urgent surgical procedures. Larger studies are needed to better define the factors capable of predicting the outcome of elective surgical procedures in patients with cirrhosis.

Helicobacter pyloriin gastric corpus of patients 20 years after partial gastric resection

AIM:To determine the long-term prevalence of Helicobacter pylori(H pylori)gastritis in patients after partial gastric resection due to peptic ulcer,and to compare the severity of Hpylori-positive gastritis in the corpus mucosa between partial gastrectomy patients and matched controls. METHODS:Endoscopic biopsies were obtained from 57 patients after partial gastric resection for histological examination using hematoxylin/eosin and Warthin-Starry staining.Gastritis was graded according to the updated Sydney system.Severity of corpus gastritis was compared between Hpylori-positive partial gastrectomy patients and Hpylori-positive duodenal ulcer patients matched for age and gender. RESULTS:In partial gastrectomy patients,surgery was performed 20 years(median)prior to evaluation.In 25 patients(43.8%)Hpyloriwas detected histologically in the gastric remnant.Gastric atrophy was more common in H pylori-positive compared to H pylori-negative partial gastrectomy patients(P<0.05).The severity of corpus gastritis was significantly lower in Hpylori-positive partial gastrectomy patients compared to duodenal ulcer patients (P<0.01).There were no significant differences in the activity of gastritis,atrophy and intestinal metaplasia between the two groups. CONCLUSION:The long-term prevalence of Hpylorigastritis in the gastric corpus of patients who underwent partial gastric resection due to peptic ulcer disease is comparable to the general population.The expression of Hpylorigastritis in the gastric remnant does not resemble the gastric cancer phenotype.

Epidemiology of respiratory distress and the illness severity in late preterm or term infants： a prospective multi-center study

Background The severity of respiratory distress was associated with neonatal prognosis. This study aimed to explore the clinical characteristics, therapeutic interventions and short-term outcomes of late preterm or term infants who required respiratory support, and compare the usage of different illness severity assessment tools.Methods Seven neonatal intensive care units in tertiary hospitals were recruited. From November 2008 to October 2009, neonates born at ≥34 weeks＇ gestational age, admitted at 〈72 hours of age, requiring continuous positive airway pressure （CPAP） or mechanical ventilation for respiratory support were enrolled. Clinical data including demographic variables, underlying disease, complications, therapeutic interventions and short-term outcomes were collected. All infants were divided into three groups by Acute care of at-risk newborns （ACoRN） Respiratory Score 〈5, 5-8, and 〉8.Results During the study period, 503 newborn late preterm or term infants required respiratory support. The mean gestational age was （36.8±2.2） weeks, mean birth weight was （2734.5±603.5） g. The majority of the neonates were male （69.4%）, late preterm （63.3%）, delivered by cesarean section （74.8%）, admitted in the first day of life （89.3%） and outborn （born at other hospitals, 76.9%）. Of the cesarean section, 51.1% were performed electively. Infants in the severe group were more mature, had the highest rate of elective cesarean section, Apgar score 〈7 at 5 minutes and resuscitated with intubation, the in-hospital mortality increased significantly. In total, 58.1% of the patients were supported with mechanical ventilation and 17.3% received high frequency oscillation. Adjunctive therapies were commonly needed.Higher rate of infants in severe group needed mechanical ventilation or high frequency oscillation, volume expansion,bicarbonate infusion or vasopressors therapy （P 〈0.05）. The incidence of complications was also increased significantly in severe group （P 〈0.05）. The in-hospital mortality in the severe group was significantly higher than other two groups （P〈0.05）. ACoRN Respiratory Score was correlated with Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology-Version Ⅱ （SNAP-Ⅱ） （P〈0.01）. High gestational age, high SNAP-Ⅱ score and oxygenation index （OI）, and Apgar score at 5 minutes 〈5 were independent risks for death.Conclusions Neonatal respiratory distress is still a common cause of hospitalization in China. Illness severity assessment is important for the management. ACoRN Respiratory Score which correlated with SNAP-Ⅱ score is easy to use and may be helpful in facilitating the caregivers in local hospital to identify the early signs and make the transfer decision promptly.

Chronic liver disease questionnaire:Translation and validation in Thais

AIM:Quality of life (QOL) is a concept that incorporates many aspects of life beyond“health”.The chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ) was developed to evaluate the impact of chronic liver diseases (CLD) on QOL.The objectives of this study were to translate and validate a liver specific questionnaire,the CLDQ. METHODS:The CLDQ was formally translated from the original version to Thai language with permission.The translation process included forward translation,back translation,cross-cultural adaptation and a pretest.Reliability and validity of the translated version was examined in CLD patients.Enrolled subjects included CLD and normal subjects with age- and sex-matched.Collected data were demography, physical findings and biochemical tests.All subjects were asked to complete the translated versions of CLDQ and SF- 36,which was previously validated.Cronbach's alpha and test-retest were performed for reliability analysis.One-way Anova or non-parametric method was used to determine discriminant validity.Speerman's rank correlation was used to assess convergent validity.P-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS:A total of 200 subjects were recruited into the study,with 150 CLD and 50 normal subjects.Mean ages (SD) were 47.3(11.7) and 49.1(8.5) years,respectively.The number of chronic hepatitis:cirrhosis was 76:74,and the ratio of cirrhotic patients classified as Child A:B:C was 37 (50%):26(35%):11(15%).Cronbach's alpha of the overall CLDQ scores was 0.96 and of all domains were higher than 0.93.Item-total correlation was>0.45.Test-retest reliability done at 1 to 4 wk apart was 0.88 for the average CLDQ score and from 0.68 to 0.90 for domain scores.The CLDQ was found to have discriminant validity.The highest scores of CLDQ domains were in the normal group,scores were lower in the compensated group and lowest in the decompensated group.The significant correlation between domains of the CLDQ and SF-36 was found.The average CLDQ score was strongly correlated with the general health domain of SF-36.(P=0.69:P=0.01). CONCLUSION:The translated CLDQ is valid and applicable in Thais with CLD.CLDQ reveals that QOL in these patients is lower than that in normal population.QOL is more impaired in advanced stage of CLD.

Severe hypercholesterolemia associated with primary biliary cirrhosis in a 44-year-old Japanese woman

A 44-year-old woman developed jaundice and was diagnosed as stage Ⅱ of primary biliary cirrhosis(PBC).She showed a severely high total cholesterol level.This article focuses on atypical presentations of PBC and the need to test the total cholesterol level of PBC patients.

Scoring systems in critically ill: Which one to use in cancer patients?

BACKGROUND Scoring systems have not been evaluated in oncology patients.We aimed to assess the performance of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation(APACHE)II,APACHE III,APACHE IV,Simplified Acute Physiology Score(SAPS)II,SAPS III,Mortality Probability Model(MPM)II0 and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment(SOFA)score in critically ill oncology patients.AIM To compare the efficacy of seven commonly employed scoring systems to predict outcomes of critically ill cancer patients.METHODS We conducted a retrospective analysis of 400 consecutive cancer patients admitted in the medical intensive care unit over a two-year period.Primary outcome was hospital mortality and the secondary outcome measure was comparison of various scoring systems in predicting hospital mortality.RESULTS In our study,the overall intensive care unit and hospital mortality was 43.5%and 57.8%,respectively.All of the seven tested scores underestimated mortality.The mortality as predicted by MPM II0 predicted death rate(PDR)was nearest to the actual mortality followed by that predicted by APACHE II,with a standardized mortality rate(SMR)of 1.305 and 1.547,respectively.The best calibration was shown by the APACHE III score(χ^(2)=4.704,P=0.788).On the other hand,SOFA score(χ^(2)=15.966,P=0.025)had the worst calibration,although the difference was not statistically significant.All of the seven scores had acceptable discrimination with good efficacy however,SAPS III PDR and MPM II0 PDR(AUROC=0.762),had a better performance as compared to others.The correlation between the different scoring systems was significant(P<0.001).CONCLUSION All the severity scores were tested under-predicted mortality in the present study.As the difference in efficacy and performance was not statistically significant,the choice of scoring system used may depend on the ease of use and local preferences.

Organ dysfunction as a risk factor for early severe acute pancreatitis

We read with interest the review paper by Tao et al. on thetopic of early severe acute pancreatifis (EASP, defined as severeacute pancreatitis according to the Altanta criteria, with organdysfunction within 72 h after the start of symptoms) in a recentissue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology. It addressesan important problem in patients with severe acute pancreatitis,namely early organ dysfunction and its effect on outcomes.

The effect of L-arginine on the progression of chronic renal scarring in remnant kidney

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of L-arginine (L-arg) on early compensatory renal growth (CRG), tubulointerstitial accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), long term survival rate and renal scarring in rats with 5/6 nephrectomy (SNx). METHODS: The experiment included four groups of rats (n = 5 each group): (1) Sham group, (2) SNx group, (3) SNx + L-arg group, and (4) Sham + L-arg group (L-arg 1% in drinking water). Parameters related with CRG and early tubulointerstitial expression of ECM and alpha smooth muscle actin (alphaSMA) were evaluated by immunohistochemistry at day 30. The survival rate and the extent of renal scarring in the rats were observed at day 120. RESULTS: L-arg significantly increased the early CRG of SNx rats as determined by the wet kidney weight (P

Hemiparesis in carotid cavernous fistulas (CCFs): a case report and review of the literature

Carotid-cavernous fistulas (CCFs) are abnormal arteriovenous anastamoses between the carotid artery and the cavernous sinus. These fistulas may be classified by cause (spontaneous or traumatic), flow velocity (high or low), or pathogenesis (direct or indirect). The most commonly adopted classification is that described by Barrow based on arterial supply. Traumatic CCFs are almost always direct shunts between the internal carotid artery (ICA) and the cavernous sinus. General features of CCFs, which may be apparent with any lesion, including bruit, headache, loss of vision, altered mental status and neurological deficits. Some fistulae may present primarily with hemorrhage before any evaluation can be performed. However, hemiparesis has been rarely observed. Only a literature review of Murata et al reported a case of hemiparesis caused by posttraumatic CCF, in which the fistula resulted in venous hypertension and subsequent brainstem congestion. While in our case, cerebral infarction was caused by total steal of the blood flow. The patient recovered after occlusion of the fistula with a detachable balloon.

A primary study on TRISS in a Chinese hospital

Objective: To investigate a revision of the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) weight coefficients in order to overcome the inference from foreign coefficients on Chinese trauma scoring. Methods: The data of 1 297 Chinese trauma patients were studied for trauma scoring with the Revised Trauma Score Injury Severity Score TRISS (RTS ISS TRISS) system to get a serial of new weight coefficients through analyzing a multivariation logical regression between the outcome and the injury severity. Results: ISS was higher but the Age Score and probability of survival (Ps) of the death group were lower than those of the survival group. New values of RTS ISS Age coefficients differed from the Major Trauma Outcome Study (MTOS) ones, through which the constant b 0 decreased its negative value, and ISS weight b 2 increased its negative value, but RTS weight b 1 and age weight b 3 changed with the trauma types. MTOSs values and new values of weight coefficients were used on 1 297 patients for prognosis by calculating Ps. The accuracy of new values ( 90.13 %) was a little higher than that of MTOSs (89.5%), with a promotion in specialization but a loss in sensitivity. Conclusions: A revision of TRISSs weight coefficients is either necessary or feasible. To achieve this purpose, a Chinese trauma database with large capacity is recommended.