Microbial profile of biliary tract infection in patients undergoing therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and baseline risk factors predicting microbial growth and post-ERCP cholangitis.

Introduction: Stasis of bile flow can result in microbial colonization of the biliary tree. Cholangitis is a common adverse event linked to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).

Aim: To establish the bacterial profiles isolated from the bile sample and to evaluate the pre-ERCP risk factors predicting the microbial growth and development of post-ERCP cholangitis (PEC).

Predictors of Mortality in Patients with Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis.

Introduction: Despite treatment with antibiotic therapy, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) accounts for approximately 20-40% mortality in hospitalized patients. The data is scarce regarding mortality predictors in SBP. Recently, multiple factors have been studied for effectiveness in prognosis prediction in SBP.

Management of Tacrolimus-Induced Toxicity With Normal Serum Levels After Liver Transplant.

Drug-induced liver injury after liver transplant occurs in 1.7% of patients. Tacrolimus is an effective immunosuppressant that is used to treat acute rejection.

Recurrence Rate of Early Hepatitis C Virus Infection After Renal Transplantation Following Successful Treatment of Patients on Dialysis With Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents.

Objectives: Recurrence of hepatitis C virus after organ transplant has dreadful complications. An excellent response has been shown with direct-acting antiviral agents in transplant recipients. Although a sustained virological response is considered as the virological cure, it requires patients to be on dialysis for 3 months more before undergoing renal transplant, thus increasing the risk of hepatitis C virus reinfection and associated complications.

Etiologies Associated With Elevated Liver Enzymes After Renal Transplant.

Objectives: One of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in renal transplant recipients is liver disease. Liver dysfunction is shown in 7% to 67% of kidney transplant recipients. Liver insufficiency accounts for death in up to 28% of kidney transplant recipients.

Role of Endoscopic Ultrasound in Predicting Solid Pancreatic Lesions Using Strain Ratio and Elastography.

Background: Despite advancement in imaging techniques, the diagnosis of solid pancreatic lesions (SPLs) remains challenging. The latest advancement in elastography permits the quantitative measurements of the average elasticity of a lesion. Therefore, our main aim of this study was to determine the utility of endoscopic ultrasound-guided elastography (EUS-EG) and strain ratio (EUS-SR) in predicting SPLs.

The Use of Albumin-to-bilirubin Score in Predicting Variceal Bleed: A Pilot Study from Pakistan.

Unlabelled: Variceal hemorrhage is a serious consequence of patients having chronic liver disease (CLD). Various scores exist that predict the outcome for non-variceal bleed. However, only a few scores evaluate patients with variceal bleed.

Clinical Characteristics and Comparison of Different Prognostic Scores in Wilson's Disease.

Aim: Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare autosomal recessive disease, that can involve any organ of the body, the main ones being the liver and the brain. These patients can have varied presentations, ranging from having no symptoms to having neurological manifestations to features of chronic liver disease (CLD). Those patients that end up having CLD are prognosticated the Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score and the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score.

Hepatic manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 infection: Clinical and laboratory perspective.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, has become a global challenge of unprecedented nature since December 2019. Although most patients with COVID-19 exhibit mild clinical manifestations and upper respiratory tract involvement, in approximately 5%-10% of patients, the disease is severe and involves multiple organs, leading to multi-organ dysfunction and failure. The liver and gastrointestinal tract are also frequently involved in COVID-19.

Pancreatic Tuberculosis mimicking as a Pancreatic Mass Lesion.

Tuberculosis is a global health problem and commonly affects the respiratory system. The involvement of the pancreas in this disease is a rare event. We hereby report a case of a young male who presented with right hypochondrial pain along with significant weight loss.

Primary Hepatic Sarcomatoid Carcinoma Presenting with Dysphagia: A Rare Presentation.

A 50-year male presented with vomiting and dysphagia for 2 weeks. Laboratory workup showed a positive serology for hepatitis C and normal serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. CT abdomen revealed a large lesion in the right lobe of the liver extending upto the lower esophagus causing significant luminal narrowing and dysphagia.

Role of "HinCh Score" as a Non-invasive Predictor of Post-endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Cholangitis.

Introduction: Post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) cholangitis (PEC) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients ERCP. The aim of the present study was to analyze the predictors of PEC and to formulate a predictive model for early diagnosis and management.

Materials And Methods: It was a cross-sectional study that was carried out at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation from September 2019 to June 2021.

A Tertiary Care Center's Experience with Clinicopathological Characteristics of Gallbladder Carcinoma in Our Population.

Introduction: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common malignant biliary tract tumor with the shortest survival from the time of diagnosis. This poor prognosis is due to the destructive biologic behavior of GBC, lack of sensitive screening tests for early detection, and vague nature of first presentation. Here in this study, we will evaluate the baseline characteristics of the patients presenting with gallbladder carcinoma in our population.

Revolution in the diagnosis and management of hepatitis C virus infection in current era.

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global public health problem, particularly in developing part of the world. Significant advances have been made in the early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Its management has been particularly revolutionized during the past two decades.

DAA treatment failures in a low-resource setting with a high burden of hepatitis C infections: a case series.

Globally, 58 million people are living with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and 1.5 million new patients are infected every year. The advent of direct acting antivirals (DAAs) has revolutionized the treatment of HCV, opening the door to the ambitious World Health Organization HCV infection elimination strategy by 2030.

Digestive tract neoplasms in young individuals: Demographics, staging and risk factors.

Background: Digestive tract neoplasms (DTN) have become increasingly common worldwide among young individuals (YIs) over the last few decades.

Aim: Aim of this research was to study the types, demographics, stage at presentation and risk factors of digestive tract neoplasms in young individuals.

Methods And Results: In this cross-sectional study, YI (ie, ≤40 years) presenting with any DTN including gastrointestinal neoplasms (GIN), hepatobiliary neoplasms (HBN), periampullary neoplasms (PAN) and others from June 2016 to May 2020 were included.

Successful response of intradermal hepatitis B vaccine in nonresponders of intramuscular hepatitis B vaccine in general and hemodialysis population.

Background: Hepatitis B infection is one of the most common infections worldwide, with its vaccination being an effective preventive measure. Nonresponse to hepatitis B vaccination increases population susceptibility to virus dissemination along with detrimental complications. Despite twice intramuscular vaccination series, 14.

Autoimmune Hepatitis: Clinical Characteristics and Predictors of Biochemical Response to Treatment.

Background And Objectives: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an important cause of chronic liver disease. Aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and factors predicting response to treatment in patients with AIH.

Methods: In this prospective observational study, all patients diagnosed with AIH from 2017 to 2019 were included.

Use of sofosbuvir based regimen in patients with end-stage renal disease and chronic hepatitis C; an open label, non-randomized, single arm, single center study from Pakistan.

Aim: we aimed to determine the virological response and safety of Sofosbuvir-based direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients on long-term hemodialysis (HD).

Background: With the advent of interferon-free DAAs, the treatment of CHC has been revolutionized. Pakistan is among the countries where novel sofosbuvir (SOF)-free antiviral agents are not available.

Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt in a Young Female: Views from a Developing Country.

A young female presented to us with abdominal distension along with pedal edema. She had no prior medical or surgical history apart from a caesarean section done a few years prior. Initial workup showed low hemoglobin, low serum albumin and slight raised ESR.

Factors Influencing Quality of Life in Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan.

Objective: To assess the impact of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) on quality of life (QOL) in local population.

Study Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Hepatogastroenterology Department, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Karachi, from June 2016 to December 2017.

Primary hepaticobiliary tuberculosis mimicking gall bladder carcinoma with liver invasion: a case report.

Primary hepatic tuberculosis is a rare presentation and sporadically reported in the literature, mostly from our part of the world. Sometimes the presentation can be atypical and mimics hepatic tumor and poses diagnostic challenge. We, herein, present a case of a 58-year-old man who presented to us with abdominal pain and weight loss.