Morbidity and mortality after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement in patients with cirrhosis.

Objectives: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is adopted to treat refractory complications of portal hypertension, such as variceal bleeding and ascites. This study aimed to assess predictors of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) development and cumulative transplant-free survival after TIPS placement in patients with cirrhosis complicated by refractory ascites and major gastroesophageal bleeding.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-three cirrhotic patients who underwent TIPS positioning as a secondary prophylaxis of major upper gastroesophageal bleeding (N=30) or to control refractory ascites (N=33) were enrolled.

Correction: Real-life data on potential drug-drug interactions in patients with chronic hepatitis C viral infection undergoing antiviral therapy with interferon-free DAAs in the PITER Cohort Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Real-life data on potential drug-drug interactions in patients with chronic hepatitis C viral infection undergoing antiviral therapy with interferon-free DAAs in the PITER Cohort Study.

Background: There are few real-life data on the potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) between anti-HCV direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and the comedications used.

Aim: To assess the potential DDIs of DAAs in HCV-infected outpatients, according to the severity of liver disease and comedication used in a prospective multicentric study.

Methods: Data from patients in 15 clinical centers who had started a DAA regimen and were receiving comedications during March 2015 to March 2016 were prospectively evaluated.

 Usefulness of acoustic radiation force impulse and fibrotest in liver fibrosis assessment after liver transplant.

Unlabelled:  Background and rationale. Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) is a non-invasive tool used in the evaluation of liver fibrosis in HCV positive immune-competent patients. This study aimed to assess the accuracy of ARFI in discriminating liver transplanted patients with different graft fibrosis severity and to verify whether ARFI, eventually combined with non-invasive biochemical tests, could spare liver biopsies.

Protease inhibitors-based therapy induces acquired spherocytic-like anaemia and ineffective erythropoiesis in chronic hepatitis C virus patients.

Background & Aims: The addition of protease inhibitors, boceprevir (BOC) or telaprevir (TRV), to peg-interferon and ribavirin (PR) increases the incidence of anaemia in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Although genetic variants in inosine triphosphatase (ITPA) gene have been linked to the haemolytic anaemia induced by PR, the mechanism sustaining severe anaemia during triple therapy is still unknown. This study aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying anaemia in chronic HCV patients with combined therapy.

Genetic polymorphisms of vitamin D pathway predict antiviral treatment outcome in slow responder naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Vitamin D serum levels seem to influence antiviral response in chronic hepatitis C. Vitamin D pathway is controlled by genes presenting functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Data regarding the association between these polymorphisms and the rate of sustained viral response (SVR) following antiviral treatment in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are largely incomplete.