Higher Liver Volume is a Non-Invasive Indicator of Hepatic Reserve in Cirrhotic Patients Undergoing Treatment for Hepatitis C Virus Infection

BACKGROUND: Nearly all patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can be treated successfully and achieve a virolgical cure; however, cure does not ensure the return of normal liver function. Non-invasive markers are needed to identify patients at high risk for continued liver dysfunction despite HCV cure. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate liver volume, spleen volume, and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score prior to treatment as predictors of continued liver dysfunction post-cure. METHODS: Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with post-cure liver dysfunction, defined as serum albumin below the lower limit of normal. Liver and spleen volumes were calculated from computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance images (MRI). RESULTS: One-predictor logistic regression models revealed that greater pre-treatment liver volume per ideal body weight [odds ratio (OR): 1.2 per mL/kg, p=0.008], lower pre-treatment spleen volume per ideal body weight (OR: 0.89 for every mL/kg, p=0.032), and lower pre-treatment MELD score (OR: 0.56 for every 1 unit increase in MELD score, p=0.002) were significantly related to recovery (albumin normalization). SIGNIFICANCE: Liver volume, spleen volume, and the MELD score may all help to identify high-risk patients

Higher harmonic non-linear flow modes of charged hadrons in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}} = 5.02 TeV

International audienceAnisotropic flow coefficients, v$_{n}$, non-linear flow mode coefficients, χ$_{n,mk}$, and correlations among different symmetry planes, ρ$_{n,mk}$ are measured in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV. Results obtained with multi-particle correlations are reported for the transverse momentum interval 0.2 < p$_{T}$< 5.0 GeV/c within the pseudorapidity interval 0.4 < |η| < 0.8 as a function of collision centrality. The v$_{n}$ coefficients and χ$_{n,mk}$ and ρ$_{n,mk}$ are presented up to the ninth and seventh harmonic order, respectively. Calculations suggest that the correlations measured in different symmetry planes and the non-linear flow mode coefficients are dependent on the shear and bulk viscosity to entropy ratios of the medium created in heavy-ion collisions. The comparison between these measurements and those at lower energies and calculations from hydrodynamic models places strong constraints on the initial conditions and transport properties of the system.[graphic not available: see fulltext