Since 2013, highly effective direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) has become available, with cure rates exceeding 95%. For the choice of optimal CHC treatment, an assessment of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype (GT) and liver fibrosis stage is necessary. Information about the distribution of these parameters among CHC patients in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (the Baltic states) and especially in Ukraine is scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Malignant melanoma is becoming more common among middle-aged individuals all over the world. Melanoma metastasis can be found in various organs, although metastases to the spleen and stomach are rare. Herein we present a rare metastatic multifocal melanoma, clinically and histologically mimicking lymphoma, with metastases of multiple organs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFApproximately 20% of cirrhotic patients with ascites develop umbilical herniation. These patients usually suffer from multisystemic complications of cirrhosis, have a significantly higher risk of infection, and require accurate surveillance- especially in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The rupture of an umbilical hernia, is an uncommon, life-threatening complication of large-volume ascites and end-stage liver disease resulting in spontaneous paracentesis, also known as Flood syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare, idiopathic, usually benign, mass-forming disease with myofibroblastic proliferation and a varying amount of inflammatory cells. Although it can affect various organs, the biliary tract is a rare localization of primary IMT, clinically, endoscopically and radiologically imitating cholangiocarcinoma. The treatment options are based only on clinical practice experience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The optimal approach for patients with gallbladder stones and intermediate risk of choledocholithiasis remains undetermined. The use of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for diagnosis should be minimized as it carries considerable risk of postprocedural complications, and nowadays, less invasive and safer techniques are available.
Objective: This study compares the two management strategies of endoscopic ultrasound before laparoscopic cholecystectomy and intraoperative cholangiography for patients with symptomatic cholecystolithiasis and intermediate risk of choledocholithiasis.
Background: Hepatic angiosarcoma is an uncommon, malignant, primary liver tumor, comprising 2% of liver cancers and accounting for < 1% of all sarcomas. Patients usually present with nonspecific symptoms, such as fatigue, weight loss, right upper quadrant pain, anemia, which leads to late diagnosis of an advanced stage tumor. The median life expectancy after the diagnosis of hepatic angiosarcoma is about 6 months, with only 3% of patients surviving more than 2 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Differentiation between benign and malignant subepithelial lesions (SELs) in the upper gastrointestinal tract (UGT) leads to far-reaching clinical consequences. An accurate diagnosis can be challenging because of the insufficient diagnostic yield of upper endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and different types of biopsy.
Aim: Our aim was to reveal the efficacy of upper endoscopic and EUS features for the differential diagnosis of hypoechogenic SELs (gastrointestinal stromal tumors [GISTs] and leiomyomas) in the UGT.
Background: Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a multisystemic mass forming immune-mediated disease that affects almost every organ and is a diagnostic challenge for every clinician. There is a lack of adequate epidemiological data worldwide, and evidence-based treatment recommendations are not yet established. We report the first case of IgG4-RD from Lithuania and the Baltic Sea region presented with thyroiditis, orbital myositis, orbitopathy, uveitis, scleritis, sialadenitis, autoimmune pancreatitis and prostatitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Differential diagnosis between extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue and inflammatory bowel disease is mainly based on histopathologic evaluation of intestinal biopsies, although there is no single definitive diagnostic investigation and that circumstance can lead to misdiagnosis in particular cases. Herein we present a rare, ulcerative form of marginal zone lymphoma which mimics the Crohn's disease (CD) of upper digestive tract.
Case Summary: A 50-year-old man was presented with recurrent episodes of malaise and melena also weight loss.
Background: Liver cirrhosis is a chronic hepatic disease which is associated with cardiovascular abnormalities. Hyperdynamic circulation in liver cirrhosis causes functional and structural cardiac alterations. The prevalence of left ventricle diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in cirrhotic patients ranges from 25.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Portal vein thrombosis is associated with a decrease in the main blood velocity in this vessel. While most studies examine etiological factors of portal vein thrombosis after its occurrence, we aimed to evaluate portal vessels and assess whether mild acute pancreatitis affects blood flow in the portal vein and increases the risk of thrombosis. : This prospective single centered follow-up study enrolled 66 adult participants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Ectopic pancreas is an infrequent submucosal tumor in the gastrointestinal tract defined as a pancreatic tissue lacking vascular or anatomic continuity with the main body of the pancreas. Ectopic pancreas in the ileum is a rare and often an incidental finding. We report a case of ectopic pancreas in the ileum causing obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and episodes of abdominal pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMedicina (Kaunas)
September 2018
: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major causative agent of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the western world. The efficacy of surveillance programs for early detection of HCC is not satisfactory: many tumors are diagnosed at the late, incurable stages. Therefore, there is a need in reliable prognostic markers for the proper follow-up of HCV-positive patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnited European Gastroenterol J
April 2018
Background: Accurate risk evaluation of choledocholithiasis prior to laparoscopic cholecystectomy is essential to determine optimal management strategy.
Objective: Our study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of separate predictors and Vilnius University Hospital Index (VUHI = A/30 + 0.4 × B; A = total bilirubin concentration (µmol/l), B = common bile duct (CBD) diameter (mm) measured by ultrasound) diagnosing choledocholithiasis and to assess different management strategies (cholecystectomy with intraoperative cholangiography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)).
Background And Purpose: Contradictory data exist on the association between host interleukin-28B () rs12979860 genotype and liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). This large, international, observational study (NCT01675427/MV25600) investigated relationships between rs12979860 genotype and liver fibrosis stage in CHC patients.
Methods: A total of 3003 adult, treatment-naive CHC patients were enrolled into the study.
Wideochir Inne Tech Maloinwazyjne
July 2016
Introduction: Accurate diagnosis of subepithelial lesions (SELs) in the gastrointestinal tract depends on a variety of methods: endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound and different types of biopsy. Making an error-free diagnosis is vital for the subsequent application of an appropriate treatment.
Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of deep biopsy via the endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) technique for SELs in the upper gastrointestinal tract.
Endoscopic therapy is the principal method of treatment for esophageal varices. The recurrence of varices is still common following endoscopic treatment. The aim was to identify predictive factors for variceal recurrence detected by endosonography.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Variceal recurrence following endoscopic band ligation (EBL) is common. Esophageal collateral veins (ECV) are observed by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in patients with portal hypertension. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of EUS in predicting the recurrence of esophageal varices following EBL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatic encephalopathy is a neuropsychiatric complication of liver cirrhosis the symptoms of which may vary from imperceptible to severe, invaliding, and even lethal. Minimal hepatic encephalopathy is also important because of its tendency to impair patients' cognitive functions and quality of life. The polyetiological pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy is intensively studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Differences between populations might be reflected in their different genetic risk maps to complex diseases, for example, inflammatory bowel disease. We here investigated the role of known inflammatory bowel disease-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a subset of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) from the Northeastern European countries Lithuania and Latvia and evaluated possible epistatic interactions between these genetic variants.
Methods: We investigated 77 SNPs derived from 5 previously published genome-wide association studies for Crohn's disease and UC.
Background: The primary goal of this hospital-based retrospective multicenter case series study was to determine the incidence of large bowel full-thickness injury associated with colonoscopy in Lithuania. We assessed characteristics of patients who were treated as a result of this complication; management and outcomes were the secondary goals of this study.
Methods: The medical records of patients with iatrogenic large bowel perforations resulting from colonoscopy within the period January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2011, were retrospectively reviewed.
Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease; there is growing evidence that it is a hepatic manifestation of a metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of metabolic risk factors among patients with NAFLD.
Material/methods: Outpatients with NAFLD were recruited into the study.
Background: The aim of this study was to assess risk factors for HCV acquisition and prevalence of anti-HCV in the general population of Lithuania.
Material/methods: The study enrolled 1528 randomly selected adults from the 5 biggest cities of Lithuania and its rural regions. Screening for anti-HCV was performed by analysis of peripheral capillary blood with lateral flow immunochromatography and confirmation of positive cases by peripheral venous blood testing with 2-step chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay.
Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to estimate cytokeratin 7 (CK-7) expression in biopsy specimens of patients with different stages of primary biliary cirrhosis and clinicopathological patterns (cholestatic and hepatitic) and its correlation with some biochemical and pathological parameters and to examine a diagnostic value of CK-7 expression.
Material And Methods: A total of 82 biopsy specimens of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis were analyzed. CK-7 expression was graded by 4 grades depending on the extent into parenchymal areas and bile duct epithelium.