Independent prospective multicenter validation of biochemical markers (fibrotest-actitest) for the prediction of liver fibrosis and activity in patients with chronic hepatitis C: the fibropaca study.

Objectives: Fibrotest (FT) and Actitest (AT) are biochemical markers of fibrosis and activity for use as a non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). The aim of this study was to perform an external validation of FT and AT and to study the discordances between FT/AT and liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Methods: A total of 519 consecutive patients with chronic HCV were prospectively included in five centers, with liver biopsy and biochemical markers taken at the same day.

Assessment of early virological response to antiviral therapy by comparing four assays for HCV RNA quantitation using the international unit standard: implications for clinical management of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

WHO International Standards for nucleic acid tests are used widely to compare the different assays used in HCV RNA quantitation. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the international unit standard for measuring HCV RNA in the management of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Twenty-seven naïve patients infected chronically by HCV were treated with ribavirin plus PEG-interferon-alfa-2b for 48 weeks.

[Risk of transmission of hepatitis C virus by digestive endoscopy].

Objective: In 30 to 50% of cases, the route of transmission of virus C remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of manual cleaning and disinfection procedures after endoscopic examinations in highly infected patients.

Methods: In 39 patients with chronic hepatitis C and a high level of replication, a gastroscopy with biopsy was performed with a fully submersible endoscope.

[Contribution of bacterial detachment by enzymatic or physical methods to the diagnosis of foreign material infections and chronic osteomyelitis].

Bacterial adhesion is a crucial factor in the pathogenicity of numerous bacterial species. This property plays such a great role in infections of foreign material that removal of the material is the only effective therapy. The electron microscopy studies performed by Christensen have demonstrated that infected foreign material harbors bacteria which are often coated with slime and therefore escape detection by conventional microbiological methods.