Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among new outpatients with dyspepsia in Kuwait.

Background: Testing and treatment for Helicobacter pylori has become widely accepted as the approach of choice for patients with chronic dyspepsia but no alarming features. We evaluated H. pylori status among outpatients with uninvestigated dyspepsia in Kuwait.

Appropriateness of indication and diagnostic yield of colonoscopy: first report based on the 2000 guidelines of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Aim: To assess the appropriateness of referrals and to determine the diagnostic yield of colonoscopy according to the 2000 guidelines of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

Methods: A total of 736 consecutive patients (415 males, 321 females; mean age 43.6+/-16.

Peginterferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin with or without amantadine [correction of amantidine] for the treatment of non-responders to standard interferon and ribavirin.

Background: A significant proportion of hepatitis C patients treated with unmodified interferon plus ribavirin fail to respond. The optimal therapy for these patients has not been established yet. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of peginterferon plus ribavirin with or without amantidine in such patients.

Peginterferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 4.

Background: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype is an important predictive parameter for the success of pegylated interferon plus ribavirin therapy. To date, most published therapeutic trials have enrolled patients infected mainly with HCV genotypes 1, 2, and 3. Data regarding the responsiveness of genotype 4, the predominant type of HCV in the Middle East, are very limited.

CLIP score as a prognostic indicator for hepatocellular carcinoma: experience with patients in the Middle East.

Objective: To assess the prognostic ability of the Cancer of the Liver Italian Programme (CLIP) score and compare it with the Okuda system in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma from the Middle East, where the majority (70%) present with intermediate or advanced stages of the disease and do not receive any tumour-specific treatment.

Methods: The medical records of 145 patients (113 males; mean age, 58.8 +/- 12.