Alcohol-Related Liver Disease Is Rarely Detected at Early Stages Compared With Liver Diseases of Other Etiologies Worldwide.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Despite recent advances in treatment of viral hepatitis, liver-related mortality is high, possibly owing to the large burden of advanced alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). We investigated whether patients with ALD are initially seen at later stages of disease development than patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection or other etiologies. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of 3453 consecutive patients with either early or advanced liver disease (1699 patients with early and 1754 with advanced liver disease) seen at 17 tertiary care liver or gastrointestinal units worldwide, from August 2015 through March 2017. We collected anthropometric, etiology, and clinical information, as well as and model for end-stage liver disease scores. We used unconditional logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios for evaluation at late stages of the disease progression. RESULTS: Of the patients analyzed, 81% had 1 etiology of liver disease and 17% had 2 etiologies of liver disease. Of patients seen at early stages for a single etiology, 31% had HCV infection, 21% had hepatitis B virus infection, and 17% had nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, whereas only 3.8% had ALD. In contrast, 29% of patients seen for advanced disease had ALD. Patients with ALD were more likely to be seen at specialized centers, with advanced-stage disease, compared with patients with HCV-associated liver disease (odds ratio, 14.1; 95% CI, 10.5-18.9; P < .001). Of patients with 2 etiologies of liver disease, excess alcohol use was associated with 50% of cases. These patients had significantly more visits to health care providers, with more advanced disease, compared with patients without excess alcohol use. The mean model for end-stage liver disease score for patients with advanced ALD (score, 16) was higher than for patients with advanced liver disease not associated with excess alcohol use (score, 13) (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: In a cross-sectional analysis of patients with liver disease worldwide, we found that patients with ALD are seen with more advanced-stage disease than patients with HCV-associated liver disease. Of patients with 2 etiologies of liver disease, excess alcohol use was associated with 50% of cases. Early detection and referral programs are needed for patients with ALD worldwide.

Characteristics of Patients with Nonvariceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding - Are We Underestimating Gastroprotection during NSAIDs Therapy?

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to determine the etiological factors, treatment and outcome of patients with non-variceal bleeding from upper gastrointestinal tract. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study enrolled 200 patients admitted to Sarajevo University Clinical Center with signs and symptoms of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, from January 2019 to July 2020. All patients had undergone gastroscopy, confirming the cause of gastrointestinal bleeding. Clinical and laboratory data were collected retrospectively, including previous non-steroid antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and anticoagulant therapy, comorbidities, risk factors, as well as endoscopic findings, laboratory findings, treatment and clinical follow-up. RESULTS: The majority of patients were men (59%) with an average age of 53±6 years. Duodenal and gastric ulcers were the most common cause, followed by other etiologies. In our study, previous NSAIDs therapy had been registered in 29.5% of patients, anticoagulants in 8%, and proton pump inhibitors (PPI) in 2.9% of patients. Endoscopic intervention was required in 34% of patients. The need for transfusion occurred in 44.5% of cases. Rebleeding during hospitalization was observed in 7.5% of patients, mortality in 1.5% and surgery in 3% of patients. CONCLUSION: The patients admitted to our hospital with symptoms of acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding were elderly, predominantly males, with significant comorbidities and a higher incidence of NSAID use. Gastroprotection is underutilized during NSAID treatment in patients with other coexisting risk factors, with a low rate of concomitant use of PPI during NSAIDs therapy. Endoscopic therapy, together with PPI, significantly reduces rebleeding rates, mortality and the number of emergency surgical interventions.