A woman with a long history of abdominal pain

Current practice of chronic hepatitis B treatment in Southern Italy

Abstract Background Treatment choice for chronic HBV infection is a continuously evolving issue, with a wide range of options. We aimed to evaluate the current practice of HBV therapies in the real world in Southern Italy. Methods A prospective study enrolling over a six month period (February–July 2010) all consecutive HBsAg positive subjects, never previously treated, referred to 16 liver units in two Southern Italy regions (Calabria and Sicily). Results Out of 247 subjects evaluated, 116 (46.9%) had HBV-DNA undetectable or lower than 2000 UI/ml. There were 108 (43.7%) inactive carriers, 103 (41.7%) chronic hepatitis, and 36 (14.6%) liver cirrhosis. Antiviral treatment was planned in 94 (…

Occult HBV infection and suppression of HCV replication in the early phase of combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C

Occult HBV infection in subjects with chronic hepatitis C is related to more severe disease outcome. It has been suggested that it might reduce sensitivity to antiviral treatment.To assess in HBsAg negative subjects with chronic hepatitis C any effect of the presence of HBV genomes in the liver on the early kinetics of HCV-RNA under PEG-IFN plus ribavirin.Twenty-two anti-HCV and HCV-RNA positive subjects, with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C (M/F 15/7; 50 +/- 8.6 years, 16 genotype 1b) were given PEG-IFN alpha 2b 1.0 microg qw plus ribavirin (800 to 1,200 mg daily according to body weight) for an intended 52 week period. Early virological response was assessed over the first 4 weeks of th…

Clinical outcome of HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B in relation to virological response to lamivudine.

The effect of lamivudine treatment on the outcome of patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis is unclear. In a retrospective multicenter study, we have analyzed the virological events observed during lamivudine therapy in patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis and evaluated the correlation between virological response and clinical outcomes. Among 656 patients (mean age 49.1 years) included in the database, 54% had chronic hepatitis, 30% had Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) A cirrhosis, and 16% had CTP B/C cirrhosis. On therapy (median 22 months, range 1–66), a virological response was obtained in 616 patients (93.9%). The rate of maintained virological respons…

Umbilical hernioplasty in cirrhotic patients with ascites A case control study

Umbilical hernia is a very frequent pathology, and plastic with prosthetic material is the most frequently used surgical procedure currently used for its repair. In patients with cirrhosis in asciic phase, this pathology is particularly frequent, with a tendency to rapidly increase in size and to become symptomatic. In the past treatment with traditional surgery in cirrhotic patients was considered problematic and was viewed with reserve, and only recently is the surgical approach recommended also in these patients. This study is aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of open umbilical hernia plastic with prosthetic material in cirrhotic and ascitic patients.Our case-control study was…

Corrigendum to ‘An international genome-wide meta-analysis of primary biliary cholangitis: Novel risk loci and candidate drugs’ [J Hepatol 2021;75(3):572–581] (Journal of Hepatology (2021) 75(3) (572–581), (S0168827821003342), (10.1016/j.jhep.2021.04.055))

It has come to our attention that the name of one of the authors in our manuscript was incorrectly spelled ‘Jinyoung Byan’; the correct spelling is ‘Jinyoung Byun’ as in the author list above. In addition, the excel files of the supplementary tables were not included during the online publication of our article. These have now been made available online. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

HCV infection is a risk factor for gallstone disease in liver cirrhosis: an Italian epidemiological survey

We assessed the prevalence of gallbladder disease (i.e. gallstones plus cholecystectomy) among patients with liver disease and its association with the severity and aetiology of hepatic injury. Subjects, referred to 79 Italian hospitals, were enrolled in a 6-month period. The independent effect of the severity and aetiology of liver disease on gallstone disease prevalence was assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis. Overall, 4867 subjects tested anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive alone, 839 were hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) alone, and 652 had an excessive alcohol intake. The prevalence of gallstone disease was 23.3% in anti-HCV-positive patients, 12.4% in HBsAg pos…

Recurrent sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease: the efficacy of minimal subcutaneous excision of the sinus and unroofing of pseudocystic cavity

I pazienti sottoposti a intervento chirurgico per malattia pilonidale sono ad alto rischio di sviluppare una recidiva. La nostra analisi prospettica è stata eseguita per valutare l’esito del trattamento della malattia pilonidale recidiva, mediante escissione sottocutanea minima del tramite fistoloso e della cute sopra la cisti, con Recurrent pilonidal disease guarigione per seconda intenzione. 48 pazienti consecutivi con precedente asportazione chirurgica di malattia pilonidale e attuale recidiva, sono stati sottoposti a chirurgia da gennaio 2009 a dicembre 2016, in anestesia locale. L’età dei pazienti (42 maschi e 6 femmine) al momento della nostra osservazione era di 28.5 ± 10.2 anni, il …

Inguinal hernioplasty in patients with cirrhosis and ascites: what preventive measures are needed for a safe procedure?

Inguinal hernioplasty in patients with LC and ascites has been long discouraged for the incidence of postoperative complications. The aim is to evaluate the appropriateness of this elective surgical procedure in patients with LC and ascites.Thirty consecutive LC patients with ascites and affected by inguinal hernia (LC group), who underwent elective open inguinal hernioplasty with mesh placement, have been matched with the same number of patients non-LC (non-LC group) who underwent the same surgical procedure in the same period of time. All patients in LC group received a careful hepatological assessment and were classified according to the etiology of LC and to the Child's class. Patients …