Clinical Outcomes and Quantitative HBV Surface Antigen Levels in Diverse Chronic Hepatitis B Patients in Canada: A Retrospective Real-World Study of CHB in Canada (REVEAL-CANADA).

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss is associated with improved clinical outcomes for individuals with chronic hepatitis B (CHB); however, the effects of varying HBsAg levels on clinical outcomes in diverse cohorts are understudied. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, multicentre, retrospective study, the data on adult subjects enrolled in the Canadian HBV Network with CHB seen from 1 January 2012 to 30 January 2021 with the treatment and virologic data within 1 year of HBsAg testing were analyzed. Patients were tested for HBsAg using qualitative (for HBsAg-negative samples) and/or commercial quantitative assays. Fibrosis or hepatic necroinflammation was determined by the liver stiffness measurement (LSM). The baseline data were summarized using descriptive statistics and compared by using univariable/multivariable analyses. RESULTS: This study included 844 CHB patients, with a median age of 49.6 years (IQR 40.1-60.5), and 37% were female. In total, 751 patients (78.6%) had known ethnicity data, and 76.7% self-reported as Asian, 11.4% as Black, 6.8% as White, and 4.8% as other. Among the 844 patients, 237 (28.0%) were HBsAg (-) (1000 IU/mL. Overall, 80% (682) had known HBeAg status at the last follow-up, and the majority (87.0%) were HBeAg-negative. In addition, 54% (461/844) had prior antiviral therapy, 19.7% of which (16.3, 23.7, n = 91) were HBsAg (-). The treated patients had a lower risk of cirrhosis (16.46, 95% CI 1.89-143.39, p = 0.01) or HCC (8.23, 95% CI 1.01-67.39, p = 0.05) than the untreated patients. A lower proportion of the HBsAg-loss group had cirrhosis (5.7% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.021) and HCC (0.9% vs. 6.2%, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: In this retrospective, ethnically diverse cohort study, CHB patients who received antiviral therapy and/or had HBsAg loss were less likely to develop cirrhosis and HCC, confirming the results of the studies in less diverse cohorts. No association was found between the qHBsAg level and fibrosis determined with LSM. Individuals who achieved HBsAg loss had low-level qHBsAg within 1 year of seroclearance.

Baseline Cannabinoid Use Is Associated with Increased Sedation Requirements for Outpatient Endoscopy.

Background and Aims: Given the underlying properties of cannabinoids, we aimed to assess associations between cannabinoid use and sedation requirements for esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at three endoscopy units. Adult outpatients undergoing EGD or colonoscopy with endoscopist-directed conscious sedation (EDCS) were given questionnaires on cannabinoid use and relevant parameters. Outcomes included intraprocedural midazolam, fentanyl, and diphenhydramine use, procedural tolerability, and adverse events. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to yield adjusted odds ratios (AORs) of outcomes. Results: A total of 419 patients were included. Baseline cannabinoid use was associated with high midazolam use, defined as ≥5 mg, during EGD (AOR 2.89, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.19-7.50), but not during colonoscopy (AOR 0.89, 95% CI 0.41-1.91). Baseline cannabinoid use was associated with the administration of any diphenhydramine during EGD (AOR 3.04, 95% CI: 1.29-7.30) with a similar nonsignificant trend for colonoscopy (AOR 2.36, 95% CI: 0.81-7.04). Baseline cannabinoid use was associated with increased odds of requiring high total sedation, defined as any of midazolam ≥5 mg, fentanyl ≥100 mcg, or any diphenhydramine during EGD (AOR 3.72, 95% CI: 1.35-11.68). Cannabinoid use was not independently associated with fentanyl use, intraprocedural awareness, discomfort, or adverse events. Conclusions: Baseline cannabinoid use was associated with higher sedation use during endoscopy with EDCS, particularly with midazolam and diphenhydramine. Given increasingly widespread cannabinoid use, endoscopists should be equipped with optimal sedation strategies for this population. As part of the informed consent process, cannabis users should be counseled that they may require higher sedation doses to achieve the same effect.

Development and validation of a patient-reported scale for tolerability of endoscopic procedures using conscious sedation.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) assessing the tolerability of endoscopic procedures are scarce. In this study, we designed and validated a PREM to assess tolerability of endoscopy using conscious sedation. METHODS: The patient-reported scale for tolerability of endoscopic procedures (PRO-STEP) consists of questions within 2 domains and is administered to outpatients at discharge from the endoscopy unit. Domain 1 (intraprocedural) consists of 2 questions regarding discomfort/pain and awareness, whereas domain 2 (postprocedural) consists of 4 questions on pain, nausea, distention, and either throat or anal pain. All questions are scored on a Likert scale from 0 to 10. Cronbach's alpha was used to measure internal consistency of the questions. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess predictors of higher scores, reported using adjusted odds ratios and confidence intervals. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-five patients (91 colonoscopy, 73 gastroscopy, and 91 ERCP) were included. Colonoscopy was the least tolerable procedure by recall, with mean intraprocedural awareness and discomfort scores of 5.1 ± 3.8, and 2.6 ± 2.7, respectively. Consistency between intraprocedural awareness and discomfort/pain yielded an acceptable Cronbach's alpha of .71 (95% confidence interval, .62-.78). Higher use of midazolam during colonoscopy was inversely associated with an intraprocedural awareness score of 7 or higher (per additional mg: adjusted odds ratio, .23; 95% confidence interval, .09-.54). CONCLUSIONS: PRO-STEP is a simple PREM that can be administered after multiple endoscopic procedures using conscious sedation. Future work should focus on its performance characteristics in adverse event prediction.