Publications by authors named "George Kontos"
Background And Aims: Hepatitis D virus (HDV) underdiagnosis remains common. We assessed the HDV screening and prevalence rates in HBsAg-positive patients seen at tertiary liver centres throughout Greece as well as factors affecting HDV diagnosis.
Methods: All adult HBsAg-positive patients seen within the last 5 years were included.
The optimal duration of treatment with nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) for patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is unknown. The aim of this study was to identify an immune signature associated with off-treatment remission to NA therapy. We performed microarray analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) from six patients with chronic hepatitis B who stopped NA therapy (three with off-treatment remission, three with relapse) and five patients with chronic HBV infection (previously termed 'inactive carriers') served as controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Only limited data concerning hepatitis B (HBV) and C viruses (HCV) coinfection are available. Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) may be more effective for HCV clearance than interferon (IFN)-based regimens with a risk of HBV reactivation.
Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 40 HBV/HCV-coinfected patients to evaluate their clinical profile and treatment outcomes.
Background: The diagnosis of bacterial infection in cirrhotic patients may be difficult, because of the absence of classical signs such as fever and raised white blood cell count. The role of C-reactive protein (CRP) in this context has not been clearly defined.
Methods: Clinical and laboratory characteristics of 210 consecutive cirrhotic patients with (n=100) or without (n=110) bacterial infection were compared with a control group of non-cirrhotic patients with infection (n=106).
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the effectiveness of low-genetic barrier nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapies on reducing serum hepatitis B s antigen (HBsAg) levels in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients over a long-term period.
- A total of 99 patients treated for over 66 months with low-genetic barrier NAs showed a significant decrease in HBsAg levels, but the overall rate of decline was slow.
- The findings suggest that while lower baseline HBsAg levels are associated with better responses during treatment, there is no significant difference in HBsAg decline between low- and high-genetic barrier NAs.
Background: The aim of our study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of triple therapy using boceprevir (BOC) with pegylated interferon (pIFN)/ribavirin (RBV) in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) genotype 1 (G1) treatment-experienced patients with advanced fibrosis or compensated cirrhosis.
Methods: We report the Greek experience on the first CHC patients who received BOC-based regimen. From September 2011 to June 2012, 26 treatment-experienced CHC patients and G1 with bridging fibrosis or compensated cirrhosis received 48 weeks of BOC+pIFN+RBV antiviral therapy.
Background/aim: Patients with HBV-related decompensated cirrhosis (HBV-DeCi) should be treated with potent nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA)[entecavir (ETV) or tenofovir (TDF)]. The aim was the evaluation of safety and efficacy in terms of changes in liver disease course in HBV-DeCi patients treated with ETV or TDF.
Methods: In 52 HBV-DeCi patients clinical and laboratory data, including glomerular filtration rates (GFR), were recorded.