Publications by authors named "Roxana Vadan"

Introduction: Sarcopenia, malnutrition, physical deconditioning, and frailty contribute to a significantly altered quality of life (QoL) in patients with cirrhosis and sarcopenia.

Aim: To investigate the sarcopenia-linked alterations of QoL by SarQoL® questionnaire in patients with end-stage liver disease.

Methods: Consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis, admitted to our department between May and August 2021, completed the SarQoL® questionnaire by themselves.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Elimination of hepatitis C worldwide is more feasible if micro-elimination screening strategies are adopted. We aimed to screen hepatitis C virus (HCV) in specific high-risk populations in certain sub-regions of Romania and link them to antiviral treatment.

Methods: A multicenter prospective study was conducted among the hospitalized or ambulatory adult patients from March 2019 to March 2020 in more than 20 medical institutions from 4 Romanian cities (Bucharest, Iasi, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) patients management has been challenging during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, due to lockdowns, limitation of access to medical facilities and new recommendations regarding patient management. The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on IBD patients' management were assessed in our Tertiary Gastroenterology Center in Bucharest, Romania.

Methods: Medical records of IBD patients admitted between 15th of March and 15th of August 2020 were retrospectively reviewed and compared to a control cohort of consecutive IBD patients admitted to our unit during the corresponding period of 2019.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Liver transplant (LT) recipients are at increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome. Early detection of NAFLD and other components of the metabolic syndrome is an important step in reducing morbidity and mortality. We assessed 60 liver transplant recipients for clinical and biological features, performed abdominal ultrasound and transient elastography (TE) Fibroscan© with controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), calculated non-invasive scoring systems APRI, FIB-4, NAFLD score, cardiovascular risk (Framingham risk score) and for the presence of metabolic syndrome and performed two biomarkers: beta 7 integrin and carbonic anhydrase IX.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Anemia is the most frequent systemic complication in inflammatory bowel diseases. It affects the quality of life and can interact with working capacity. Our objectives were to identify the prevalence of anemia, its main causes and its management in patients with inflammatory bowel disease from Romania.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Cytokines and their receptors play a critical role in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profiles of inflammatory genes in inflamed and non-inflamed colonic tissue samples in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), and to identify molecular signatures for different IBD phenotypes.

Methods: Seventy-one patients diagnosed with IBD (38 CD, 33 UC) and 15 non-IBD controls have been included in the study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Serological markers have been widely used for diagnostic purposes and disease stratification in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence and the correlations of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) titers with different clinical phenotypes in Romanian patients with Crohn's disease (CD).

Methods: The study included 107 CD and 86 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients from the Gastroenterology Departments of three University Hospitals, and 60 healthy subjects.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis D (delta) is not yet satisfactory, although it appears to be the only means to alter the progressive natural course of chronic hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection.

Aim: To assess safety and efficacy, evaluated by virological, biochemical and histological end-of-treatment (EOT) and end-of-follow-up (EOF) response to peg-interferon α-2b 1.5 µg/kg body weight weekly in a Romanian cohort of naïve patients with chronic hepatitis delta.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: Malnutrition is variably encountered in adult patients with Crohn's disease. We evaluated the nutritional status at the beginning and during Infliximab treatment in patients with Crohn's disease.

Methods: Patients with moderate/severe flares of disease treated with Infliximab for induction and maintenance of remission were included in a prospective observational study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: An overall prevalence rate of HCV infection in Romanian adult population was recently estimated to be 3.23%. The proportion of treated patients with chronic hepatitis C in our country has never been assessed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: The aim of this study was to define the natural long-term course of HDV compensated cirrhosis.

Methods: 166 consecutive patients with compensated HDV-related cirrhosis diagnosed since 1994 were followed up until the first decompensation and then until death, liver transplantation or 31st of December 2004. The survival during follow-up and the survival according to the type of first decompensation were calculated using the Kaplan Meier method.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aim: Protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) occurs in 20-60% of patients with hepatic cirrhosis and is associated with the development of life-threatening complications. We evaluated the effect of a modified, casein-vegetable-based, high-protein high-calorie (HPHC) diet on the outcome of cirrhotic patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE).

Methods: One hundred and fifty three consecutive cirrhotic patients with overt HE were included in this study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aim: Pegylated interferon alpha in combination with ribavirin represents nowadays the gold standard therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The aim of this study was to assess early (EVR) and sustained virological response (SVR), tolerability and baseline predictive factors for SVR in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with peginterferon alpha-2a and ribavirin combination therapy in day-to-day clinical practice.

Methods: The analysis included 174 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis C (naive, relapsers and non-responders after standard therapy) managed in two expertise gastroenterology centers in Romania, mainly on an outpatient basis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: The Romanian Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy developed a multicentre, prospective study to evaluate the frequency and epidemiological features of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in an adult population that refers to gastroenterology centres in Romania.

Material And Methods: Eighteen centres with adequate diagnostic and therapeutic facilities uniformly distributed across Romania reported through a proforma the new and old IBD cases between 1 June 2002 and 1 June 2003. The rates of incidence and prevalence of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) have been reported per 100 000 inhabitants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency of cholestatic pattern in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and to identify predictive factors associated with the development of the overlap syndrome.

Methods: Eighty-two consecutive patients diagnosed with AIH at the referral centre between January 1998 and June 2002 were included in the study. The new scoring system modified by the International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group was used to classify patients as definite/probable.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Among the histological lesions seen in chronic hepatitis C (CHC), the presence of steatosis, bile duct lesions and lymphoid aggregates are characteristic. Recent reports suggest that steatosis is an independent risk factor for liver fibrosis in CHC. The aim of our study was to determine the relative contribution of steatosis and moderate alcohol consumption to the severity of liver fibrosis in patients infected with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: The aim of the study was to report the efficacy and tolerability of infliximab therapy in the first 24 patients with refractory and fistulizing Crohn's disease (CD) treated at our center between August 2000-May 2002.

Patients And Methods: The medical records of 24 patients (13 males, 11 females) treated with infliximab for refractory or fistulizing CD were reviewed. CD was diagnosed using conventional clinical, endoscopical and histological criteria.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF