Severe Liver-Related Outcomes in Patients With Hepatitis Delta: Results From a Multi-Ethnic Multicenter Long-Term Follow-Up Study.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-hepatitis delta virus (HDV) coinfection is the most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis, but the factors that determine disease progression and severity are incompletely characterised. This long-term follow-up study aims to identify risk factors for severe liver-related outcomes. In this multicentre national cohort study, data from admission until the last visit between 2001 and 2023 was retrospectively collected from 162 HBV-HDV coinfected patients.

Patient and physician expectations regarding disease and treatment of advanced HCC: The prospective PERCEPTION1 study.

Background & Aims: We aimed to explore patient expectations regarding their treatments and prognosis in comparison to physicians' assessments in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving systemic treatments.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 205 patients in France and Belgium with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B/C HCC receiving systemic treatment (NCT04823754). Patients completed a 28-question survey and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), while physicians filled a 17-question survey after the initial consultation.

External validation of the IAIHG autoimmune hepatitis response criteria in a multicentric real-world cohort.

Background & Aims: The goal of treatment in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is induction of remission to prevent the development of liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and its related complications. Various definitions of treatment response and remission have been used. The International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group (IAIHG) recently defined consensus criteria for treatment response.

Questionnaire PLD-complaint-specific assessment identifies need for therapy in polycystic liver disease: A multi-centric prospective study.

Background And Aims: Polycystic liver disease (PLD) can lead to extensive hepatomegaly. Symptom relief is the primary goal of the treatment. The role of the recently developed disease-specific questionnaires for identification of the thresholds and the assessment of therapy needs further investigation.

A multicentre interventional study to assess blood-borne viral infections in Belgian prisons.

Background: Prevalence data on viral hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and HIV infection in prison are often scarce or outdated. There is currently no systematic screening for these blood-borne viral infections (BBV) in Belgian prisons. There is an urgency to assess the prevalence of these BBV to inform policymakers and public healthcare.

Efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation of Barrett's esophagus in the absence of reimbursement: a multicenter prospective Belgian registry.

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA), combined with endoscopic resection, can be used as a primary treatment for low grade dysplasia, high grade dysplasia, and early esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) in Barrett's esophagus (BE). The aim of the Belgian RFA registry is to capture the real-life outcome of endoscopic therapy for BE with RFA and to assess efficacy and safety outside study protocols, in the absence of reimbursement.

Patients And Methods: Between February 2008 and January 2017, data from 7 different expert centers were prospectively collected in the registry.

Eikenella corrodens perirenal abscess resulting from a pancreatic fistula in a patient with chronic pancreatitis. Case report and literature review.

We present a case of a right perirenal Eikenella corrodens abscess in a patient with chronic pancreatitis and poor dental hygiene. Endoscopic Retrograde CholangioPancreaticography (ERCP) revealed a pancreatic fistula draining to the right perirenal loge. The patient was treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, percutaneous drainage and endoscopic stenting of the duct of Wirsung, stopping the supply of the fistula.

Stopping nucleos(t)ide analogue treatment in Caucasian hepatitis B patients after HBeAg seroconversion is associated with high relapse rates and fatal outcomes.

Background: Stopping nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA) after hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion is associated with high relapse rates in Asian patients, but data in Caucasian cohorts are scarce. Clinical course, outcomes and immunological aspects of chronic hepatitis B infections differ substantially between distinct ethnicities.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine relapse rates, factors predicting relapse and clinical outcomes after nucleos(t)ide analogue cessation in a large, predominantly Caucasian cohort of chronic hepatitis B patients with nucleos(t)ide analogue-induced HBeAg seroconversion.

Characteristics of patients with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus dual infection in a Western European country: Comparison with monoinfected patients.

Unlabelled: The epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections is continuously evolving. Updated data on dual HBV and HCV infection are still needed.

Aims: To assess the main characteristics of patients with HBV and HCV dual infection, to compare these with those of patients infected with either HBV or HCV and, among patients with dual infection, to assess fibrosis according to HCV replication.

Efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of simeprevir and TMC647055/ritonavir with or without ribavirin and JNJ-56914845 in HCV genotype 1 infection.

Background: A Phase 2a, open-label study (NCT01724086) was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of a once-daily, 2-direct-acting-antiviral-agent (2-DAA) combination of simeprevir + TMC647055/ritonavir ± ribavirin and of the 3-DAA combination of simeprevir + TMC647055/ritonavir + JNJ-56914845 in chronic hepatitis C virus genotype (GT)1-infected treatment-naïve and prior-relapse patients.

Methods: The study comprised four 12-week treatment panels: Panel 1 (n = 10; GT1a) and Panel 2-Arm 1 (n = 12; GT1b): simeprevir 75 mg once daily + TMC647055 450 mg once daily/ritonavir 30 mg once daily + ribavirin 1000-1200 mg/day; Panel 2-Arm 2 (n = 9; GT1b): simeprevir 75 mg + TMC647055 450 mg/ritonavir 30 mg without ribavirin; Panel 3: simeprevir 75 mg + TMC647055 600 mg/ritonavir 50 mg with (Arm 1: GT1a; n = 7) or without (Arm 2: GT1b; n = 8) ribavirin; Panel 4: simeprevir 75 mg + TMC647055 450 mg/ritonavir 30 mg + JNJ-56914845 30 mg once daily (Arm 1: n = 22; GT1a/GT1b) or 60 mg once daily (Arm 2: n = 22; GT1a/GT1b). Primary endpoint was sustained virologic response 12 weeks after end of treatment (12 weeks of combination treatment; SVR12).

Sofosbuvir in Combination with Simeprevir +/- Ribavirin in Genotype 4 Hepatitis C Patients with Advanced Fibrosis or Cirrhosis: A Real-World Experience from Belgium.

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major global health issue and successful treatment has been associated with a reduction of risk of all-cause mortality. Advancements have been made in HCV treatment through the use of interferon-free regimens. Most trials have been conducted in HCV genotype (GT) 1 and data for interferon-free regimens in GT4 patients are limited.

Heads or Tails: Genotyping of Hepatitis C Virus Concerning the 2k/1b Circulating Recombinant Form.

As different hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes respond differently to initiated therapy, correct HCV genotyping is essential. A potential risk for misclassification of the intergenotypic HCV circulating recombinant form (CRF) 2k/1b strains exists, depending on the genotyping method used. The aim was to investigate the differences in HCV genotyping methods with regard to CRF 2k/1b and to gain insight in the prevalence of the CRF 2k/1b.

Alcohol intake increases the risk of HCC in hepatitis C virus-related compensated cirrhosis: A prospective study.

Background & Aims: Whether alcohol intake increases the risk of complications in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of alcohol intake and viral eradication on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), decompensation of cirrhosis and death.

Methods: Data on alcohol intake and viral eradication were prospectively collected in 192 patients with compensated HCV-related cirrhosis.

Intensive Enteral Nutrition Is Ineffective for Patients With Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis Treated With Corticosteroids.

Background & Aims: Severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a life-threatening disease for which adequate oral nutritional support is recommended. We performed a randomized controlled trial to determine whether the combination of corticosteroid and intensive enteral nutrition therapy is more effective than corticosteroid therapy alone in patients with severe AH.

Methods: We enrolled 136 heavy consumers of alcohol (age, 18-75 y) with recent onset of jaundice and biopsy-proven severe AH in our study, performed at 18 hospitals in Belgium and 2 in France, from February 2010 through February 2013.

A suspicious pancreatic mass in chronic pancreatitis: pancreatic actinomycosis.

Introduction. Pancreatic actinomycosis is a chronic infection of the pancreas caused by the suppurative Gram-positive bacterium Actinomyces. It has mostly been described in patients following repeated main pancreatic duct stenting in the context of chronic pancreatitis or following pancreatic surgery.

Mitochondrial hepatopathy in adults: a case series and review of the literature.

Aim: Mitochondrial diseases affect about 1/5000-1/10000 in the population. Twenty percent of patients with mitochondrial disease show liver involvement. In contrast to current belief among most internists, these diseases do not only present in childhood.

Hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections in Belgium: similarities and differences in epidemics and initial management.

Introduction: Nationwide studies comparing patients with hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV) infections are mandatory for assessing changes in epidemiology.

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare epidemiological data and initial management of newly diagnosed patients with persistent HBV (HBsAg positive) or HCV (detectable HCV RNA) infection in Belgium.

Patients And Methods: Data were extracted from two Belgian observational databases.

HBV infection in Belgium: results of the BASL observatory of 1,456 HBsAg carriers.

Introduction: Nationwide studies are mandatory to assess changes in the epidemiology of HBV infection in Europe.

Aim: To describe epidemiological characteristics of HBsAg-positive patients, especially inactive carriers, and to evaluate how practitioners manage HBV patients in real life.

Methods: Belgian physicians were asked to report all chronically infected HBV patients during a one-year period.