Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in bariatric patients with a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE: To study a possible association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity, managed with noninvasive ventilation, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in bariatric surgical patients. METHODS: Medical records of 218 bariatric surgical patients who underwent liver biopsy were reviewed. OSA severity was determined from preoperative polysomnography (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≤ 15 no/mild OSA vs. AHI ≥ 16 moderate/severe OSA). Patients diagnosed with OSA were prescribed noninvasive ventilation. Patients were categorized according to liver histopathology into 3 groups: (i) no liver disease or simple steatosis, (ii) mild NASH (steatosis with necroinflammation and mild fibrosis (stage 0-1)), and iii) advanced NASH (steatosis with necroinflammation and more advanced fibrosis (stage ≥ 2)). RESULTS: 125 patients (57%) had no/mild OSA, and 93 (43%) had moderate/severe OSA. There was no difference in serum aminotransferases between patients by OSA severity classification. There was a high prevalence of hepatic histopathological abnormalities: 84% patients had steatosis, 57% had necroinflammation, 34% had fibrotic changes, and 14% had advanced NASH. There was no association between severity of NASH and severity of OSA. CONCLUSIONS: There is no association between stage of steatohepatitis and OSA severity among morbidly obese patients managed with noninvasive ventilation.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) does not increase complications after laparoscopic bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Advanced liver disease is associated with increased risk for postoperative complications. It is not well known whether the presence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in morbidly obese patients contributes to the rate of postoperative complications. The main objective was to study the association between NASH and postoperative complications in bariatric patients. METHODS: A total of 340 contemporary sequential patients who underwent laparoscopic bariatric operations and who had intraoperative liver biopsies were studied. The rates of severe postoperative complications were compared across three patient groups-those with (1) no liver disease or with simple steatosis, (2) mild nonalcoholic NASH [steatosis with necroinflammation and mild fibrosis (stage 0-1)], and (3) advanced NASH [steatosis, necroinflammation, and more advanced fibrosis (stage ≥ 2)]. RESULTS: Of 340 patients, 141 (42%) had no NASH, and 151 (44%) and 48 (14%) had mild and advanced NASH, respectively. Superobesity (P = 0.037), diabetes (P < 0.001), and cerebrovascular disease (P = 0.013) had highest frequencies in patients with advanced NASH. Hypertension was highly prevalent in cohort (57%) but similarly distributed across three groups. Forty-five patients experienced at least one complication (pulmonary 4, cardiovascular 8, surgical 16, and acute kidney injury 21). The complications rate did not differ significantly across NASH categories. Median hospital stay was 3 days (IQR 2, 3), and it was not associated with NASH severity. There were no 30-day postoperative deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the high prevalence of NASH among morbidly obese surgical patients, this condition was not associated with increased risk for postoperative complications. Postoperative acute kidney injury was the most frequent single complications.

Evaluation of reagent strips for ascitic fluid leukocyte determination: is it a possible alternative for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis rapid diagnosis?

In order to evaluate the accuracy of a urine reagent dipstick (Multistix 10SG) to determine ascitic fluid leukocyte count, we prospectively studied 106 cirrhotic patients from April 2003 to December 2004, in two different centers (Federal University of São Paulo - UNIFESP-EPM and Federal University of Juiz de Fora - HU-UFJF) for the rapid bedside diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. The mean age 54 +/- 12 years, there was a predominance of males (eighty-two patients, 77%), and alcohol was the most frequent etiology (43%). Forty-four percent of patients were classified as Child B and fifty-one as Child C (51%). Abdominal paracentesis was performed both in outpatient and inpatient settings and the Multistix 10SG was tested. Eleven cases of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis were identified by means of polymorphonuclear count. If we considered the positive Multistix 10SG result of 3 or more, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value were respectively 71%, 99%, 91% and 98%. With a positive reagent strip result taken as grade 2 (traces) or more, sensitivity was 86% and specificity was 96% with positive and negative predictive values of 60% and 99%, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy was 95%. We concluded that the use of a urine reagent dipstick (Multistix 10SG) could be considered a quick, easy and cheap method for ascitic fluid cellularity determination in SBP diagnosis.

Evaluation of reagent strips for ascitic fluid leukocyte determination: is it a possible alternative for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis rapid diagnosis?

In order to evaluate the accuracy of a urine reagent dipstick (Multistix 10SG®) to determine ascitic fluid leukocyte count, we prospectively studied 106 cirrhotic patients from April 2003 to December 2004, in two different centers (Federal University of São Paulo - UNIFESP-EPM and Federal University of Juiz de Fora - HU-UFJF) for the rapid bedside diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. The mean age 54 ± 12 years, there was a predominance of males (eighty-two patients, 77 percent), and alcohol was the most frequent etiology (43 percent). Forty-four percent of patients were classified as Child B and fifty-one as Child C (51 percent). Abdominal paracentesis was performed both in outpatient and inpatient settings and the Multistix 10SG® was tested. Eleven cases of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis were identified by means of polymorphonuclear count. If we considered the positive Multistix 10SG® result of 3 or more, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value were respectively 71 percent, 99 percent, 91 percent and 98 percent. With a positive reagent strip result taken as grade 2 (traces) or more, sensitivity was 86 percent and specificity was 96 percent with positive and negative predictive values of 60 percent and 99 percent, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy was 95 percent. We concluded that the use of a urine reagent dipstick (Multistix 10SG®) could be considered a quick, easy and cheap method for ascitic fluid cellularity determination in SBP diagnosis.