Significant Reduction in the Prevalence of Helicobacter Pylori Infection in Albanian Children

Background: In developing countries, Helicobacter pylori infection is very common and begins in the very early childhood. Aim: To determine the prevalence of H pylori infection in Albanian children aged 8-10 years comparing with the data of the study in 1994 and to identify factors associated with H pylori infection. Methods: The prevalence of H pylori infection was studied in 308 asymptomatic children between of 8 and 10 years from mixed urban and rural areas. Of two different districts of Albania.  H pylori status was evaluated by stool antigen test (SAT). Urea-breath test were used in 1994 study. Demographic information, socio-economic feature, and living and hygiene condition, such as type of the house, number of person/children living in the house, practices related to water use and toilet facility were evaluated by a detailed questionnaire completed by the teachers with the cooperation of parent of each children. Results: The overall prevalence of H pylori infection was 58%. Compared to the data of the 1994 study, there were a significant drop to 33%. There were no significant difference between males and female in both studies. The children who grew up in villages had a higher prevalence than those grew up in the city (p<0.001). There were no significant difference in H pylori infection prevalence between the three socio-economic classes. The prevalence were inversely associated with clean water index, crowding index and toilet facility, p<0.001 respectively. Conclusions: This study confirms the nearly two-fold reduction in the prevalence of H pylori infection in Albanian children 8-10 years of age between 1994 and 2014, consequence of improvement in standard of living and hygiene practices. The childhood is a period of major risk for acquisition of H pylori. Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, socioeconomic status, household condition, clean water

Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure in Patients with Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis

Background acute-on-chronic liver failure is an abrupt deterioration of liver function in patients with preexisting chronic liver disease, usually related to a precipitating events. Aim to determine the prevalence, potential precipitating factors and to analyze the clinical-laboratory profile. Methods A total of 149 patients with liver cirrhosis, all males, with average age of 50.5plusmn9 and the long history (more than 15 years) of excessive alcohol consumption (more than 150-180 g/ethanol/day) were enrolled. The patients were randomly divided into two group according to the presence and absence of acute-on-chronic liver failure. The clinical, laboratory and MELD score were compared between the two groups. nbs

Correlation of alcohol consumption with liver histological features in non-cirrhotic patients

Background and aims The association between alcohol consumption and the risk of liver disease remains unclear. The aim of our study was to determine liver morphological features directly related to the mean lifetime daily alcohol intake (LTDAI) in non-cirrhotic patients. Methods Medical records of all consecutive patients who reported alcohol consumption up to the time of hospital admission and who had undergone a liver biopsy in the Gastroenterology Unit of the University Hospital Centre of Tirana (Albania), were reviewed. Patients with established cirrhosis and/or with other possible causes of liver damage were excluded by the study. Results The histological features revealed in the biopsy samples of 51 non-cirrhotic patients were: steatosis in 46 patients (91 %), six of whom (13%) showed also alcoholic foamy degeneration; alteration of hepatocytes in 40 patients (78%), diffuse mononuclear inflammation in 37 patients (73%), polymorphonuclear inflammation in 11 patients (22%) and perivenular fibrosis in 18 patients (35%). Diffuse steatosis was directly correlated with alcohol consumption (P = 80 g in comparison with patients who reported a LTDAI >= 40 to < 80 g (48% vs 25%; P < 0.05). Conclusion In non-cirrhotic patients liver steatosis and fibrosis were more common features among patients who reported a higher alcoholic consumption, but no clear-cut association between typical histological features of alcoholic liver disease and alcohol consumption was found. (c) 2005 Lippincott Williams C Wilkins