MODIFICAZIONI ECOGRAFICHE DELLA LINFADENOPATIA DELL’ILO EPATICO DOPO ERADICAZIONE DELL’HCV CON DIRECT-ACTING ANTIVIRALS

A) Valutare le modificazioni ecografiche (US) dei linfonodi (LN) dell’ilo epatico in pazienti con epatopatia cronica (EC) correlata al virus dell’epatite C (HCV) e Sustained Virological Responders (SVR) alla terapia con i Direct-Acting Antivirals (DAAs); B) rilevare i fattori predittivi correlati con la scomparsa di LN. Abbiamo studiato 177 pazienti, trattati con DAAs, arruolati consecutivamente tra il Gennaio 2015 e il Dicembre 2016, con un follow-up dell’SVR di 24 mesi (SVR24) a Dicembre 2018; erano esclusi i pazienti con storia o insorgenza di epatocarcinoma nel follow-up. I LN erano definiti ingranditi (LN+) se il diametro maggiore era >1 cm. Al baseline (BL) registravamo: età, sesso…

Minor hepatic resection using heat coagulative necrosis

Intra- and postoperative bleeding represents an extremely serious and frequent complication of hepatic surgery. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a radiofrequency (RF) device using heat to cause coagulative necrosis of the hepatic parenchyma to control hemostasis in minor hepatic resection. Between December 2005 and November 2007, a study was conducted of 21 patients undergoing 22 hepatic resections with the RF-assisted technique. Sixteen of these were affected by hepatocellular carcinoma and five had liver metastases from colorectal cancer. Intraoperative blood loss, the need for blood transfusion, the complication rates, operating times, and the duration of postoperative h…

Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Natural History of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma is increasing in many countries. The estimated number of new cases annually is over 500,000, and the yearly incidence comprises between 2.5 and 7% of patients with liver cirrhosis. The incidence varies between different geographic areas, being higher in developing areas; males are predominantly affected, with a 2:3 male/female ratio. The heterogeneous geographic distribution reflects the epidemiologic impact of the main etiologic factors and environmental risk, which are the hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) viruses. The percentage of cases of hepatocellular carcinoma attributable to HBV worldwide is 52.3% and is higher in Asia where the serop…

Interleukin-6 and its soluble receptor in patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To evaluate the immunohistochemical localization of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) on tumor tissue specimens from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the serum levels of IL-6 and sIL-6R in a group of patients with HCC as well as liver cirrhosis (LC) in a group of patients with LC alone and in a control group. METHODS: Three groups of subjects were studied: group I (n = 83) suffering from HCC and LC, group II (n = 72) suffering from LC alone and group III (n = 42) as healthy controls. All patients had hepatitis C virus infection. Serum IL-6 and IL-6R levels were determined using a commercially available ELISA kit. Immunohistochemistry was performed using the…

Variazioni emodinamiche del circolo epatico in pazienti con bright liver ecopattern e sindrome metabolica

Prevalence of depressive symptomatology among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: COVID-19 and the policies to contain it have been a social problem and public health emer-gency for people in Italy in 2020. The aim of the study is assessing the prevalence of depression symptoms among nursing students from the University of Palermo during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: The study employed a cross-sectional study design. On April 2020, a survey was performed including all the nursing students of the University of Palermo. The survey was structured into two parts. The first part consisted in the collection of socio-demographic information, the second in the administration of the QIDS-SR16 questionnaire. A multivariable logistic regression model was…

Ultrasound detection of abdominal lymph nodes in chronic liver diseases. A retrospective analysis

Aim: To retrospectively evaluate the prevalence of lymph nodes of the hepato-duodenal ligament in a group of patients with chronic liver disease of various aetiologies and to investigate what clinical, aetiological and laboratory data may lead to their appearance. Materials and methods: One thousand and three patients (554 men, 449 women) were studied, including 557 with chronic hepatitis and 446 with liver cirrhosis. The presence of lymph nodes near the trunk of the portal vein, hepatic artery, celiac axis, superior mesenteric vein and pancreas head was investigated using ultrasound. Results: Lymph nodes were detected in 394 out of the 1003 study patients (39.3%); their number ranged from …

Il bright liver echopattern come strumento diagnostico non invasivo di steatosi nell'ipertransaminasemia criptogenetica

Usefullness of abdominal ultrasound in celiac disease: diagnosis anf follow-up

Un caso di schistosomiasi: utilità dello score ecografico dell'Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità

Liver steatosis and metabolic syndrome: prevalence and correlation with metabolic parameters and ultrasonography evaluation of abdominal fat

Association Between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Cyclooxygenase-2, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A Genes, and Susceptibility to Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are mediators of inflammation and angiogenesis; all of them are produced in liver cirrhosis (LC) and in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It was proposed that there is an association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and HCC. These allelic variants influence the transcriptional activity of these genes, and therefore the proteins levels. The VEGF-A pathway is a potential therapeutic target in HCC, and several antiangiogenic agents have entered clinical trials in HCC. We evaluated the frequency of SNPs of COX-2, TNF-α, and VEGF-A genes in patients with HCC versus LC patients…

Insufficienza renale acuta in paziente con carcinoma epatocellulare sottoposto a chemioembolizzazione transarteriosa

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is included among the wide therapeutic tools for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), tumour with high frequency and malignancy. The approach is invasive and, beyond the discomfort for the patient, it is charged by a number of side effects and complications. In this study we report the case of renal acute failure of hypovolemic origin, as a consequence of a TACE in a patient suffering from HCC, occurred after one week of intervention. The different possible mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of this complication are discussed.

Utilità dell’ecografia intestinale nei pazienti con malattia celiaca a sierologia negativa

Disfunzione endoteliale e malattia carotidea in pazienti con bright liver echopattern

Diagnostica non invasiva delle varici esofagee nei pazienti con cirrosi epatica: dati ecografici vs dati endoscopici

The aim of this study was to identify possible clinical, biochemical or instrumental markers which can predict in a non-invasive manner the presence of EV. One hundred and fifty-eight consecutive liver cirrhotic patients seen at our outpatient clinic were included in this study. The diagnosis of LC was done on liver biopsy findings or based on instru m e n t a l , clinical and serological data. Patients underwent EGE, ultra - sound of the upper abdomen, Doppler of the main splancnic vessels and the main parameters of liver function were tested. Liver cirrhosis was mostly correlated to hepatitis C virus and most patients were class A according to Child. At EGE, EV w e re absent in 41 patient…