SASLT guidelines: Update in treatment of hepatitis C virus infection, 2024.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been a major global health concern, with a significant impact on public health. In recent years, there have been remarkable advancements in our understanding of HCV and the development of novel therapeutic agents. The Saudi Society for the Study of Liver Disease and Transplantation formed a working group to develop HCV practice guidelines in Saudi Arabia.

Greater prevalence of comorbidities with increasing age: Cross-sectional analysis of chronic hepatitis B patients in Saudi Arabia.

Background/aims: Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia to some extent, are endemic for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection which could be associated with high mortality and comorbidities risk. However, limited data characterizing this CHB population exists. Our aim was to characterize and compare CHB patients in 2015 with those in 2010 and 2012 in Saudi Arabia.

Pharmacokinetics-Based Adjusted Versus Standard Dose of Ribavirin Does Not Improve Virologic Response Rates in Chronic Hepatitis C Genotype 4 Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Optimal doses of Ribavirin (RBV) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment are not known. To assess the safety and efficacy of PegIFNalfa-2a in combination with an adjusted (ADJ) RBV dose based on early pharmacokinetics versus a fixed standard (STD) dose of RBV in chronic HCV genotype (GT) 4-naive patients in a randomized trial. One hundred eighty-one patients were randomized.

Diminished accuracy of biomarkers of fibrosis in low replicative chronic hepatitis B.

Background: We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4), AST/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio (AAR), and age-platelet index (API) for significant fibrosis (Metavir F2-4) in low-replicative (HBV DNA <20,000 IU/mL) chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients.

Methods: The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of HBeAg-negative, low-replicative (n = 213) and high-replicative (HBV DNA ≥20,000 IU/mL, n = 153) patients was assessed.

Results: Overall, 113 patients (30.

Efficacy and Safety of Simeprevir or Daclatasvir in Combination With Sofosbuvir for the Treatment of Hepatitis C Genotype 4 Infection.

Introduction: The combination of sofosbuvir (SOF) with simeprevir (SMV) or daclatasvir (DCV) is very effective in treating hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, particularly genotype (GT) 1. However, the data on GT4 are very limited. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of SOF in combination with either SMV or DCV in GT4-infected patients.

Prevalence and molecular characterization of hepatitis D virus in Saudi Arabia: A single-center study.

Background/aims: Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a defective RNA virus that is dependent on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for transmission and replication. HDV significance arises from the possibility of poor prognosis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. In Saudi Arabia, HDV prevalence varied from 8 to 32% before the HBV vaccination program and ranged from 0 to 14.

Predictors of significant fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients with low viremia.

Background And Aim: The data on the prevalence and predictors of significant fibrosis (≥F2, METAVIR) in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients with low viremia are limited. We aimed to assess both the prevalence predictors of ≥F2 fibrosis in hepatitis B envelope antigen-negative patients with HBV DNA <20,000 IU/mL.

Methods: Hepatitis B envelope antigen-negative patients (n=213) with mean HBV DNA <2000 IU/mL (n=97) and HBV DNA 2000 to 20,000 IU/mL (n=116) were included and all had liver biopsy.

Accuracy of international guidelines for identifying significant fibrosis in hepatitis B e antigen--negative patients with chronic hepatitis.

Background & Aims: Differing threshold levels of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are recommended by international guidelines for commencement of antiviral therapy. These guidelines advocate therapy for patients with significant fibrosis (METAVIR score ≥F2); we assessed the accuracy of these guideline-defined thresholds in identifying patients with ≥F2 fibrosis.

Methods: We applied the European (European Association for the Study of the Liver [EASL] 2012), Asian-Pacific (Asian-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver [APASL] 2012), American (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases [AASLD] 2009), and United States Panel Algorithm (USPA 2008) criteria to 366 consecutive hepatitis B e antigen-negative patients with liver biopsy samples: EASL, ALT >laboratory-defined upper limit of normal (ULN) and HBV DNA ≥2000 IU/mL (n = 171); APASL, ALT >2-fold laboratory-defined ULN and HBV DNA ≥2000 IU/mL (n = 87); AASLD, ALT >2-fold the updated ULN (0.

Liver abscess presentation and management in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

Background And Objectives: Liver abscess (LA) is a well-described disease in the medical literature; however, information about its characteristics and outcome in the Middle East is lacking. We compared the mode of presentation, risk factors, management and outcome of LA patients in Saudi Arabia with cases from the United Kingdom (UK).

Design And Setting: Retrospective review of LA patients from three tertiary care centers (2 from Saudi Arabia and 1 from the UK) over a period of 10 years, from 1995 to 2005.