Clinical and microbiological characteristics of bacterial infections in patients with cirrhosis. A prospective cohort study from Argentina and Uruguay.

Introduction And Objectives: there is insufficient data regarding bacterial infections in patients with cirrhosis to support recommendations for empiric antibiotic treatments, particularly in Latin America. This study aimed to evaluate bacterial infection's clinical impact and microbiological characteristics, intending to serve as a platform to revise current practices.

Materials And Methods: multicenter prospective cohort study of patients with cirrhosis and bacterial infections from Argentina and Uruguay.

Norfloxacin prophylaxis effect on multidrug resistance in patients with cirrhosis and bacterial infections.

It is unclear whether norfloxacin predisposes to infections by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). We aimed to evaluate if patients with cirrhosis receiving norfloxacin prophylaxis at the time of the diagnosis of bacterial infections were more likely to present a multidrug-resistant isolate than those without prophylaxis. This is a cross-sectional study of hospitalized patients with cirrhosis and bacterial infections from Argentina and Uruguay (NCT03919032) from September 2018 to December 2020.

Hepatic Sarcoidosis: Lesson Based on a Case Report.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic disease of unknown etiology that can involve lungs, abdominal organs, and lymph nodes. The incidence of sarcoidosis is highest between the ages of 20 and 40 years, and it affects both sexes equally. The most frequent localization is in the lungs, and about half of the affected patients are generally asymptomatic but can involve in small percentages of various other parts such as the biliary tract, pancreas, stomach, and urinary tract.

NETME: on-the-fly knowledge network construction from biomedical literature.

Background: The rapidly increasing biological literature is a key resource to automatically extract and gain knowledge concerning biological elements and their relations. Knowledge Networks are helpful tools in the context of biological knowledge discovery and modeling.

Results: We introduce a novel system called , which, starting from a set of full-texts obtained from , through an easy-to-use web interface, interactively extracts biological elements from ontological databases and then synthesizes a network inferring relations among such elements.

Decompensated cirrhosis and liver transplantation negatively impact in DAA treatment response: Real-world experience from HCV-LALREAN cohort.

Introduction: Although the effectiveness of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been reported in real-world settings, predictive factors of treatment failure are lacking. Therefore, we sought to explore the baseline predictors of treatment response to DAAs.

Methods: This was a prospective multicenter cohort study from the Latin American Liver Research Educational and Awareness Network (LALREAN) including patients who received DAA treatment from May 2016 to April 2019.

Argentinian clinical practice guideline for surveillance, diagnosis, staging and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The A.A.E.

Disease Progression in Patients With Hepatitis C Virus Infection Treated With Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents.

Background & Aims: Little is known about how a sustained virologic response (SVR) to treatment of hepatitis C virus infection with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) affects patient mortality and development of new liver-related events. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of disease progression in patients treated with DAAs.

Methods: We performed a prospective multicenter cohort study of 1760 patients who received DAA treatment at 23 hospitals in Latin America, from May 1, 2016, through November 21, 2019.

Treatment with direct-acting antivirals for HCV decreases but does not eliminate the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: Data from Europe and North America have been published regarding the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after treatment with direct antiviral agents (DAA). We proposed to evaluate cumulative incidence and associated risk factors for de novo HCC.

Methods: This was a prospective multicentre cohort study from Latin America including 1400 F1-F4-treated patients with DAAs (F3-F4 n = 1017).

Access to direct-acting antivirals for the treatment of hepatitis C in a country with limited resources.

Aims: To estimate the number of patients that have access to treatment of hepatitis C with direct-acting antivirals in Argentina and evaluate the factors associated with the lack of access.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted that included all the consecutive prescriptions of direct-acting antivirals issued at health centers that participated in the ECHOTM telemedicine project directed by the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, within the time frame of January 2016 and February 2017.

Results: A total of 143 treatment prescriptions were included and overall access was 70% (95% CI 62-77%).

Effectiveness and safety of original and generic sofosbuvir for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C: A real world study.

We report the first real-world prospective multicenter cohort study that evaluated the effectiveness and safety of original or generic sofosbuvir-based regimens in patients with chronic hepatitis C in Latin America. The main endpoints were assessment of sustained virological response and serious adverse events rates. A total of 321 patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with the following regimens were included: sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir for 12 (n = 34) or 24 (n = 135) weeks, sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir plus ribavirin for 12 (n = 84) or 24 (n = 56) weeks, or sofosbuvir plus ribavirin for 12 (n = 8) or 24 (n = 2) weeks.

Clinical epidemiology of acute hepatitis C in South America.

There is scarce data pertaining to acute hepatitis C (aHC) infection in South America. We aimed to describe clinical characteristics and evolution of aHC in a South American cohort. A retrospective survey was conducted at 13 hepatology units.

Pre-treatment prediction of response to peginterferon plus ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C genotype 3.

Aim: To evaluate pre-treatment factors associated with sustained virological response (SVR) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 3 treated with peginterferon and ribavirin (RBV).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed treatment naive, mono-infected HCV genotype 3 patients treated with peginterferon and RBV. Exclusion criteria included presence of other liver disease, alcohol consumption and African American or Asian ethnicity.

Validation of the number connection test for identifying patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

Objectives: Hepatic encephalopathy is a serious neuropsychiatric complication in advanced liver disease. The affected patients exhibit alterations in psychomotor and intellectual functions. The aims of this study were to identif the set ofnormal values for the number connection tests (NCT-A and NCT-B) in a population of volunteers without liver disease, to compare the values from this reference population with those from patients with cirrhosis without hepatic encephalopathy.

[The Dubin-Johnson syndrome: case report and review of literature].

The Dubin-Johnson syndrome is a hereditary deficiency in the excretion ofconjugated bilirrubin by hepatocytes characterized by chronic hyperbilirubinemia, alteration in coproporphyrin metabolism, and intracellular deposition of a dark melanin-like pigment giving the liver a typical black cast. We report a 28-year-old male patient who presented conjunctival jaundice and conjugated-hyperbilirubinemia without no other alteration in hepatic biochemistry. The diagnosis of this syndrome was perfomed by using the low-risk methods of laparoscopy-facilitated hepatic biopsy and oral cholecystography In contrast, we avoided the classical Bromsulphalein test because of potential severe side effects.

[Severe acute hepatitis associated with intake of Aloe vera tea].

We present a 26-year-old man who developed severe acute hepatitis after consumption of an Aloe vera tea. On admission, the patient showed characteristic biochemical and clinical features of acute hepatitis and liver failure. The patient reported that he had been drinking an Aloe vera tea 2-4 weeks before symptom onset.

Urinary albumin excretion in elderly patients with white coat hypertension.

The so-called white coat effect occurs in about 42% of elderly patients. This phenomenon leads to several problems in treatment and may also cause renal disease. One of the most frequently controlled parameters is microalbuminuria, an index of renal damage.

[Liver damage in workers exposed to hydrocarbons].

Background And Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of hypertransaminasemia (hTAMSemia) as an indicator of liver damage and to establish the association of this hepatotoxicity with exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, and xylene [BTX]) among workers in a petrochemical company.

Patients And Method: The medical records of 167 industrial employees, 95 with hydrocarbon exposure (EHCs) and 72 without exposure (NEHCs) were reviewed. Age, sex, number of years employed, body mass index, and biochemical and hematological parameters were evaluated.

[Liver dysfunction in recipients of hematopoietic stem cells. Impact on mortality].

Liver disease is a well-known cause of early morbidity and mortality affecting 80% of patients receiving allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation (BMT). Drug toxicity, veno-occlusive disease (VOD), acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and fungal, bacterial, and viral infections are the most frequent hepatic complications during this period. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the prevalence and etiology of liver disease and its impact on mortality as well as to assess the predictive value of pre BMT hepatic biochemical tests on the subsequent occurrence of acute and/or chronic GVHD and patient mortality.

[When is the best time to perform upper digestive endoscopy to detect the presence of esophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis?].

Introduction: Variceal hemorrhage occurs in 25 to 35% of cirrhotic patients and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and elevated hospital costs. Endoscopic exploration of gastroesophageal varices (GEV) in cirrhotic patients increases costs and involves a certain degree of invasiveness and discomfort for patients. The association between the presence of GEV and spleen size, liver function and platelet count is controversial.

[Prevalence of hepatic involvement, alcoholism, hepatis B, C and HIV in patients with background history of drug use].

Unlabelled: Drug addicts frequently have liver diseases for different reasons: alcohol abuse, the drugs themselves, but more often hepatitis B and C infections. AIDS is common in this population as well and could also affect the liver directly or in the form of hepatocellular or biliary damage. We conducted this study to determine the prevalence of liver diseases, alcoholism, hepatitis B and C infections, and HIV positivity in this population.

[Sexual transmission of Hepatitis C virus].

Fifty heterosexual partners out of 50 patients (index cases) without confirmed or probable risk factors of parenteral transmission by HCV were studied from 1/1997 to 1/2001. The index cases were HCV Ab (+) (EIA 3rd Abbott and PCR + by RT-nested PCR). The couples with probable or confirmed risk factors of parenteral transmission were strictly excluded.

[Acute liver failure: clinical-epidemiological characteristics].

In order to ascertain the clinical and epidemiological features of acute liver failure (ALF), we analyzed the clinical histories of 22 patients from La Plata city, with the diagnosis of ALF (prothrombin level or factor V below 50%) seen between November 1996 and November 2000. Age, sex, hepatic encephalopathy, reason for consultation, etiology, hepatic biochemical tests, serum creatinine, glycemia, digestive hemorrhage, course and treatment variables were analyzed. What is remarkable is the high frequency of the toxic etiology and of infection by HDV, as well as the high prevalence of ascites and the low incidence of hepatic encephalopathy.

[Acute liver failure by diphenylhydantoin].

Diphenylhydantoin is a anticonvulsivant and antiarrhythmic drug. We reported a less frequent case of diphenylhydantoin associated acute hepatotoxicity in a 18-year old woman who immediately after child birth presented generalized tonic-clonic seizures secondary to arachnoid cyst in the left temporal-lobe. The patient developed a mononucleosis like coinciding with previous descriptions.

[Anti HCV in hemodialyzed patients: reduction of the prevalence and association with epidemiological variables].

In order to establish the present prevalence of HCV in hemodialyzed patients (HD) from the city of La Plata, and to know the association between the prevalence and different variables, we have studied 217 hemodialyzed patients belonged to the Hemodialysis Unit of a Public Hospital and other 7 private Units. Serological reactivity to Anti HCV and Anti HBc IgG were investigated in all of them, as well as age, sex, number of transfusions, the time under dialysis treatment, the use of erythropoietin and hepatitis episodes were taken into account. We have found a prevalence of Anti HCV of 18.

[Solitary primary cerebral echinococcosis. Report of a case].

Introduction And Aims: Echinococcosis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus granulosus. Hydatid cysts are mainly diagnosed in adults except for primary cerebral localisation which is electively observed in childhood owing to the early manifestation of signs and/or symptoms of the space-occupying mass. In July 1995 P.