ESPGHAN recommendations on treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in adolescents and children including those living in resource-limited settings.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, with more than three million viraemic adolescents and children. Treatment of adults with HCV infection and HCV-related liver disease has advanced considerably thanks to development and improvements in therapy. Direct-acting antiviral regimens are safe and effective.

Modelling the potential effectiveness of hepatitis C screening and treatment strategies during pregnancy in Egypt and Ukraine.

Background & Aims: HCV test and treat campaigns currently exclude pregnant women. Pregnancy offers a unique opportunity for HCV screening and to potentially initiate direct-acting antiviral treatment. We explored HCV screening and treatment strategies in two lower middle-income countries with high HCV prevalence, Egypt and Ukraine.

Seroprevalence of HBV/HCV coinfection among patients with HCV screened during the national campaign for HCV eradication in Egypt.

Background And Study Aims: Little is known about the true prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV). This multicenter nationwide study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of HBV among Egyptian patients with HCV and its possible risk factors.

Patients And Methods: This is a cross-sectional, multicenter, nationwide study.

Challenge of managing hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections in resource-limited settings.

The global burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and coinfection represents a major public health concern, particularly in resource-limited settings. Elimination of HCV by 2030 has become foreseeable, with effective direct-acting antiviral oral therapies and the availability of affordable generics in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). However, access to oral nucleos(t)ide therapy for HBV remains critical and is limited outside the existing global HIV program platforms despite affordable prices.

Egyptian revalidation of non-invasive parameters for predicting esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients: A retrospective study.

Background And Study Aims: In resource-limited countries, non-invasive tests for assessing liver fibrosis are a potential alternative to costly endoscopic screening for esophageal varices. We aimed to validate several non-invasive parameters for predicting the presence of varices.

Patients And Methods: Between September 2006 and August 2017, a total of 46,014 patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy as one of the perquisites for receiving hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy were enrolled and divided into group I (without varices) and group II (with varices).

Ledipasvir-sofosbuvir in Adolescents With Chronic Hepatitis C and Hematological Malignancies Undergoing Chemotherapy.

Objectives: In children with hematological malignancies, chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been associated with more rapid liver disease progression and higher risk of malignancy relapse due to chemotherapy interruption. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of ledipasvir-sofosbuvir for 12weeks in these patients.

Methods: In a phase 2, open-label study, at one site in Egypt, patients ages 12-<18years with chronic HCV genotype 1 or 4 infection undergoing maintenance chemotherapy for hematological malignancies received ledipasvir-sofosbuvir (90 mg/400 mg) once daily for 12weeks.

The outcome of re-treatment of relapsed hepatitis C virus infection in a resource-limited setting.

The aim of this study was to compare efficacy and safety of different combination regimens in re-treatment of HCV in the setting of inaccessibility of resistance testing. This real-life prospective study included 86 chronic HCV infected patients who experienced failure of treatment treated at Faculty of Medicine Ain shams Research Institute (MASRI) since 2018. 64% of the patients were males, with median age 50.

Global prevalence of hepatitis C virus in children in 2018: a modelling study.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence estimates for adults and high-risk groups have been widely published, but the disease burden in children is poorly understood. Direct-acting antiviral drugs, which are considered to be highly effective curative therapies for HCV, are now approved for paediatric patients as young as 3 years. Reliable prevalence estimates for this population are needed to inform scale-up of treatment and national strategies.

Liver stiffness measurements and FIB-4 are predictors of response to sofosbuvir-based treatment regimens in 7256 chronic HCV patients.

: To assess the role of baseline liver stiffness (LS) by Transient elastography (TE) and FIB-4 in the prediction of virological response to sofosbuvir - based regimens in chronic HCV patients.: A retrospective, multicenter study including 7256 chronic HCV patients who received different sofosbuvir-based regimens. Baseline demographic and laboratory data were recorded.

Planning and prioritizing direct-acting antivirals treatment for HCV patients in countries with limited resources: Lessons from the Egyptian experience.

Background And Aims: The introduction of direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Egypt led to massive treatment uptake, with Egypt's national HCV treatment program becoming the largest in the world. The aim of this paper is to present the Egyptian experience in planning and prioritizing mass treatment for patients with HCV, highlighting the difficulties and limitations of the program, as a guide for other countries of similarly limited resources.

Methods: Baseline data of 337,042 patients, treated between October 2014 to March 2016 in specialized viral hepatitis treatment centers, were grouped into three equal time intervals of six months each.

Real life Egyptian experience of efficacy and safety of Simeprevir/Sofosbuvir therapy in 6211 chronic HCV genotype IV infected patients.

Background & Aims: Major changes have emerged during the last few years in the therapy of chronic HCV. Several direct acting antiviral agents have been developed showing potent activity with higher rates of sustained virological response, even in difficult-to-treat patients. This study explores real life experience concerning efficacy, safety and possible predictors of response for the first cohort of Egyptian patients with chronic HCV genotype IV treated with Sofosbuvir/Simprevir combination therapy.

ADAMTS13 Levels in Young Patients With β-Thalassemia Major: Relation to Hepatitis C Virus Infection, Liver Cirrhosis, and Iron Overload.

Unlabelled: We measured levels of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13 (ADAMTS13) in 50 children and adolescents with β-thalassemia major (25 without hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection and 25 with HCV infection) compared to 25 healthy controls and assessed their relation to iron overload, HCV infection, and liver cirrhosis. Hematological and coagulation profiles, serum ferritin, and von Willebrand factor antigen were assessed. Levels of ADAMTS13 were significantly lower in β-thalassemia major with and without HCV infection compared to healthy controls, with a more significant reduction in levels among patients with HCV (P < .

Lipid profile and hepatic steatosis in hepatitis C infected egyptian survivors of childhood cancer.

Backgound/aim: Studies associating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with lipid profile and hepatic steatosis in children and adolescents are scarce. This study investigated lipid profile abnormalities and hepatic steatosis among HCV-infected Egyptian children and adolescents who survived leukemia and lymphoma and evaluated impact on response to antiviral therapy.

Subjects And Methods: Thirty-six leukemia/lymphoma cured children and adolescents (mean age: 12.

Efficacy and safety of pegylated interferon in children and adolescents infected with chronic hepatitis C: a preliminary study.

This study researches the efficacy and safety of pegylated interferon alpha-2a (pegIFNα-2a) in Egyptian children and adolescents diagnosed with hepatitis C virus. Thirty patients were enrolled to receive pegIFN once a week with ribavirin twice daily for 12 weeks; viral load and experienced adverse effects were then assessed. Of the 30 patients, 16 (53.

Assessment of puberty in relation to L-carnitine and hormonal replacement therapy in beta-thalassemic patients.

Objective: To investigate puberty in a group of thalassemic patients with delayed or arrested pubertal development and to compare the effects of hormonal and L-carnitine therapy on puberty in those patients.

Patients: Thirty-two -thalassemic patients with arrested or failure of puberty were enrolled for 1 year in this study.

Method: Clinical pubertal assessment and laboratory investigations were done for all patients at the beginning, 6 months later clinical pubertal assessment was done.

Overwhelming postsplenectomy infection: is quality of patient knowledge enough for prevention?

Background/objective: Fulminant, potentially life-threatening infection represents a major long-term risk after splenectomy. This study examines the impact of patient's knowledge and compliance on the prevention of overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI).

Methods: A Total of 318 splenectomized patients (median age: 18 years (10-26 years); M : F, 187 : 131) were enrolled in this study.