Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy: Silent Tragedy

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is brain dysfunction caused by both acute and chronic liver diseases that produces a spectrum of neuropsychiatric symptoms in the absence of other known brain diseases. Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is the mildest form of this spectrum. MHE is defined as HE without symptoms on clinical or neurological examination, but with deficits in the performance of psychometric tests, working memory, psychomotor speed, and visuospatial ability. Minimal hepatic encephalopathy is associated with impaired driving skills and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents and has been associated with increased hospitalizations and death. Despite its clinical importance, a large number of clinicians had never investigated whether their cirrhotic patients might have MHE. Although, there is no single gold standard test for diagnosis of MHE, a combination of two neuropsychological tests or psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score battery test and/or neurophysiological test is standard for diagnosis of MHE. It was found that, treatment for MHE improves neuropsychiatric performance and quality of life and decreases the risk of developing overt HE (OHE). The agents used to treat OHE have been tested in patients with MHE. In particular, lactulose, rifaximin, probiotics and l-ornithine and l-aspartate (LOLA) have all been shown to be beneficial, with documented improvement in psychometric performance after treatment

Current status and future directions in the management of chronic hepatitis C

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is endemic worldwide, and it causes cirrhosis and other complications that often lead to death; nevertheless, our knowledge of the disease and its mechanisms is limited. HCV is most common in underdeveloped nations, including many in Africa and Asia. The virus is usually transmitted by parenteral routes, but sexual, perinatal, and other types of transfer have been known to occur. Approximately 80% of individuals who contract hepatitis C develop a chronic infection, and very few are able to spontaneously clear the virus. Because hepatitis C is asymptomatic in the majority of patients, the presence of HCV RNA in the serum is the best diagnostic tool. Although serious complications from hepatitis C may not occur for 20 years, 1/5 of chronic patients eventually develop life - threatening cirrhosis. More research is needed on the different therapy options for the disease, and many factors, most importantly the genotype of the virus, must be taken into account before beginning any treatment. As there is no vaccine against HCV at present, the most effective and recommended therapy is pegylated-interferon-α-2a plus ribavirin. While interferon is marginally effective as a monotherapy, both adding the moiety and combining it with ribavirin have been shown to dramatically increase its potency. While there are numerous alternative and complementary medicines available for patients with hepatitis C, their efficacy is questionable. Currently, research is being done to investigate other possible treatments for hepatitis C, and progress is being made to develop a vaccine against HCV, despite the many challenges the virus presents. Until such a vaccination is available, prevention and control methods are important in containing and impeding the spread of the virus and mitigating its deleterious effects on the health of people and communities worldwide

Current coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) epidemiological, diagnostic and therapeutic approaches

Coronaviruses are a group of enveloped viruses with non-segmented, single-stranded, and positive-sense RNA genomes. In December 2019, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in Wuhan City, China. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak as a global pandemic in March 2020. Fever, dry cough and fatigue are found in the vast majority of all COVID-19 cases. Early diagnosis, treatment and future prevention are keys to COVID-19 management. Currently, the unmet need to develop cost-effective point-of-contact test kits and efficient laboratory techniques for confirmation of COVID-19 infection has powered a new frontier of diagnostic innovation. No proven effective therapies or vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 currently exist. The rapidly increasing research regarding COVID-19 virology provides a significant number of potential drug targets. Remdesivir may be the most promising therapy up till now. On May 1, 2020, Gilead Sciences, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the investigational Remdesivir as a potential antiviral for COVID-19 treatment. On May 7, 2020, Gilead Sciences, announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has granted regulatory approval of Veklury® (Remdesivir) as a treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID-19 acute respiratory syndrome, under an exceptional approval pathway. Also, Corticosteroids are recommended for severe cases only to suppress the immune response and reduce symptoms, but not for mild and moderate patients where they are associated with a high-risk side effect. Based on the currently published evidence, we tried to highlight different diagnostic approaches, side effects and therapeutic agents that could help physicians in the frontlines

Usability and acceptability of self-testing for hepatitis C virus infection among the general population in the Nile Delta region of Egypt.

BACKGROUND: Self-testing for hepatitis C virus antibodies (HCVST) may be an additional strategy to expand access to hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing and support elimination efforts. We conducted a study to assess the usability and acceptability of HCVST among the general population in a semi-rural, high-HCV prevalence region in Egypt. METHODS: An observational study was conducted in two hospitals in the Nile Delta region. A trained provider gave an in-person demonstration on how to use the oral fluid HCVST followed by observation of the participant performing the test. Usability was assessed by observing errors made and difficulties faced by participants. Acceptability of HCV self-testing was assessed using an interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 116 participants enrolled, 17 (14.6%) had received no formal education. The majority (72%) of participants completed all testing steps without any assistance and interpreted the test results correctly. Agreement between participant-reported HCVST results and interpretation by a trained user was 86%, with a Cohen's kappa of 0.6. Agreement between participant-reported HCVST results and provider-administered oral fluid HCV rapid test results was 97.2%, with a Cohen's kappa of 0.75. The majority of participants rated the HCVST process as easy (53%) or very easy (44%), and 96% indicated they would be willing to use HCVST again and recommend it to their family and friends. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates the high usability and acceptability of oral fluid HCVST in a general population. Further studies are needed to establish the optimal positioning of self-testing alongside facility-based testing to expand access to HCV diagnosis in both general and high-risk populations

Regional differences in clinical presentation and prognosis of patients with post-sustained virologic response (SVR) hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background& Amis: Widespread use of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has resulted in increased numbers of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after achieving sustained virologic response ('post-SVR HCC') worldwide. Few data compare regional differences in presentation and prognosis of patients with post-SVR HCC.MethodsWe identified patients with advanced fibrosis (F3/F4) who developed incident post-SVR HCC between March, 2015 and October, 2021 from 30 sites in Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. We compared patient demographics, liver dysfunction, and tumor burden by region. We compared overall survival by region using Kaplan-Meier analysis and identified factors associated with survival using multivariable Cox regression analysis.ResultsAmong 8,796 patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis who achieved SVR, 583 (6.6%) developed incident HCC. There was marked regional variation in the proportion of detection by surveillance (range: 59.5-100%), median maximum tumor diameter (range: 1.8-5.0 cm), and proportion with multinodular HCC (range: 15.4-60.8%). Prognosis of patients highly varied by region (HR range: 1.82-9.92), with the highest survival in East Asia, North America, and South America, and lowest in the Middle East and South Asia. After adjusting for geographic region, HCC surveillance was associated with early-stage detection (BCLC stage 0/A: 71.0% vs. 21.3%, pConclusionsClinical characteristics, including early-stage detection, and prognosis of post-SVR HCC significantly differed across geographic regions. Surveillance utilization appears to be a high-yield intervention target to improve prognosis among patients with post-SVR HCC globally

Global prevalence and genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus infection in 2015 : A modelling study

Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier LtdBackground The 69th World Health Assembly approved the Global Health Sector Strategy to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by 2030, which can become a reality with the recent launch of direct acting antiviral therapies. Reliable disease burden estimates are required for national strategies. This analysis estimates the global prevalence of viraemic HCV at the end of 2015, an update of—and expansion on—the 2014 analysis, which reported 80 million (95% CI 64–103) viraemic infections in 2013. Methods We developed country-level disease burden models following a systematic review of HCV prevalence (number of studies, n=6754) and genotype (n=11 342) studies published after 2013. A Delphi process was used to gain country expert consensus and validate inputs. Published estimates alone were used for countries where expert panel meetings could not be scheduled. Global prevalence was estimated using regional averages for countries without data. Findings Models were built for 100 countries, 59 of which were approved by country experts, with the remaining 41 estimated using published data alone. The remaining countries had insufficient data to create a model. The global prevalence of viraemic HCV is estimated to be 1·0% (95% uncertainty interval 0·8–1·1) in 2015, corresponding to 71·1 million (62·5–79·4) viraemic infections. Genotypes 1 and 3 were the most common cause of infections (44% and 25%, respectively). Interpretation The global estimate of viraemic infections is lower than previous estimates, largely due to more recent (lower) prevalence estimates in Africa. Additionally, increased mortality due to liver-related causes and an ageing population may have contributed to a reduction in infections. Funding John C Martin Foundation.publishersversionPeer reviewe