Development and Validation of a Scoring System to Predict Response to Obeticholic Acid in Primary Biliary Cholangitis.

Background & Aims: Obeticholic acid (OCA) is the only licensed second-line therapy for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). With novel therapeutics in advanced development, clinical tools are needed to tailor the treatment algorithm. We aimed to derive and externally validate the OCA response score (ORS) for predicting the response probability of individuals with PBC to OCA.

Longitudinal outcomes of obeticholic acid therapy in ursodiol-nonresponsive primary biliary cholangitis: Stratifying the impact of add-on fibrates in real-world practice.

Background: Suboptimal response to ursodeoxycholic acid occurs in 40% of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) patients, affecting survival. Achieving a deep response (normalisation of alkaline phosphatase [ALP] and bilirubin ≤0.6 upper limit of normal) improves survival.

Predictive factors for decompensating events in patients with cirrhosis with primary biliary cholangitis under different lines of therapy.

Background And Aims: The landscape in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) has changed with the advent of second-line treatments. However, the use of obeticholic acid (OCA) and fibrates in PBC-related cirrhosis is challenging. We assessed the impact of receiving a second-line therapy as a risk factor for decompensated cirrhosis in a real-world population with cirrhosis and PBC, and identify the predictive factors for decompensated cirrhosis in these patients.

Hospital-based screening outperforms primary care screening as a means of achieving hepatitis C virus micro-elimination.

Aim: To assess the respective performances of a HCV screening program in a hospital setting and a HCV screening model applied concomitantly in a primary care centre.

Methods: Adult patients consecutively admitted to hospital for ambulatory surgery were screened for anti-HCV antibodies (hospital screening cohort, HPSC), as were patients receiving blood tests for medical reasons in a primary care centre (primary care screening cohort, PCSC). Serum anti-HCV and HCV RNA levels were tested by ELISA and real-time PCR, respectively.