Effects of immunosuppressive drugs on COVID-19 severity in patients with autoimmune hepatitis.

BACKGROUND: We investigated associations between baseline use of immunosuppressive drugs and severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data of AIH patients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 were retrospectively collected from 15 countries. The outcomes of AIH patients who were on immunosuppression at the time of COVID-19 were compared to patients who were not on AIH medication. The clinical courses of COVID-19 were classified as (i)-no hospitalization, (ii)-hospitalization without oxygen supplementation, (iii)-hospitalization with oxygen supplementation by nasal cannula or mask, (iv)-intensive care unit (ICU) admission with non-invasive mechanical ventilation, (v)-ICU admission with invasive mechanical ventilation or (vi)-death and analysed using ordinal logistic regression. RESULTS: We included 254 AIH patients (79.5%, female) with a median age of 50 (range, 17-85) years. At the onset of COVID-19, 234 patients (92.1%) were on treatment with glucocorticoids (n = 156), thiopurines (n = 151), mycophenolate mofetil (n = 22) or tacrolimus (n = 16), alone or in combinations. Overall, 94 (37%) patients were hospitalized and 18 (7.1%) patients died. Use of systemic glucocorticoids (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.73, 95% CI 1.12-25.89) and thiopurines (aOR 4.78, 95% CI 1.33-23.50) for AIH was associated with worse COVID-19 severity, after adjusting for age-sex, comorbidities and presence of cirrhosis. Baseline treatment with mycophenolate mofetil (aOR 3.56, 95% CI 0.76-20.56) and tacrolimus (aOR 4.09, 95% CI 0.69-27.00) were also associated with more severe COVID-19 courses in a smaller subset of treated patients. CONCLUSION: Baseline treatment with systemic glucocorticoids or thiopurines prior to the onset of COVID-19 was significantly associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with AIH.

Liver Stiffness and Steatosis Measurements with iLivTouch and FibroScan: A Comparative Study.

The presence of liver fibrosis is the most important indicator of progression to cirrhosis. Noninvasive measurement of liver stiffness is crucial for detecting fibrosis. Vibration-controlled transient elastography is one of the most useful methods for this purpose. We aimed to compare the liver stiffness and steatosis measurements with iLivTouch© and the FibroScan© elastography devices Two hundred thirty-seven consecutive adult patients with chronic hepatitis were included in the study. The liver stiffness and steatosis were measured with iLivTouch and FibroScan on the same day. Thirty-one patients had liver biopsies on the same day with elastography procedures. The diagnostic performances of iLivTouch and FibroScan were compared to aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI), Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4), and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score (NFS). The liver stiffness measurements obtained using iLivTouch and FibroScan had median value of 10.3 (ranging from 2.9 to 46.3) and 7.2 (ranging from 2.5 to 75), respectively. The mean steatosis measurements using ultrasound attenuation parameter with iLivTouch were 245.51 ± 45.79, while the mean controlled attenuation parameter measurements using FibroScan were 259.37 ± 75.0. In subgroup analysis, the AUC of iLivTouch on detecting signiicant fibrosis [0.83, (P = .002)] was minimally higher than other noninvasive methods [0.82 for NFS (P = .003), 0.80 for FibroScan (P = .006), 0.68 for FIB-4 (P = .089), and 0.53 for APRI (P = .76)]. The stiffness and steatosis measurements with iLivTouch and FibroScan were not similar. The accuracy of iLivTouch in detecting significant and advanced fibrosis was minimally higher. Large clinical trials are necessary to support these findings.

Evaluation of Magnetic Resonance Elastography and Transient Elastography for Liver Fibrosis and Steatosis Assessments in the Liver Transplant Setting.

BACKGROUND: Liver graft fibrosis affects long-term graft and patient survival in liver transplant recipients. Transient elastography and magnetic resonance elastography are widely used for the assessment of liver fibrosis in routine clinical practice, but are limited in liver transplant settings. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance elastography and transient elastograph in the assessment of liver fibrosis in liver transplant recipients, and to determine the recurrence rates of post-transplant hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis. METHODS: A total of 126 consecutive liver transplant recipients were included. Magnetic resonance elastography and transient elastography were performed for to measure liver stiffness. RESULTS: The most common cause of liver transplantation was hepatitis B virus-induced cirrhosis (50%). The mean liver stiffness value with transient elastography was 6.1 ± 3.0 kPa, and the mean magnetic resonance elastography value was 2.7 ± 1.0 kPa. A significant positive correlation was found between magnetic resonance elastography and transient elastography in terms of liver stiffness measurement (r = 0.61, P < .001). Obesity and the underlying etiology of liver diseases did not have any significant negative effect on magnetic resonance elastography and transient elastography measurements. During the follow-up, the post-transplant recurrence rates of hepatic steatosis and hepatic fibrosis were 26% and 37%, respectively. The recurrence rates of post-transplant hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis were slightly higher in recipients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-related cirrhosis than those with viral hepatitisrelated etiologies (44% vs 27%, P = .43; 44% vs 30%, P = .45, respectively). CONCLUSION: Magnetic resonance elastography and transient elastography are accurate in assessing liver fibrosis in the liver transplant setting. Obesity and the underlying etiology of primary liver disease do not influence the measurements.

Clinical significance of concomitant extrahepatic autoimmune disease in patients with autoimmune liver disease.

Background and Aim: This study aimed to determine the presence of concomitant extrahepatic autoimmune disease (EAD) in patients with autoimmune liver disease (ALD) and the efficacy of the treatment response of ALD with the presence of any EAD. Materials and Methods: Between January 2001 and November 2017, 241 patients with ALD were included in the study. Results: Of the 241 patients, 88, 134, and 19 had autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), and overlap syndrome (OS), respectively. Thirty-one patients had cirrhosis: 77% and 23% had compensated and decompensated disease, respectively. The presence of at least one EAD was defined in 38.6% of the patients with ALD (n=93), and 12% of them had ≥1 EAD. EAD was most commonly seen in patients with OS and PBC compared with those with AIH (p=0.036). Autoimmune thyroid disease was the most common association (20%), followed by Sjogren syndrome (12.0%). At the end of the follow-up period, 165 patients (72%) had biochemical response. The presence of EAD did not affect the biochemical response. Conclusion: EAD is most frequently seen in patients with ALD. The presence of EAD is not associated with the treatment response.