Evaluation Of The Relation Between Hepatic Fibrosis And Basic Laboratory Parameters In Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Fibrosis And Basic Laboratory Parameters

Background: The hepatitis B virus is an important healthcare problem. According to current clinical practice, a liver biopsy is required for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic liver disease. However, a liver biopsy is an invasive, inconvenient procedure, which requires an expert pathologist opinion. Therefore requirement of biochemical tests, which are considered to indicate hepatic fibrosis and may be repeated easily, increases gradually today. Objectives: This study evaluated the correlation between hepatic fibrosis and routine laboratory values in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Patients and Methods: The files of 456 patients with CHB (chronic hepatitis B) who were referred to the infectious diseases and clinical microbiology clinic between January 2009 and March 2012 were screened retrospectively. Liver biopsy samples were examined according to Ishak scoring. Laboratory parameters and histopathology reports were recorded, and correlations between the fibrosis grade and laboratory parameters were analyzed. Results: There were 320 male and 136 female patients, with a mean age 36.7 +/- 12.1 years. According to liver biopsy results, a low fibrosis score (stage 0-2) was detected in 281 patients (61.6%), and a high fibrosis score ( stage 3-5) was detected in 175 patients (38.4%). Patients with a high fibrosis score had significantly higher ALT (alanine amino transferase), AST (aspartate aminotransferase), and HBV-DNA values and a significantly lower platelet count compared with those with a low fibrosis score (P=0.001, 0.001, 0.025, and 0.001, respectively). A positive correlation was detected between the fibrosis score and age, BMI, HAI, ALT, and AST values, and a negative correlation was detected between the fibrosis score and albumin and platelet counts. In the regression analysis performed to evaluate the factors associated with high-stage fibrosis, fibrosis was determined to be associated with thrombosis, ALT, and gender. The results of the regression analysis demonstrated that the risk of fibrosis was 4.6 fold higher in men. Conclusions: According to the results obtained in our study, advanced age, higher BMI, AST, ALT, and HBV-DNA levels, and low albumin and platelet levels are correlated with advanced fibrosis in patients with CHB.WoSScopu

Are Bone Morphogenetic Protein-7 (Bmp-7) Serum Levels Correlated With Development Of Hepatic Fibrosis?

Introduction: Bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) is a key protein in organogenesis and liver development. The protein has been studied in the context of liver fibrosis and regeneration. The aim of the present study was to explore any possible association between fibrosis levels (as revealed by liver biopsy) and serum BMP-7 levels. Methodology: A total of 189 patients with chronic hepatitis B and 51 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Results: The study group contained 120 (63.5%) males and 69 (36.5%) females, and the control group contained 25 males (49.0%) and 26 females (51%). In general, serum BMP-7 values of patients were higher than those of controls (p = 0.001). Serum BMP-7 values of patients with liver fibrosis of stages 1, 2, 3, or 4 were higher than control values (all p values = 0.01), but the serum BMP-7 levels of patients with stage 5 fibrosis were similar to that of controls. Associations between fibrosis stage and the serum levels of BMP-7, ALT, HBVDNA, platelets, and albumin were all statistically significant (p = 0.001). The AUROC for the BMP-7 level in advanced stage fibrosis was found to be 0.23. The data were analyzed using the binary logistic regression analysis (backward stepwise method) and BMP-7, HBVDNA, and platelet levels were found to be risk factors associated with fibrosis (p values 0.031, 0.040, and 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: BMP-7 may play anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrogenic roles in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B infection.WoSScopu

Is Serum High-Mobility Group Box 1 (Hmgb-1) Level Correlated with Liver Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis B?

Background: High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), identified as an alarmin molecule, was shown to have a role in virus-triggered liver injury. We aimed to evaluate the association between serum levels of HMGB1 and liver fibrosis. Method: This cross-sectional case-control study included 189 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and 51 healthy controls. All patients underwent liver biopsy and modified Knodell scoring system used to determine the fibrosis level in CHB patients. Serum HMGB1 levels were determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Mean serum HMGB1 levels of patients (58.1 ± 54.7) were found to be higher than those of the control group (7.1 ± 4.3) (P = .001). HMGB1 levels of patients with advanced-stage fibrosis (stage 4 and 5) were detected to be higher than those of patients with early-stage fibrosis (stage 1–3). However, this difference was not statistically significant (P > .05). Albumin levels of fibrosis 3 and 4 patients were lower than fibrosis 1 and 2 patients. ALT, HBV DNA, and AFP levels of fibrosis 5 patients were significantly higher than fibrosis 1 and 2 patients, and their platelet and albumin levels are lower than fibrosis 1 and 2 patients (P < .001). In a logistic regression model, fibrosis levels were correlated with ALT values and inversely correlated with albumin levels. Conclusion: In this study, we demonstrated that serum HMGB1 levels increase in the early course of liver injury and this increase is not correlated with severity of the liver damage.WoSScopusPubMe

Retreatment of Chronic Hepatitis C Infection with Telaprevir: Preliminary Results in Turkey

Background: The use of pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin (PegIFN/RBV) for the retreatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection without a sustained virological response (SVR) prior to PegIFN/RBV treatment has resulted in low success rates

Molecular Characterization of Drug Resistance in Hepatitis B Viruses Isolated from Patients with Chronical Infection in Turkey

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has a high mutation rate due to its unusual replication strategy leading to the production of a large number of virions with single and double mutations. The mutations, in turn, are associated with the development of drug resistance to nucleos(t)ide analogs (NUCs) in patients before and during NUCs therapy. Objectives: The current study aimed at investigating the molecular characterization of HBV in Turkish patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and direct sequencing procedures were used to analyze mutations. The detected drug resistance mutations were divided into the nucleos(t) ide analogs primary, partial, and compensatory resistance groups. The amino acid substitutions of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were categorized into antiviral drug - associated potential vaccine-escape mutations (ADAPVEMs) and typical HBsAg amino acid substitutions, which included hepatitis B hyperimmunoglobulin (HBIg) - selected escape mutation, vaccine escape mutation, hepatitis B misdiagnosis, and immune - selected amino acid substitutions. Results: The number of patients included in the study was 528 out of which 271 (51.3%) were treatment - naive and 351 (66.3%) were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) - negative. Moreover, 325 (61.6%) were males with a mean age of 38 years (range: 18 - 69). Primary, partial, and compensatory resistance to NUCs was reported in 174 (32.9%) patients. Six different ADAPVEM motifs were determined in both treatment - naive and treatment - experienced patients, namely, sF161L/rtI169X, sE164D/rtV173L, sL172L/rtA181T, sL173F/rtA181V, sS195M/rtM204V, and sS196L/rtM204I. The prevalence of ADAPVEMs and typical HBsAg escape mutations was 5.3% (n = 28) and 34.8% (n = 184), respectively. Conclusions: The analysis of drug resistance should constitute a fundamental part of the follow - up period of patients with CHB undergone treatment with NUCs. The surveillance of development of drug resistance mutations, while receiving treatment for hepatitis B is of paramount importance to monitor and control the emerging resistance

Effect of Hepatosteatosis on the Virological Response in Entecavir and Tenofovir Therapies

Objective: Both chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and hepatosteatosis may lead to necroinflammation in liver. Therefore, the presence of hepatosteatosis might negatively affect the efficacy of antiviral therapy. We aimed to determine the effect of hepatosteatosis on virological response in patients with CHB receiving entecavir (ETV) and tenofovir (TDF) treatment

Awareness Of Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation Among Physicians Administering Immunosuppressive Treatment And Related Clinical Practices

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the awareness and knowledge levels of all physicians administering immunosuppressive treatment concerning hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation, and draw attention to the importance of the subject through evaluation. Methods: The study was carried out by infectious diseases and clinical microbiology specialists in 37 health centers, and it was performed in Turkey between January and March 2017. All specialists providing a written consent and working in the departments of Medical Oncology, Hematology, Dermatology and Venereology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Rheumatology of each study center were included in the study. Results: A total of 430 physicians participated in the study. Their mean age was 39.87 +/- 7.42 years, and 47.9% of them were males. During their career, 39.3% of these physicians had encountered patients developing HBV reactivation while receiving immunosuppressive treatment. The rate of encountering patients who died due to HBV reactivation was 6.5%. 97% of physicians who participated, considered the risk of HBV reactivation to be important. 70.2% of physicians stated that guidelines related to HBV reactivation and antiviral treatment for these patients were discussed in the congresses they participated, regarding their specialties. The rate of performing hepatitis screening among physicians whose patients developed HBV reactivation was statistically significantly higher than those physicians who had no patients with HBV reactivation (p<0.05). Physicians who used the guidelines related to HBV reactivation in their specialties performed screening for the HBV infection much more often than physicians who did not use the guidelines (p=0.002). Conclusions: According to the results obtained in our study, the rates of conducting screening and awareness of HBV reactivation among physicians administering immunosuppressive treatment were higher compared with similar studies; however, their awareness that HBV DNA and anti-HBc should be utilized much more frequently among the serological tests they use for screening of HBV infection, should be increased.WoSScopu