Hepatitis C virus antibody seropositivity is associated with albuminuria but not peripheral artery disease in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). We aimed to investigate whether HCV antibody (Ab) seropositivity is associated with diabetic micro- and macro-vascular diseases. In this hospital-based cross-sectional study, we retrospectively collected data from patients who participated in the diabetes pay-for-performance program and underwent HCV Ab screening in the annual comprehensive assessment between January 2021 and March 2022. We examined the relationships of HCV Ab seropositivity with the spot urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) and ankle-brachial index (ABI) in patients aged ≥ 50 years with type 2 DM. A total of 1758 patients were enrolled, and 85 (4.83%) of the enrolled patients had HCV Ab seropositivity. Multivariable regression analyses revealed that albuminuria showed a dose-dependent association with HCV Ab seropositivity (UACR [30-299 mg/g]: odds ratio [OR] = 1.463, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.872‒2.456); UACR [≥ 300 mg/g]: OR = 2.300, 95% CI 1.160‒4.562; P for trend = 0.015) when compared with normal albuminuria (UACR < 30 mg/g). However, the proportion of patients with peripheral arterial disease, defined as an ABI ≤ 0.9, was not significantly different between the groups with and without HCV Ab seropositivity (3.5% vs. 3.9%, P = 0.999). In conclusion, severely increased albuminuria, but not the ABI, showed a significant association with HCV Ab seropositivity in patients aged ≥ 50 years with type 2 DM.

Outcome of intracerebral cavernoma treated by Gamma Knife radiosurgery based on a double-blind assessment of treatment indication.

BACKGROUND: The benefit and the risk profile of Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) for intracerebral cavernoma remains incompletely defined in part due to the natural history of low incidence of bleeding and spontaneous regression of this vascular malformation. In this study, we retrieved cases from a prospectively collected database to assess the outcome of intracerebral cavernoma treated with GKRS using a double blinded review process for treatment. METHODS: From 2003 to 2018, there were 94 cases of cavernoma treated by GKRS in the doubly blinded assessments by two experienced neurological and approved for GKRS treatment. All the patients received GKRS with margin dose of 11-12 (Gray) Gy and afterwards were assessed for neurological outcome, radiologic response, and quality of life. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 48 (15-85) years with median follow up of 77 (26-180) months post SRS. The mean target volume was 1.93 ± 3.45 cc. In those who has pre-SRS epilepsy, 7 of 16 (43.7%) achieved seizure freedom (Engel I/II) and 9 of 16 (56.3%) achieved decreased seizures (Engel III) after SRS. Rebleeding occurred in 2 cases (2.1%) at 13 and 52 months post SRS. The radiologic assessment demonstrated 20 (21.3%) cases of decreased cavernoma volume, 69 (73.4%) were stable, and 5 (7.3%) increased size. Eighty-seven of 94 (92.5%) cases at the last follow up achieve improvement in their quality of life, but 7 cases (7.4%) showed a deterioration. In statistical analysis, the effective seizure control class (Engel I/II) was highly correlated with patient harboring a single lesion (p < 0.05) and deep seated location of the cavernoma (p < 0.01). New neurological deficits were highly correlated with decreased mental (p < 0.001) and physical (p < 0.05) components of quality of life testing, KPS (p < 0.001), deep seated location (p < 0.01), and increased nidus volume (p < 0.05). Quality of life deterioration either in physical component (p < 0.01), mental component (p < 0.01), and KPS (p < 0.05) was highly correlated with increased cavernoma volume. CONCLUSION: Low margin dose GKRS for intracerebral cavernoma offers reasonable seizure control and improved quality of life while conferring a low risk of treatment complications including adverse radiation effect.

Iodinated Contrast Medium Exposure During Computed Tomography Increase the Risk of Subsequent Development of Thyroid Disorders in Patients Without Known Thyroid Disease: A Nationwide Population-Based, Propensity Score-Matched, Longitudinal Follow-Up Study.

To investigate the association between iodinated contrast medium (ICM) exposure during computed tomography (CT) and the subsequent development of thyroid disorders in patients without known thyroid disease in Taiwan, an iodine-sufficient area. We conducted a population-based cohort study by using data from 1996 to 2012 in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 33,426 patients who underwent ICM-enhanced CT were included as the study cohort. To avoid selection bias, we used propensity score and matched for the index year (defined as the year of first ICM exposure) to retrieve 33,426 patients as the comparison cohort. No patients in the 2 cohorts had any known thyroid disease before the index year. Patients with a history of amiodarone treatment or coronary angiography and those with <1 year follow-up were excluded. Participants were followed until a new diagnosis of thyroid disorder or December 31, 2011. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated using the Cox proportional hazards regression. An association was identified between ICM exposure and the subsequent development of thyroid disorders after adjustment for potential confounders (adjusted HR = 1.17; 95% CI: 1.07-1.29; P = 0.001). Male patients and patients' ages ≥40 years in the ICM-exposure cohort had a higher adjusted HR for developing thyroid disorders than did those in the non-ICM-exposure cohort. Hypothyroidism had the highest adjusted HR (HR = 1.37; 95% CI: 1.06-1.78; P < 0.05) among all thyroid disorders and had a higher risk of development or detection during >0.5-year post-ICM exposure compared with that during ≤0.5-year post-ICM exposure (HR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.01-1.58; P < 0.05). Repeated ICM exposure increased the risk of thyroid disorders in patients who accepted >1 time of ICM per year on average compared with those who accepted ≤1 time per year on average (adjusted HR = 3.04; 95% CI: 2.47-3.73; P < 0.001). This study identified ICM exposure during CT as a risk factor for the subsequent development of thyroid disorders in patients without known thyroid disease, particularly in patients with repeated exposure.