Comparison of Central Corneal Thickness Measurements Using Ultrasonic Pachymetry, Anterior Segment OCT and Noncontact Specular Microscopy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate and compare central corneal thickness (CCT) values measured with anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), noncontact specular microscopy (NCSM), and ultrasound pachymetry (USP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: CCT was measured in 182 healthy eyes without ocular abnormalities other than refractive errors. Three consecutive measurements of CCT by the same examiner were obtained during the same session. The testing sequence of AS-OCT and NCSM was randomly selected. The USP always was performed after the noncontact examinations. RESULTS: The average CCT measured by AS-OCT, NCSM, and USP were 535.8±35.5, 547.7±38.2, and 537.4±37.5 µm, respectively. The mean differences between modalities were 11.8±14.7 µm (P<0.01) between NCSM and AS-OCT, 10.3±17.7 µm (P<0.01) between NCSM and USP and 1.6±8.6 µm (P=0.02) between USP and AS-OCT. CONCLUSIONS: AS-OCT, NCSM, and USP showed an overall strong agreement in measuring CCT. However, CCT measurements with AS-OCT showed a good correlation to those obtained by USP, NCSM tended to give statistically significant higher CCT readings than either alternative and showed the worse repeatability indices. On the basis of our results, CCT measurement obtained with different instruments cannot be considered directly interchangeable.

Role of advanced oxidation protein products and Thiol ratio in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

OBJECTIVES: To identify systemically detectable vascular inflammation associated to redox system unbalance, advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), formed by HClO reaction with proteins, Thiol levels, and their ratio (AOPP/Thiol ratio) were measured in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). DESIGN AND METHODS: We evaluated AOPP/Thiol ratio together with CRP and IL-1ß in 18 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and in 16 unstable angina (UA) patients at admission, and in 16 control subjects (CTR); the measurements were repeated at 1 and at 6 months. RESULTS: At admission, AMI and UA patients displayed higher AOPP/Thiol ratio and CRP and IL-1ß compared to CTR subjects. A correlation between AOPP/Thiols and IL-1ß in AMI was found. At follow-up, in UA only, AOPP/Thiol ratio and IL-1ß levels still remained high. CONCLUSIONS: The AOPP/Thiol ratio seems to affect the inflammatory process in ACS, and may represent a reliable marker of oxidative unbalance in this setting of patients.

Relative decrease in the role played by hepatitis B virus infection in the aetiology of hepatocellular carcinoma during a 20-year period: a multicentre Italian study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most frequent aetiological factors associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). AIM: This study evaluated the temporal trend in the aetiological role played by HBV infection alone in patients diagnosed with HCC during the last 20 years in Italy. METHODS: Among the 2042 HCC patients included in the Italian Liver Cancer (ITA.LI.CA.) database, 346 had chronic HBV infection alone. We assessed the proportion of HCC patients with HBV infection in four quinquennia (1987-1991, 1992-1996, 1997-2001, 2002-2006) and evaluated their main clinical, virological and oncological characteristics across these periods. RESULTS: Although the absolute number increased, the proportion of HBV-related HCC relatively decreased over time from 26.7% (47/176 patients) in 1987-1991 to 14.7% (127/862 patients) in 2002-2006 (P=0.0005). Patients' demographical, clinical and virological characteristics were similar across the four quinquennia. A greater proportion of patients was diagnosed with non-advanced HCC in more recent years (from 26% in 1987-1991 to 48% in 2002-2006, P=0.025), likely owing to a growing use of semiannual surveillance (from 63% in 1987-1991 to 80% in 2002-2006). CONCLUSIONS: We observed a significant, relative decrease in the role played by chronic HBV infection alone in the determinism of HCC during the last 20 years. In recent years, more patients are diagnosed with non-advanced HCC probably owing to improvements in HCC detection.

Reliability assessment of glucose measurement by HemoCue analyser in a neonatal intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Rapid and reliable bed-side determination of blood glucose concentration is very important in the management of acutely ill infants and especially in premature newborns. HemoCue is an easy-to-use glucose analyser. The aim of the present study was to examine the usefulness of the HemoCue glucose analyser compared to a reference plasma glucose method (SYS, BM/Hitachi 747/737) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). METHODS: Seventy-eight consecutive neonates admitted to our NICU were enrolled in the study. At the time of the study all patients were grouped according to nutritional management (parenteral or enteral nutrition), haematocrit values and birth weight. The effects of feeding management, haematocrit values, and birth weight on accuracy and precision of the device were evaluated. RESULTS: Overall data linear regression analysis yielded an r-value of 0.905 and the Bland-Altman method demonstrated that HemoCue overestimates plasma glucose by 0.932 mmol/L. Evaluation of our data by receiver operating characteristic curve demonstrated 100% sensitivity cutoff at 4.1 mmol/L. CONCLUSIONS: HemoCue cannot be used satisfactorily in the management of glycaemia in the NICU. In the preterm population, birth weight had a dramatic influence on HemoCue accuracy. Low haematocrit and parenteral feeding further contributed to a decrease in the accuracy of this device.

Prevalence and prognostic significance of the presence of esophageal varices in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: It has been suggested that clinically relevant portal hypertension may affect the therapeutic management and prognosis of cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nevertheless, the importance of the presence of esophageal varices in these patients has not yet been addressed formally. In this study our aim was to evaluate the prevalence and prognostic relevance of the presence of esophageal varices in a large series of patients with HCC. METHODS: The prevalence of esophageal varices was evaluated in 1153 HCC patients who were consecutively referred to 10 Italian centers (the Italian Liver Cancer group). Survival was calculated from the time of HCC diagnosis until death or until the most recent follow-up visit, and was evaluated according to the presence or absence of esophageal varices. The independent prognostic meaning of the presence of esophageal varices was evaluated further in a multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: Esophageal varices were found in 730 patients (63.3%). Patients with varices showed significantly shorter survival times (P < .0001) as compared with patients without varices. Death as a result of bleeding was more common in patients with varices (P = .0127). In multivariate analysis, the presence of esophageal varices was associated independently with poorer survival (adjusted relative risk, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.48; P = .0095). CONCLUSIONS: More than half of the patients with HCC have esophageal varices. The presence of esophageal varices is associated with a higher risk of death from bleeding, and is an independent determinant of the patient's prognosis. This variable should be taken into account in the diagnostic and therapeutic work-up of HCC patients.

A simple approach to noninvasively identifying significant fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Identification of the presence of significant fibrosis is an important part of the diagnostic work-up of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). AIM: To evaluate the performance of the aspartate to alanine aminotransferase ratio (AST/ALT ratio) and platelet count in reducing the number of liver biopsies and diagnosing the presence/absence of significant fibrosis in a large cohort of patients with CHC seen at 2 tertiary referral centers. METHODS: Liver biopsies of 409 patients with CHC were evaluated. Staging was carried out by means of the Ishak and METAVIR scores in the Italian and US series, respectively. Prevalence of significant fibrosis was 43%. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to identify AST/ALT ratio and platelet count cutoffs with the highest accuracy for the diagnosis of significant fibrosis. These cutoffs were used to devise a diagnostic algorithm for reducing the number of liver biopsies and diagnosing/ruling out significant fibrosis. RESULTS: AST/ALT ratios increased and platelet counts decreased as liver fibrosis worsened. Both AST/ALT ratio (c-index=0.747) and platelet count (c-index=0.733) had high accuracy for the diagnosis of significant fibrosis. The use of AST/ALT ratio and platelet count cutoffs in a diagnostic algorithm would have avoided liver biopsy in 68.9% of the patients and would have correctly identified the absence/presence of significant fibrosis in 80.5% of these cases. CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice, the use of simple, reproducible, and inexpensive parameters such as the AST/ALT ratio and platelet count can reduce the need for liver biopsy in a substantial proportion of patients with CHC.

Hyaluronic acid and aspartate aminotransferase levels normalized by liver function can reflect sinusoidal impairment in chronic liver disease.

BACKGROUND/AIM: To evaluate the relationship between hyaluronic acid/aminopyrine breath test (HA/ABT) ratio and fibrosis score in chronic hepatitis, and between HA/ABT and clinical staging (child-turcotte-pugh'score, CTP; and model for end stage liver disease, MELD) in cirrhosis, as well as to evaluate the aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/ABT in relation to the HA/ABT. METHODS: We studied 48 patients with histologically proven chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and 35 patients with compensated cirrhosis (CIR). RESULTS: HA/ABT and AST/ABT showed a more significant correlation with the fibrosis score than HA or ABT or AST alone in the 48 CHC patients: r=0.568 (P<0.0001), r=0.610 (P<0.0001), r=0.450 (P=0.0021), r=-0.449 (P=0.0021), and r=0.472(P=0.0012), respectively. Progressive liver damage (fibrosis 1-2 vs fibrosis 3-6 vs cirrhosis) was significantly (P<0.05) reflected by both HA/ABT (mean+/-SEM: 4.0+/-0.9 vs 18.1+/-4.2 vs 149.9+/-33.1) and AST/ABT (6.3+/-1.8 vs 12.7+/-1.6 vs 42.1+/-14.6). A strong relationship was found between HA/ABT and AST/ABT (r=0.755 P<0.0001). In cirrhotic patients, the most significant relationship was observed between HA/ABT and CTP r=0.483 and P=0.0049, and MELD r=0.523 and P=0.0023. CONCLUSION: Considering that HA levels in chronic hepatitis depend on the progressive impairment of sinusoidal endothelial cells (SEC), related to progressive fibrosis, HA/ABT ratio would seem to be the most specific reflection of progressive impairment of the SEC. AST/ABT could be used as a possible surrogate of HA in identifying SEC impairment in chronic hepatitis.

Transvaginal sonohysterographic evaluation of uterine malformations.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value and the usefulness of sonohysterography (SHG) in the detection of uterine anomalies, compared with other diagnostic methods. STUDY DESIGN: From January 2002 to December 2003, we collected 54 patients with a history of primary or secondary infertility or repeated spontaneous abortion and with a clinically or sonographically suspected abnormal uterus. All patients had previously undergone hysterosalpingography (ISG). All patients were examined by standard transvaginal ultrasound. Sonohysterography was then carried out by the intrauterine injection of an isotonic saline solution. Suspected uterine anomalies were also confirmed by hysteroscopy (HS) and/or laparoscopy. RESULTS: Sonohysterography was able to detect all the anomalies. The sensitivity and specificity of sonohysterography were the same as for hysteroscopy. However, there was no significant difference between the diagnostic capabilities of the methods analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: Transvaginal sonohysterography with saline solution is a low-cost, easy, and helpful examination method for uterine malformations. We propose that sonohysterography should be performed for the primary investigation of infertility and repeated miscarriages.

Longitudinal modifications of the MELD score have prognostic meaning in patients with liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score is an important and well established tool for assessing prognosis in patients with liver cirrhosis. It has been suggested that the longitudinal evaluation of the MELD score may reflect the progression of liver failure more reliably and therefore be more useful in prognostic assessment. AIM: To assess the prognostic meaning of MELD score modifications in a cohort of cirrhotic patients in whom clinical and biochemical workup was carried out at least twice during a minimum interval of 30 days. METHODS: Forty-six cirrhotic patients were longitudinally evaluated for a median follow-up of 365 days. After initial assessment, all the patients had at least one clinical and biochemical reevaluation during follow-up, which was performed no less than 1 month after initial evaluation. MELD was calculated at entry and at second evaluation. DeltaMELD was calculated as MELD at second evaluation minus MELD at entry. DeltaMELD/time was calculated as DeltaMELD divided by time elapsed between initial assessment and second evaluation expressed in months. RESULTS: During follow-up, 13 patients died (28%). The median interval between clinical evaluations was 120 days. MELD scores at entry (13 +/- 4 vs 16 +/- 6, P = 0.0516) and DeltaMELD (0 +/- 4 vs 4 +/- 2, P = 0.0028) were significantly different between patients who died and those who survived during the 1-year follow-up. All the patients who died during follow-up showed an increase of at least 1 unit in DeltaMELD/time (sensitivity = 100%), and all the patients who survived showed a decrease of more than 1 unit in DeltaMELD/time (specificity = 100%). CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal evaluation of the MELD score provides important prognostic information that seems to complete the prognostic definition provided by "static" MELD. Prospective studies in larger series are needed to validate the prognostic use of MELD modifications over time.

Perineal ultrasound evaluation of the urethrovesical junction angle and urethral mobility in nulliparous women and women following vaginal delivery.

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the differences in the urethrovesical junction angle and urethral mobility by means of perineal ultrasounds in women following vaginal delivery with respect to nulliparous women. We have enrolled 34 women, 12 nulliparous (Group A) and 22 women in the post-partum period (Group B). The ultrasounds were employed to measure the urethrovesical junction angle ("urethro-pelvic" angle) and the urethral mobility. Data obtained show that the urethro-pelvic angle is narrower in Group A (97.3 degrees) with respect to Group B (112.5 degrees). Urethral mobility while coughing was significantly higher in Group B (30.4 degrees) with respect to Group A (-2 degrees). This study demonstrates the difference in the urethral support at rest and during cough in nulliparous versus recently delivered parous women.

Vaginal versus transabdominal hysterectomy: is mode of hysterectomy to influence pelvic statics or is pelvic statics to influence mode of hysterectomy?

BACKGROUND: To check the hypothesis that the mobility of the urethrovesical junction in the preoperative phase is different in women that will undergo either vaginal, abdominal, or laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy. METHODS: Eighty-seven consecutive hysterectomies, carried out between January 1999 and December 2001 in our Department, were retrospectively considered. The type of surgical procedure as well as the approach was decided by the surgeon, according to personal experience. Each patient underwent a preoperative transperineal ultrasound, measuring urethral mobility. The ultrasounds were repeated 1 month and 1 year after surgery. RESULTS: In 35 out of 36 women (97.2%) that underwent vaginal hysterectomy and in nine out of 12 (75%) that underwent laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy, we detected a high level of urethral mobility in the preoperative phase, compared with nine out of 39 (23.1%) women that underwent transabdominal hysterectomy. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study allow us to confirm our starting hypothesis. Statistical analysis highlights that preoperative data are significantly different for the three types of hysterectomies, both as urethral mobility values (analysis of variance P

13C-galactose breath test and 13C-aminopyrine breath test for the study of liver function in chronic liver disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Liver biopsy examination is the gold standard to diagnose the presence of cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of both 13 C-aminopyrine breath test ( 13 C-ABT) and 13 C-galactose breath test ( 13 C-GBT) in the noninvasive assessment of the presence of cirrhosis in patients with chronic liver disease. METHODS: We evaluated 61 patients with chronic liver disease of diverse etiologies (21 compensated cirrhosis). All patients underwent 13 C-GBT and 13 C-ABT, and the results were expressed as a percentage of the administered dose of 13 C recovered per hour (%dose/h) and as the cumulative percentage of administered dose of 13 C recovered over time (%dose cumulative). Results were analyzed according to absence vs presence of cirrhosis. RESULTS: On average, 13 C-GBT %dose/h and %dose cumulative were decreased significantly in patients with compensated cirrhosis, and the same finding was observed for 13 C-ABT results from 30 to 120 minutes. 13 C-GBT %dose/h at 120 minutes had 71.4% sensitivity, 85.0% specificity, and 83.7% accuracy, whereas 13 C-ABT %dose cumulative at 30 minutes had 85.7% sensitivity, 67.5% specificity, and 77.1% accuracy for distinguishing between the 2 subgroups of patients. Combined assessment of 13 C-GBT and 13 C-ABT increased the diagnostic accuracy (80% positive predictive value) of either test alone and reached 92.5% specificity and 100% sensitivity for the diagnosis of cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with chronic liver disease, both 13 C-GBT and 13 C-ABT are useful for the diagnosis of cirrhosis. Combination of the tests increases the diagnostic yield of each test alone.

Colour blindness in everyday life and car driving.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present work was to ascertain, through the administration of a psychosocial questionnaire, the difficulties that subjects with defective colour vision experience in carrying out everyday tasks and work, including driving a car with a driver's licence held for no more than 3 years. METHODS: Subjects with defective colour vision (n = 151) and subjects with normal vision (n = 302) completed a psychosocial questionnaire regarding the difficulties associated with congenital colour vision deficiency in daily life, work and driving a car. Subjects were diagnosed as colour-blind using the Ishihara test. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences between the two samples were found for daily life activities. Subjects with defective colour vision preferred daytime driving. At night, subjects with defective colour vision had difficulty identifying reflectors on the road and the rear signal lights of cars ahead of them. CONCLUSION: Colour-blind Calabrian subjects admitted to experiencing colour-related difficulties with a wide range of occupational tasks and leisure pursuits. In particular, colour-blind Calabrian subjects preferred daytime driving, and fewer drove regularly, compared to orthochromatics, who were indifferent to night or daytime driving.

Previous hepatitis B virus infection is associated with worse disease stage and occult hepatitis B virus infection has low prevalence and pathogenicity in hepatitis C virus-positive patients.

BACKGROUND: Anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) frequently show markers of previous hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Moreover, they may carry occult HBV infection. These features might influence clinical and biochemical features as well as stage of disease. AIM: To assess the prevalence and clinical associations of previous (positivity for anti-HBs and/or anti-HBc antibodies) and occult HBV infection (positivity for HBV-DNA by nested-PCR) in the serum of anti-HCV-positive, HCV-RNA-positive, HBsAg-negative patients with various degrees of CLD seen at a tertiary referral centre. PATIENTS: A total of 119 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria (84 chronic hepatitis and 35 liver cirrhosis). RESULTS: Forty-eight patients (40.3%) showed markers of previous HBV infection. This feature was more frequent (P = 0.02) among cirrhotics (57%) as compared to chronic hepatitis patients (33%). Chronic hepatitis patients positive for markers of previous HBV infection had worse histology as compared to negative ones (grading: 6.4 +/- 2.7 versus 4.6 +/- 3.0, P = 0.004; staging: 1.6 +/- 1.2 versus 1.0 +/- 1.0, P = 0.01). Eight patients were positive for HBV-DNA in serum (6.7%). No difference in the presence of occult HBV infection was seen between various degrees of liver disease (7.1% of chronic hepatitis, 5.7% of cirrhosis) and among patients who were positive (10.4%) or negative (4.2%) for markers of previous HBV infection. No significant biochemical, virological, or histological difference was observed between age, age at infection, duration of infection, marker patterns of previous HBV infection-matched HBV-DNA-positive and negative chronic hepatitis patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that previous HBV infection among anti-HCV patients is associated with worse disease stage. In these patients, the prevalence of occult HBV infection is low and there is no difference in distribution among patients with or without markers of previous HBV infection. Furthermore, it does not seem to be associated with disease stage. Lastly, at least among patients with chronic hepatitis, it does not seem to affect the severity of disease.

Validity and clinical utility of the aspartate aminotransferase-alanine aminotransferase ratio in assessing disease severity and prognosis in patients with hepatitis C virus-related chronic liver disease.

BACKGROUND: The aspartate aminotransferase-alanine aminotransferase ratio (AST/ALT ratio) has been used to noninvasively assess the severity of disease in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). We previously demonstrated that progressive liver functional impairment is associated with an increase in the AST/ALT ratio. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the reproducibility and transportability of the AST/ALT ratio in a large cohort of patients with different degrees of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related CLD, to confirm the correlation between progressive impairment of liver function and increase in the AST/ALT ratio, to evaluate whether diagnostic accuracy of the ALT/AST ratio can be improved by using it with other biochemical variables, and to assess the 1-year prognostic capability of the AST/ALT ratio in patients with liver cirrhosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 252 patients with HCV-related CLD. The AST/ALT ratio was correlated with the degree of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis and with the Child-Pugh score in patients with cirrhosis. All patients had undergone monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) testing to evaluate liver function. We assessed the prognostic ability of the AST/ALT ratio in a subset of 63 cirrhotic patients who were followed up for at least 1 year. RESULTS: The AST/ALT ratio was more frequently 1 or higher in cirrhotic patients (P<.001). There was a significant correlation between MEGX values and the AST/ALT ratio (r(s) = -0.621, P<.001). Multivariate stepwise logistic analysis showed that AST/ALT ratio, platelet count (PLT), MEGX values, and prothrombin activity were independently associated with the presence of cirrhosis. Combined assessment of the AST/ALT ratio and/or PLT obtained 97.0% positive predictive value and 97.9% negative predictive value for the diagnosis of cirrhosis. The AST/ALT ratio had 81.3% sensitivity and 55.3% specificity in identifying cirrhotic patients who died within 1-year of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The AST/ALT ratio is both reproducible and transportable in patients with HCV-related CLD. The AST/ALT ratio is correlated with both histologic stage and clinical evaluation. Progressive liver functional impairment is reflected by an increase in the AST/ALT ratio. Noninvasive evaluation by means of the combined AST/ALT ratio and PLT assessment misclassifies only a few cirrhotic patients. In cirrhotic patients, the AST/ALT ratio provides medium-term prognostic information that is no different from that provided by established prognostic scores.

The 1-year and 3-month prognostic utility of the AST/ALT ratio and model for end-stage liver disease score in patients with viral liver cirrhosis.

OBJECTIVES: The AST/ALT ratio has shown good diagnostic accuracy in patients with chronic viral liver disease. However, its prognostic utility has never been tested. Recently, the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) has been proposed as a simple and effective tool to predict survival in patients with liver cirrhosis. The aims of this study were to assess the 3-month and 1-yr prognostic ability of the AST/ALT ratio in a series of patients with virus-related liver cirrhosis, and to evaluate the relationship between the AST/ALT ratio and the MELD score and to compare their prognostic ability. METHODS: The AST/ALT ratios and MELD scores of 99 patients with liver cirrhosis of viral etiology (73 patients with hepatitis C virus and 26 with hepatitis B virus) who had been followed-up for at least 1 yr were retrospectively calculated and correlated with the patients' 3-month and 1-yr prognosis. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine the AST/ALT ratio and the MELD score cut-offs with the best sensitivity (SS) and specificity (SP) in discriminating between patients who survived and those who died. Univariate survival curves were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method using the cut-offs identified by means of receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: AST/ALT ratios and MELD scores showed a significant correlation (r(s) = 0.503, p = 0.0001). In all, 8% and 30% of the patients had died after 3 months and 1 yr of follow-up, respectively. AST/ALT ratios and MELD scores were significantly higher among the patients who died during both 3-month and 1-yr follow-up. An AST/ALT ratio cut-off of 1.17 had 87% SS and 52% SP, whereas a MELD cut-off of 9 had 57% SS and 74% SP in discriminating between patients who survived and those who died after I yr. The combined assessment of the AST/ALT ratio and/or MELD score had 90% SS and 78% SP. Survival curves of the patients showed that both parameters clearly discriminated between patients who survived and those who died in the short term (AST/ALT ratio, p = 0.0094; MELD score, p = 0.0089) as well as in the long term (AST/ALT ratio, p < 0.0005; MELD score, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with virus-related cirrhosis, the AST/ALT ratio has prognostic capability that is not significantly different from that of an established prognostic score such as MELD. Combined assessment of the two parameters increases the medium-term prognostic accuracy.

Influence of age on clinical presentation, therapeutic options, and prognosis in anti-HCV positive cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus infection-related cirrhosis is a major risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatocellular carcinoma in anti-hepatitis C virus positive cirrhotics shows an increasing prevalence with ageing, although it is not clear whether the age of the patients can be considered a critical factor in the overall assessment of severity of disease or in the choice of therapeutic procedures and prognosis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of older age on modality of presentation, therapeutic choices, outcome, and survival in anti-hepatitis C virus patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 75 anti-hepatitis C virus positive cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma consecutively referred to our unit. Patients were sub-divided into two sub-groups according to their age (<65 or >or=65 years) at tumor diagnosis. The characteristics of the patients and of hepatocellular carcinoma, therapeutic procedures, and survival were then analyzed. RESULTS: Median age of the patients was 68 years and mean duration of infection was 24 years. Clinical characteristics of older hepatocellular carcinoma patients were no different from those of younger ones. Hepatocellular carcinoma was more frequently of diffuse type in patients aged <65 years. However, therapeutic options were no different between the two sub-groups of patients, and a similar proportion of patients did not undergo therapy in either group. Overall, 1- and 2-year survival rates were 73% and 51%, respectively. After a mean follow-up of 21 months a higher number of patients aged <65 years died (p=0.002). Moreover, Kaplan-Meier curves showed longer survival in patients aged >or=65 years (p=0.002). Lastly, diffuse type of hepatocellular carcinoma and tumor staging were the variables independently associated with worse survival in multivariate regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatocellular carcinoma appears in older anti-hepatitis C virus positive cirrhotic patients showing long duration of infection. Older age of the patients does not seem to influence therapeutic options, and more importantly does not exclude patients from treatment. Lastly, older patients seem to have better prognosis most likely due to hepatocellular carcinoma characteristics, since hepatocellular carcinoma seems to present with more unfavourable characteristics in younger cirrhotic patients.

Grading of laboratories on CD4+ T-lymphocyte evaluations based on acceptable data boundaries defined by the measurement error.

BACKGROUND: We addressed the definition of limits of error of %CD4+ and CD4+ counts (AbsCD4+) typical of laboratories of excellence, as well as the grading of laboratories based on the decision to take these limits as boundaries of unacceptable data. METHODS: We studied the 99.9% confidence intervals of the means of 24 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)+ and HIV- blood samples analyzed by 18 laboratories of the Liguria Region Quality Assessment Program (Liguria Region QALI). Regression equations of lower (L1) and upper (L2) confidence limits over the means of data cleared of unusual results were used to interpolate limits of error for mean values in the tested range. RESULTS: L1 and L2 were symmetric around the mean and a single absolute difference (Abs Res) between the limits and the mean was found. Abs Res significantly increased over mean values (P = 0.0005 for %CD4+, P < 0.0001 for AbsCD4+). Limits were compatible with errors shown with blind replicates. Unacceptable results, outside the limits, accounted for 25% and 30% of %CD4+ and for 18% and 35% AbsCD4+ in the Liguria Region QALI and in the Piemonte Region QA Program, respectively. Limits interpolated over the median showed a similar grading. A comparable fraction of unacceptable data was also found with the method used in the U.K. National External Quality Assessment Scheme (NEQAS) immune monitoring scheme. CONCLUSIONS: We propose the general use of these regression equations to determine bounds for unacceptable data in proficiency testing and to identify laboratories of excellence.