Depth effect on point shear wave velocity elastography: Evidence in a chronic hepatitis C patient cohort.

Background And Aims: This study investigated the depth-related bias and the influence of scan plane angle on performance of point-shear-wave elastometry in a chronic hepatitis C patient cohort.

Materials And Methods: We included 104 patients affected by chronic liver disease related to the hepatitis C virus. Liver surface nodularity was the reference to diagnose cirrhosis.

Phylogenetic analysis of isolates from new cases of HBV infection in Southern Italy.

The level of endemicity of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections in Italy is low and genotype D infections predominant. New HBV strains may however be introduced as a result of movements of people from regions of high endemicity. The aim of the present study was to determine whether strains from new cases of acute hepatitis B detected in southern Italy were due to endemic or new HBV strains.