Predictive Factors for HBsAg Loss in Chronic HBeAg-Negative Hepatitis B Virus Infection: Insights From a 5-Year French Cohort.

Prognostic factors for the long-term evolution of chronic hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may vary depending on local epidemiology. We aimed to identify these factors in France, where the epidemiology is influenced by diverse immigration. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive, HBeAg-negative adults with normal transaminase levels and viral loads < 20,000 IU/mL for 1 year, without viral co-infection or advanced liver disease, were enrolled for a 5-year follow-up.

Effects of Age on Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C with Direct Acting Antivirals.

Introduction And Aim: Data on the efficacy and tolerance of interferon-free treatment in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in elderly patients are limited in phase II-III trials.

Material And Methods: A prospective cohort of adult patients with CHC treated in French general hospitals.

Results: Data from 1,123 patients, distributed into four age groups, were analyzed.

Hepatitis C treatment with all-oral direct-acting antivirals: Effectiveness and tolerance in a multicenter, prospective, observational study from French general hospitals (APROVVIE, ANGH).

Background And Aims: According to clinical trials, the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with second-generation direct acting antiviral agents (DAAs) is highly efficient and well tolerated. The goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of various combinations of these drugs during their first 2 years of use in the real-world practice of French general hospitals.

Methods: Data from patients treated with all-oral DAAs in 24 French non-academic hospital centers from March 1, 2014 to January 1, 2016, were prospectively recorded.

Albumin Use in Patients With Cirrhosis in France: Results of the "ALBU-LIVE" Survey: A Case for Better EASL Guidelines Diffusion and/or Revision.

Introduction: The use of human albumin for the management of cirrhosis has increased. Recommendations have been published for therapeutic paracentesis (TP), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), and type 1 hepatorenal syndrome (HRS). The goal of this survey was to assess the prescription practices of French hepatogastroenterologists.

The Periscreen Strip Is Highly Efficient for the Exclusion of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Cirrhotic Outpatients.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the performance of a new strip (Periscreen) for the rapid diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP).

Methods: Ascitic fluid (AF) of cirrhotic patients hospitalized between March 2014 and August 2015 was independently tested by two readers using the new strip, which has four colorimetric graduations (negative, trace, small, and large). SBP was diagnosed on neutrophils in ascites>250/mm.

Coeliac disease in chronic hepatitis C: a French multicentre prospective study.

Background: A prevalence of 1.2% of coeliac disease (CD) in patients with chronic hepatitis C was recently reported, suggesting a possible epidemiological link between these two diseases. However, other studies have not found this relationship.

A randomized controlled trial of ursodeoxycholic acid in patients with alcohol-induced cirrhosis and jaundice.

The aim of our multicenter study was to assess the efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) on the survival of patients with alcohol-induced cirrhosis and jaundice. We included patients with histologically proven alcohol-induced cirrhosis and serum bilirubin >50 micromol/L. After randomization, patients received either UDCA (13-15 mg/kg/d) or a placebo for 6 months.

Tertiary hepatic syphilis. A treatable cause of multinodular liver.

Although the incidence of syphilis is increasing, liver involvement in tertiary syphilis remains exceptional. We report a case of tertiary syphilis revealed by liver localization. The clinical picture was misleading, mimicking multinodular hepatic metastasis.

[Aneurysmal malformation of the extrahepatic portal vein].

Malformations of extrahepatic portal vein are rare. We report a case of extrahepatic portal vein aneurysm which was incidentally found in a female patient, aged 67, suffering from alcoholic cirrhosis. This malformation was located at the portal bifurcation and presented ultrasonically as an oval, non-echogenic, parahilar mass, 38 mm in diameter, and in continuity with the portal trunk.

Does elective sclerotherapy improve the efficacy of long-term propranolol for prevention of recurrent bleeding in patients with severe cirrhosis? A prospective multicenter, randomized trial.

We conducted a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial to compare the efficacy of sclerotherapy plus propranolol with that of propranolol alone in the prevention of recurrent gastroesophageal bleeding in severely cirrhotic patients. For 2 yr (1987 to 1988) 131 patients (96% of whom were alcoholic) with Child-Pugh class B or C cirrhosis (56% were class B and 44% were class C) were randomly assigned to one of our two treatment groups after cessation of variceal bleeding, without hemostatic sclerosis, and were observed for at least 2 yr. Treatment observance was good in 89% of cases; alcohol withdrawal was observed in 62% of cases.

Treatment of severe alcoholic hepatitis by infusion of insulin and glucagon: a multicenter sequential trial.

Severe alcoholic hepatitis is still a therapeutic challenge. It has been recently advocated that a 3-wk infusion with insulin and glucagon reduces its short-term mortality rate. A multicenter, randomized, single-blind, sequential trial was designed to compare this treatment with placebo.

[Vitamin C. From scurvy to the ideal vitamin balance].

Scurvy is caused by severe deficiency of vitamin C or ascorbic acid, and is usually diagnosed by the overt clinical signs which appear at an advanced stage. Laboratory examinations, and in particular ascorbic acid assays, do not yet enable subclinical vitamin C deficiency to be reliably detected; hence the importance of knowing the situation which expose to this deficiency.

Hepatic venoocclusive disease and perisinusoidal fibrosis secondary to arsenic poisoning.

Hepatic injury secondary to arsenic poisoning has been known long but is poorly documented. A case of a patient with hepatic injury following severe arsenic poisoning is reported. Histological study of the liver demonstrated acute venoocclusive disease and perisinusoidal fibrosis.

[Serum and tissue concentrations of zinc after oral supplementation in chronic alcoholics with or without cirrhosis].

Seric and hepatic zinc concentrations are decreased in chronic alcoholics, particularly those with cirrhosis. The purpose of this study was: 1) to assess the duration of zinc intake necessary to normalize seric and hepatic zinc concentrations; 2) to demonstrate that this supplementation did not increase zinc concentrations in other tissues (erythrocytes, leukocytes and hair) and did not induce adverse reactions. Twenty alcoholic patients with (group A: n = 13 or without (group B: n = 7) cirrhosis received zinc sulfate 600 mg daily during 10 days, 10 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis during 30 days (group C) and 7 during 60 days (group D) and were compared with a group of 30 normal subjects.

[Fibronectin in the ascitic fluid: its diagnostic significance].

We studied fibronectin concentration in the ascitic fluid of 102 patients, 71 with cirrhosis, 13 with hepatocellular carcinoma, 12 with malignant peritonitis, and six with miscellaneous disease. Fibronectin concentrations in the first three groups were 45 +/- 45 mg/l, 54 +/- 84 mg/l, and 144 +/- 123 mg/l, respectively. The difference between patients with cirrhosis and malignant peritonitis was significant (p less than 0.

[Does oral zinc improve the cellular immunity of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis?].

A depressed response to delayed hypersensitivity skin tests is frequent in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. Immune dysfunction in these patients is presumably dependent on nutritional factors. Zinc deficiency, a common finding in alcoholic cirrhosis, inhibits cellular immunity and might be one of these factors.

CA 125 (ovarian tumour-associated antigen) in ascitic liver diseases.

The presence of Ca 125, an ovarian cancer-associated antigen, was assessed in serum from patients with liver diseases with (n = 26) and without (n = 26) ascites. Abnormal levels of serum CA 125 were observed in all patients with ascites and in 4 patients without ascites (15%). We conclude that CA 125 is a non-specific marker of ascites whatever the origin: ovarian carcinoma, cirrhosis or peritoneal inflammatory process.