The Role of M30 in Predicting the Severity of Liver Fibrosis and Inflammation in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients.

BACKGROUND: Liver biopsy is an invasive procedure that is currently still necessary for predicting underlying hepatic injury related to chronic viral hepatitis B (CVHB). To date, none of the studied non-invasive methods have been able to replace liver biopsy. An apoptotic serum marker, M30, which has been reported to indicate ongoing liver fibrosis, has been popular in recent years. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the possible role of M30 in predicting CVHB-associated hepatic injury and its severity. METHODS: Forty-eight patients undergoing liver biopsy for evaluation of the severity of CVHB-related liver injury and 40 healthy controls were included in this cross-sectional study. M30 levels were determined for all CVHB patients and controls, and other laboratory parameters and demographic features were obtained from our hospital's database. RESULTS: The mean ages of patients and controls were 39.7 and 45.7 years, respectively, and 35% of the controls and 52% of the patients were male. In contrast to lower platelet counts, transaminase and M30 levels were both higher in the patient group than in the controls. Among the investigated parameters, only transaminase increased as the fibrosis stage changed from mild to moderate; however, none of the laboratory parameters, including M30, differed as the histological activity index (HAI) score increased. CONCLUSIONS: M30 levels were higher in CVHB patients compared to healthy controls. However, M30 levels were similar in the mild and moderate stages of fibrosis, so they did not indicate the severity of underlying fibrotic or inflammatory processes in CVHB patients.

Assessment of the Correlation between Endoscopic Activity and Histological Activity in Ulcerative Colitis Patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the concordance between the Rachmilewitz endoscopic activity index (EAI) and the Harpaz histopathological activity scoring system (HSS), which are used for evaluating the disease activity of ulcerative colitis (UC). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study included 109 patients with UC. Based on the disease extent, patients were divided into two groups as left-sided colitis and pancolitis. Patients were grouped as inactive, mild, moderate and severe depending on the Rachmilewitz EAI and Harpaz HSS. Kendal's tau and kappa (x03BA;) statistics were used to assess the agreement between endoscopic and histopathological scores. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was also analyzed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of endoscopic scores to predict inactive histopathological disease. RESULTS: In the left-sided colitis group, there were slight and poor agreements in the inactive endoscopic subscores (ESS) with inactive Harpaz HSS (x03BA;: 0.598, p < 0.001) and moderate ESS with moderate Harpaz HSS (x03BA;: 0.236, p = 0.046). There was no agreement between mild ESS and mild Harpaz HSS and between severe ESS and severe Harpaz HSS (x03BA;: 0.071, p = 0.573 and x03BA;: 0.160, p = 0.151, respectively). In the pancolitis group, there was no significant agreement between inactive, mild, moderate and severe ESS and the equivalent Harpaz HSS grades (x03BA;: -0.194, p = 0.187; x03BA;: 0.125, p = 0.397; x03BA;: 0.148, p = 0.175 and x03BA;: 0.174, p = 0.153, respectively). The ROC curve showed that the ESS indicating inactive disease had a low sensitivity to predict histologically inactive disease. CONCLUSION: The concordance between the endoscopic and histopathological indices was poor. Using both scores in the follow-up of patients with UC is necessary for treatment planning.

Will a second biopsy sample affect treatment decisions in patients with chronic hepatitis B?

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Liver biopsy is the gold standard for assessment of fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B. However, it has some disadvantages, including inter-observer and intra-observer variability in biopsy interpretation and specimen variation. A standard biopsy specimen represents only about 0.0002 % of the whole liver. It has been shown that two biopsy samples collected during a procedure have significant influence on the diagnostic performance of interpretation in patients with hepatitis C or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Therefore, we aimed to assess the influence of collecting two liver biopsy samples during a single procedure for staging and grading chronic hepatitis B. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 27 patients were included in the study. The median age of the patients was 43.51 ± 11.69. Fifteen patients were female, 12 patients were male. In the biopsy procedure, two samples of liver lobes were obtained. Grade and stage scores were compared between the two samples. Fibrosis staging and grading were assessed according to the Ishak scoring system. RESULTS: Numbers of portal tract and biopsy size were equal in the two samples. There was a significant difference between the samples in terms of histological activity index (p value = 0.04). However, the difference was not enough to distinguish the mild and moderate stages. On the other hand, no significant difference in fibrosis staging between the two samples was found. CONCLUSIONS: With this relatively small size of patients, in this study, we showed that a proper liver biopsy size is sufficient to predict treatment decisions in chronic hepatitis B patients. However, further studies are needed to show the association of sampling variability in patients with hepatitis B.

What is the main target: a clearer colon with a sennoside-based regime, or adequate bowel cleansing before colonoscopy with a PEG-EL-based regime?

BACKGROUND/AIM: Even though polyethylene glycol-electrolyte lavage (PEG-EL)-based regimes have become the gold standard in recent years, to finish drinking 4 L of PEG-EL solution can be difficult. The quality of sennoside-based bowel-cleansing regimes used in Turkey has been known for some time. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of both bowel-cleansing regimes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients over 18 years old undergoing elective colonoscopic procedures between January and March 2011 were included in the study. The patients were divided into 2 groups; in Group 1, 91 patients were given sennoside a + b calcium 500 mg/250 mL (X-M solution, Yenisehir Laboratuari, Ankara, Turkey), and in Group 2, 94 patients were given 4 L of PEG-EL (Golytely, Boston, MA, USA). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients and the male distribution were similar in the 2 groups. Both inadequate bowel cleansing and the best cleansed bowels were seen in Group 1. The number of inadequate colonoscopies declined when using a whole bowel-cleansing regime from 24.5% to 19.3% in Group 2, but it did not decline in Group 1. CONCLUSION: The best bowel cleansing can be achieved with sennoside-based regimes, whereas a greater proportion of adequate results via colonoscopy were reached with the PEG-EL-based regimes.

Should screening for colorectal neoplasm be recommended in patients at high risk for coronary heart disease: a cross-sectional study.

Colorectal neoplasm (CRN) and coronary heart disease (CHD) share common risk factors. We aimed to assess the risk for CRN in patients who are at high risk for developing CHD determined by measurements, which are independent from the risk factors for CRN.This study was conducted on individuals who underwent total colonoscopic examination and were without history of CHD. Two-hundred thirty-five subjects (82 with CRN and 153 with normal colonoscopic findings) participated in the study. Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) was defined as the presence of adenocarcinoma. We measured carotid intima media thickness (CIMT), flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and calculated Framingham risk score (FRS) for all participants. An increased CIMT (≥1.0 mm), a decreased FMD (<10%), and a high FRS (>20%) were defined as high risks for developing CHD. The risk and the prevalence of CRN were analyzed in relation to the risk for developing CHD.The ratio of the patients with overall-CRN and CRC was significantly higher in individuals who are at high risk for developing CHD compared with individuals who are at low risk for developing CHD by each 3 risk estimation method (P < 0.05 for all). An increased CIMT, a decreased FMD, and a high FRS score were significantly associated with the high risk for the presence of CRC (odds ratio [OR]: 6.018, OR: 3.699, and OR: 4.120, respectively). An increased CIMT, a decreased FMD, and an intermediate FRS were significantly associated with the risk for the presence of overall-CRN (OR: 3.607, OR: 1.866 and OR: 2.889, respectively).The risk for CRN increases as the risk for developing CHD increases. It can be suggested that screening for CRN can be recommended for individuals who are at high risk for developing CHD.

The impact of amalgam dental fillings on the frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection and H. pylori eradication rates in patients treated with concomitant, quadruple, and levofloxacin-based therapies.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Mercury exposure is encountered most commonly in individuals with amalgam fillings. The toxic, bactericidal, and immunosuppressive effects of mercury are well known. Furthermore, multiple antibiotic resistance can be transferred, together with mercury resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection in dyspeptic patients with amalgam fillings and the effect of the amalgam fillings on H. pylori eradication rates in these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Four hundred and seventy-five patients who presented with dyspeptic complaints and underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and gastric biopsy were included in this study. One hundred and sixty-nine (35.6%) patients were negative and 306 (64.4%) patients were positive for H. pylori. All of the participants underwent dental examinations in a blinded manner. The participants were divided into two groups on the basis of the presence of amalgam fillings. The H. pylori-positive patients were divided randomly into three subgroups: patients who received concomitant therapy (CT) (rabeprazole-amoxicillin-clarithromycin-metronidazole for 14 days; n=122); patients who received quadruple therapy (QT) (rabeprazole-tetracycline-metronidazole-colloidal bismuth subcitrate for 10 days; n=97); and patients who received levofloxacin-based therapy (LT) (rabeprazole-amoxicillin-levofloxacin for 10 days; n=87). Eradication success was detected by a urea breath test 6 weeks after the end of treatment. RESULTS: The frequency of H. pylori infection was significantly lower in the filling group compared with the nonfilling group (53.7 and 78.8%, respectively; P<0.001). The eradication rates in the CT, QT, and LT groups were 65.5, 67.0, and 58.6%, respectively, in the intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis and 69.6, 70.7, and 62.2%, respectively, in the per-protocol (PP) analysis. In all of the H. pylori-positive patients and separately in the CT and LT groups, the eradication rates were significantly lower in the filling group compared with the nonfilling group. However, in the QT group, there was no significant difference between the patients with and without fillings (P=0.001, 0.003, 0.012, 0.14, respectively). Logistic regression analysis showed that the absence of amalgam filling exerts independent effects on the increased frequency of H. pylori infection and increased rate of H. pylori eradication. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to show a lower frequency of H. pylori colonization in patients with amalgam fillings than without and that H. pylori eradication rates are lower in patients with amalgam fillings compared to those without.

Lesser celandine (pilewort) induced acute toxic liver injury: The first case report worldwide.

Lesser celandine, also known as Ranunculus ficaria, is a herbaceous perennial plant that commonly utilizes piles and is taken either internally or used externally. The causality assessment of several reports provided evidence for the existence of Greater Celandine hepatotoxicity. However, there hasn't been any case report published thus far, about lesser celandine induced liver injury. Here, we present a case of 36-year-old woman admitted to the hospital with acute hepatitis and jaundice on her sclera with no history of drug abuse or alcohol consumption. However, the patient had a recent history of lesser celandine extract consumption for hemorrhoids, for about 10 d, prior to the admission. Viral hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, and drug induced toxic hepatitis were ruled out by further imaging studies and laboratory analysis. Using the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences scale, the type of liver injury was assumed as hepatocellular and was scored as 7 which shows probable causality. Immediate discontinuation of lesser celandine extract resulted in rapid decrease of the elevated enzymes. Herbs have been reported to cause liver injury and therefore should be suspected in the case of acute hepatitis with an unknown etiology. This case is important to be the first to explain hepatotoxicity caused by lesser celandine. Physicians should consider lesser celandine as a causative agent for hepatotoxicity.