Discontinuation of immunosuppression in patients with immune-mediated drug-induced liver injury or idiopathic autoimmune hepatitis: A case-control study.

Background And Aim: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) may present with autoimmune features and require immunosuppressive therapy (IST) to reach biochemical response. Discontinuation of IST without hepatitis relapse may be more frequent in these patients as compared to patients with classical autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). We aimed to determine baseline characteristics and outcome of patients with immune-mediated drug induced liver injury (IMDILI) with particular emphasis on IST during follow-up.

Inevitability of disease recurrence after liver transplantation for NAFLD cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Liver transplantation (LT) is the only available treatment for end-stage non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (related decompensated cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma). The aim of our study was to evaluate the risk of disease recurrence after LT and the factors influencing it.

Method: This retrospective multicenter study included adults transplanted for NAFLD cirrhosis between 2000 and 2019 in 20 participating French-speaking centers.

Underlying disease for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement predicts short- and long-term mortality.

Background: PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) is a well established endoscopic procedure for enteral feeding. However, patients with a shorter life expectancy will not benefit from PEG tube placement. Furthermore, some specific evolving diseases will never benefit from PEG.

Pneumococcal immunity and PCV13 vaccine response in SOT-candidates and recipients.

Background: Solid organ transplantation (SOT) candidates and recipients are highly vulnerable to invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD). Data on which to base optimal immunization recommendations for this population is scant. The national distribution of IPD serotypes led the Swiss Health Authorities to recommend in 2014 one dose of pneumococcal-13-valent-conjugate-vaccine (PCV13), without any subsequent dose of the 23-valent-polysaccharide-pneumococcal-vaccine (PPV23).

[NASH: new terminology and what else is new in 2020].

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a spectrum of hepatic pathology ranging from non-alcoholic fatty liver, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occasionally complicated with hepatic fibrosis or even cirrhosis. In order to propose a diagnosis with positive criteria, a panel of experts recently proposed the use of an alternative nomenclature, metabolic-dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) whose use remains debated. In addition, in Switzerland and elsewhere, there is strong epidemiological growth of NAFLD.

[Efficacy of new therapies].

Hepatitis D virus causes chronic hepatitis D. The virus is defective, meaning it requires simultaneous presence of hepatitis B virus within the hepatocytes to complete its viral cycle. Globally, 15 to 20 millions people are estimated to be chronically co-infected by hepatitis B and D viruses.

Long-term impact of preventive UDCA therapy after transplantation for primary biliary cholangitis.

Background & Aims: Recurrence of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) after liver transplantation (LT) is frequent and can impair graft and patient survival. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is the current standard therapy for PBC. We investigated the effect of preventive exposure to UDCA on the incidence and long-term consequences of PBC recurrence after LT.

[Liver transplantation and acute failure in chronic liver disease].

Acute cirrhotic decompensation is characterized by a rapid and sudden deterioration of hepatocellular function. It may be associated with secondary failure of one or more organs. The definition and understanding of a complex cirrhotic decompensation with multi-organ damage, is still poorly defined.

[Outpatient follow-up of liver transplant recipients: the essential role of the general practitioner].

The population of liver transplant recipients has increased in Switzerland over the last few years. Morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation are due, in the early post-transplant period, to surgical and infectious complications as well as to rejection, whereas cardiovascular, metabolic, renal and oncologic complications are the most frequent complications in the late post-transplant period. The role of the general practitioner in the long-term follow-up of liver transplant recipients is of the highest importance and can represent the first-line care of these patients as soon as 6 to 12 months post-transplantation, while maintaining a close and regular collaboration with the transplant center.

Hepatic manifestations of Wilson's disease: 12-year experience in a Swiss tertiary referral centre.

Background And Aim: Wilson’s disease is an inherited disorder of hepatic copper metabolism, leading to the accumulation of copper in the liver as well as the brain, cornea and other organs. Here, we describe the adult cases of hepatic Wilson’s disease diagnosed at the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the University Hospital Lausanne, Switzerland between September 2004 and August 2016.

Methods: Clinical manifestations, results of diagnostic tests, management and outcomes of adult patients with hepatic Wilson’s disease were assessed based on standardised medical records.

Human genomics of acute liver failure due to hepatitis B virus infection: An exome sequencing study in liver transplant recipients.

Acute liver failure (ALF) or fulminant hepatitis is a rare, yet severe outcome of infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) that carries a high mortality rate. The occurrence of a life-threatening condition upon infection with a prevalent virus in individuals without known risk factors is suggestive of pathogen-specific immune dysregulation. In the absence of established differences in HBV virulence, we hypothesized that ALF upon primary infection with HBV could be due to rare deleterious variants in the human genome.

Usefulness of a systematic approach at listing for vaccine prevention in solid organ transplant candidates.

Solid organ transplant (SOT) candidates may not be immune against potentially vaccine-preventable diseases because of insufficient immunizations and/or limited vaccine responses. We evaluated the impact on vaccine immunity at transplant of a systematic vaccinology workup at listing that included (1) pneumococcal with and without influenza immunization, (2) serology-based vaccine recommendations against measles, varicella, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis A virus, and tetanus, and (3) the documentation of vaccines and serology tests in a national electronic immunization registry (www.myvaccines.

A return to harmful alcohol consumption impacts on portal hemodynamic changes following alcoholic hepatitis.

Background: Increased hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) plays a role in the clinical manifestations of alcoholic hepatitis (AH). The evolution of HVPG and the influence of alcohol use in the intermediate term are unclear.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore HVPG modifications following AH taking into consideration alcohol use and clinical manifestations.

Low 5-year cumulative incidence of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders after solid organ transplantation in Switzerland.

Background: Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a potentially life-threatening complication of transplantation occurring in the setting of immunosuppression and oncogenic viral infections. However, little is known about the cumulative incidence, histological subtypes, risk determinants and outcome of PTLD in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients in Switzerland.

Methods: This retrospective observational study investigated adult SOT recipients from two sequential cohorts, the pre-SCTS (Swiss Transplant Cohort Study) series, with data collected from January 1986 to April 2008, and the STCS series, with data collected from May 2008 to December 2014 in Switzerland.

Geoepidemiology of Primary Biliary Cholangitis: Lessons from Switzerland.

Unlabelled: No data on primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) are available in Switzerland. We established a national patient cohort to obtain information on PBC phenotypes and disease course in Switzerland. Local databases in all university hospitals and in two large secondary centers were searched for case finding.

[Paracentesis and cirrhotic patients: should we fear hemorrhages ?].

Paracentesis is a frequent procedure, especially in patients with cirrhosis. In these patients, given the fears of severe bleeding associated with coagulation disorders as well as thrombocytopenia, we were interested to review the literature on this subject. Few studies are available and, for the moment, recommendations are of a low level of evidence.

[Portal vein thrombosis in patients with cirrhosis].

Portal vein thrombosis is frequently encountered in patients with cirrhosis. Increased indication for non-invasive imaging in patients with cirrhosis has dramatically increased the recognition of PVT. This has led to a large amount of studies on pathogenesis as well as the prognostic impact of portal vein thrombosis on natural history of cirrhosis.

The effectiveness of daclatasvir based therapy in European patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease.

Background: There is limited evidence for the effectiveness of daclatasvir in patients whose hepatitis C threatens their life expectancy. The Named Patient Program in Europe included patients with advanced chronic hepatitis C, a life expectancy of less than 12 months and no other treatment options.

Methods: A retrospective multi-country cohort of patients with chronic hepatitis C who received daclatasvir as part of the Named Patient Program in Austria, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Peribiliary Gland Dilatation in Cirrhosis: Relationship with Liver Failure and Stem Cell/Proliferation Markers.

Background And Aims: Dilated peribiliary glands (PBG) in patients with cirrhosis are often an incidental finding although their significance and physiopathology remain unclear. We aimed to identify clinical factors associated with dilated PBG and to perform a detailed morphometric assessment of dilated PBG in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT).

Methods: All consecutive cirrhotic patients undergoing LT at our institution between October 2006 and October 2011 were assessed for inclusion.