Diagnosis and treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Argentine Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, year 2019

El hígado graso no alcohólico (HGNA) es la enfermedad hepática crónica más frecuente en todo el mundo, con una prevalencia aproximada de 25% a nivel global. Su prevalencia es mucho mayor en pacientes con sobrepeso, obesidad y diabetes tipo 2 y es considerada como la manifestación hepática del síndrome metabólico. El espectro de la enfermedad hepática es muy amplio, desde la esteatosis simple a la esteatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrosis y sus complicaciones, como el hepatocarcinoma. La mayoría de los pacientes afectados no progresará a la fibrosis avanzada/cirrosis. A pesar de esto, se ha descripto que la hepatopatía es la tercera causa de muerte entre los pacientes con HGNA, luego de las enfermedades cardiovasculares y las malignas. Entre la enorme cantidad de afectados, lo más importante es identificar a los que están en riesgo de evolución a la cirrosis o sus complicaciones y conocer las opciones de diagnóstico y tratamiento. En esta Guía organizada por la Asociación Argentina para el Estudio de las Enfermedades del Hígado se revisan las definiciones, los aspectos epidemiológicos, la historia natural y un enfoque práctico sobre algoritmos posibles para estimar la gravedad de la hepatopatía en cada caso, además de analizar los avances en el tratamiento y recomendaciones para el seguimiento. Es importante señalar que no se han publicado datos sobre incidencia o prevalencia de la enfermedad en población general de Argentina, y se alienta a la realización de los mismos.. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most frequent chronic liver disease worldwide, with an estimated global prevalence of approximately 25%, that is much higher in patients with overweight, obesity and type 2 diabetes. NAFLD is considered as the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. It has a wide spectrum, from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis and its complications, such as hepatocellular carcinoma. Most of the affected patients will not evolve to advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Despite this, it has been described that the hepatic disease is the third cause of death among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver, after cardiovascular and malignant diseases. Among the huge number of patients affected, the main challenge is to identify those who are at risk of developing cirrhosis or its complications and to recognize the diagnostic and treatment options. In this Guideline, endorsed by the Argentine Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the definitions, epidemiological aspects, natural history and a practical approach to possible algorithms to estimate the severity of liver disease in the individual patient are reviewed; in addition to analyzing advances in treatment and proposing recommendations for follow-up. It is important to note that no data on the incidence or prevalence of the disease have been published in the general population of Argentina, and it is encouraged to carry them out.Fil: Fassio, Eduardo. Hospital Nacional Profesor Alejandro Posadas; ArgentinaFil: Dirchwolf, Melisa. Hospital Privado de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Barreyro, Fernando Javier. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales. Departamento de Microbiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Adrover, Raúl. No especifíca;Fil: Alonso, M. Inés. No especifíca;Fil: Amante, Marcelo. No especifíca;Fil: Ameigeiras, Beatriz. No especifíca;Fil: Barreyro, Fernando J.. No especifíca;Fil: Benavides, Javier. No especifíca;Fil: Bessone, Fernando. No especifíca;Fil: Cairo, Fernando. No especifíca;Fil: Camino, Alejandra. No especifíca;Fil: Cañero Velasco, M. Cristina. No especifíca;Fil: Casciato, Paola. No especifíca;Fil: Cocozzella, Daniel. No especifíca;Fil: Daruich, Jorge. No especifíca;Fil: De Matteo, Elena. No especifíca;Fil: Dirchwolf, Melisa. No especifíca;Fil: Fassio, Eduardo. No especifíca;Fil: Fernández, José Luis. No especifíca;Fil: Fernández, Nora. No especifíca;Fil: Ferretti, Sebastián. No especifíca;Fil: Figueroa, Sebastián. No especifíca;Fil: Galoppo, Marcela. No especifíca;Fil: Godoy, Alicia. No especifíca;Fil: González Ballerga, Esteban. No especifíca;Fil: Graffigna, Mabel. No especifíca;Fil: Guma, Carlos. No especifíca;Fil: Lagues, Cecilia. No especifíca;Fil: Marino, Mónica. No especifíca;Fil: Mendizábal, Manuel. No especifíca;Fil: Mesquida, Marcelo. No especifíca;Fil: Odzak, Andrea. No especifíca;Fil: Peralta, Mirta. No especifíca;Fil: Ridruejo, Ezequiel. No especifíca;Fil: Ruffillo, Gabriela. No especifíca;Fil: Sordá, Juan A.. No especifíca;Fil: Tanno, Mario. No especifíca;Fil: Villamil, Alejandra. No especifíca;Fil: Colombato, Luis. No especifíca;Fil: Fainboim, Hugo. No especifíca;Fil: Gadano, Adrián. No especifíca;Fil: Galoppo, Cristina. No especifíca;Fil: Villamil, Federico. No especifíca

A global research priority agenda to advance public health responses to fatty liver disease

Background & aims An estimated 38% of adults worldwide have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). From individual impacts to widespread public health and economic consequences, the implications of this disease are profound. This study aimed to develop an aligned, prioritised fatty liver disease research agenda for the global health community. Methods Nine co-chairs drafted initial research priorities, subsequently reviewed by 40 core authors and debated during a three-day in-person meeting. Following a Delphi methodology, over two rounds, a large panel (R1 n = 344, R2 n = 288) reviewed the priorities, via Qualtrics XM, indicating agreement using a four-point Likert-scale and providing written feedback. The core group revised the draft priorities between rounds. In R2, panellists also ranked the priorities within six domains: epidemiology, models of care, treatment and care, education and awareness, patient and community perspectives, and leadership and public health policy. Results The consensus-built fatty liver disease research agenda encompasses 28 priorities. The mean percentage of ‘agree’ responses increased from 78.3 in R1 to 81.1 in R2. Five priorities received unanimous combined agreement (‘agree’ + ‘somewhat agree’); the remaining 23 priorities had >90% combined agreement. While all but one of the priorities exhibited at least a super-majority of agreement (>66.7% ‘agree’), 13 priorities had 90% combined agreement. Conclusions Adopting this multidisciplinary consensus-built research priorities agenda can deliver a step-change in addressing fatty liver disease, mitigating against its individual and societal harms and proactively altering its natural history through prevention, identification, treatment, and care. This agenda should catalyse the global health community’s efforts to advance and accelerate responses to this widespread and fast-growing public health threat. Impact and implications An estimated 38% of adults and 13% of children and adolescents worldwide have fatty liver disease, making it the most prevalent liver disease in history. Despite substantial scientific progress in the past three decades, the burden continues to grow, with an urgent need to advance understanding of how to prevent, manage, and treat the disease. Through a global consensus process, a multidisciplinary group agreed on 28 research priorities covering a broad range of themes, from disease burden, treatment, and health system responses to awareness and policy. The findings have relevance for clinical and non-clinical researchers as well as funders working on fatty liver disease and non-communicable diseases more broadly, setting out a prioritised, ranked research agenda for turning the tide on this fast-growing public health threat

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in patients with cirrhosis: incidence, outcomes, and treatment strategies

Sebastián Marciano,1,2 Juan Manuel Díaz,1 Melisa Dirchwolf,3 Adrián Gadano1,2 1Liver Unit, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina; 2Department of Research, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina; 3Hepatology Unit, Hospital Privado de Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina Abstract: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is the most frequent bacterial infection in patients with cirrhosis. The reported incidence varies between 7% and 30% in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis and ascites, representing one of their main complications. Outcomes in patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis are poor since acute kidney injury, acute-on-chronic liver failure, and death occur in as much as 54%, 60%, and 40% of the patients, respectively, at midterm. Early antibiotic treatment of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is crucial. However, the landscape of microbiological resistance is continuously changing, with an increasing spread of multidrug-resistant organisms that make its current management more challenging. Thus, the selection of the empirical antibiotic treatment should be guided by the severity and location where the infection was acquired, the risk factors for multidrug-resistant organisms, and the available information on the local expected bacteriology. The use of albumin as a complementary therapy for selected high-risk patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is recommended in addition to antibiotics. Even though antibiotic prophylaxis has proven to be effective to prevent spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, a careful selection of high-risk candidates is crucial to avoid antibiotic overuse. In this article we review the pathogenesis, risk factors, and prognosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, as well as the current evidence regarding its treatment and prophylaxis. Keywords: bacterial infections, acute-on-chronic liver failure, drug resistance, antibiotic prophylaxis, acute kidney injur

Modelling of the effects of environmental factors on rice grain discoloration incidence in Corrientes province, Argentina

Rice grain discoloration (RGD) is a disease of complex aetiology for which there are no resistant varieties. Due to the need to better define the environmental conditions that favour the disease, the aims of this work were to (i) identify the predominant fungi associated, (ii) determine the meteorological variables most closely related, and (iii) develop preliminary weather-based models to predict binary levels of RGD incidence. After analysing 123 rice grain samples under natural infection conditions from rice-cropping regions throughout Corrientes province, Argentina, we found that RGD was mainly associated with Alternaria padwickii (14.2%) and Microdochium albescens (13.7%). The strongest associations between weather variables and RGD incidence were observed in a susceptible critical period (Scp) that extended from the rice flowering stage until 870 accumulated degree days (Scp lasting 32 days, ±7 days). The binary response logistic model including the weather variables DPrecT (which combined the effect of the simultaneous daily occurrence of precipitation lower than 12 mm and air temperature between 13 and 28°C), and DDMnT (sum of the exceeding amounts of daily min temperature from 23°C), was the most appropriate, showing prediction accuracy (PA) values of 84.6%. The univariate model that included DPrecT presented a PA of 82.1%. The logistic regression techniques here used to develop weather-based models to estimate the probabilities of occurrence of binary levels of RGD can not only help to clarify and quantify the environmental effect on the development of RGD but also be useful tools to be included in future management strategies.Instituto de Clima y AguaFil: Dirchwolf, Pamela M. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Laboratorio de Fitopatología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Moschini, Ricardo Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Clima y Agua; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrez, Susana Alejandra. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Carmona, Marcelo Anibal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Cátedra de Fitopatología; Argentin