Shear wave elastography as a non-invasive tool for staging liver fibrosis in children: A study in Algerian pediatric patients.

BACKGROUND: Traditionally, liver biopsy has been the gold standard for fibrosis staging. However, it is an invasive, expensive and uncomfortable procedure that is associated with the risk of complications. Thus, non-invasive methods such as shear wave elastography (SWE) have been developed as potential alternatives to liver biopsy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of SWE in pediatric patients with liver fibrosis, specifically in a group of Algerian children and to determine whether this method can be a reliable alternative to liver biopsy. METHODS: This prospective, descriptive, monocentric study evaluated the non-invasive diagnostic performance of 2D-SWE in assessing liver fibrosis in pediatric patients. The assessment was carried out using various statistical methods, including Spearman's correlation coefficient, Kappa concordance coefficients, regression analysis, as well as the calculation of area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) values and corresponding cut-off points based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Our study found that 2D-SWE is strongly correlated with liver biopsy in estimating liver fibrosis in children, with a correlation coefficient greater than 0.8. Furthermore, the Kappa correlation coefficients exceeded 0.8, indicating a strong agreement between 2D-SWE and liver biopsy results. The AUROC value was not less than 0.9 for significant fibrosis and above (≥ F2), indicating that it has satisfactory diagnostic performance in detecting liver fibrosis in children. CONCLUSION: 2D-SWE shows promise as a non-invasive method for evaluating liver fibrosis in children, offering a potential alternative to liver biopsy. Larger studies are needed to substantiate the findings of this study and to confirm the accuracy and reliability of 2D-SWE for assessing liver fibrosis in children.

The Role of Vaccination and Face Mask Wearing on COVID-19 Infection and Hospitalization: A Cross-Sectional Study of the MENA Region.

Since the emergence of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the disease has affected more than 675 million people worldwide, including more than 6.87 million deaths. To mitigate the effects of this pandemic, many countries established control measures to contain its spread. Their riposte was based on a combination of pharmaceutical (vaccination) and non-pharmaceutical (such as facemask wearing, social distancing, and quarantine) measures. In this way, cross-sectional research was conducted in Algeria from 23 December 2021 to 12 March 2022 to investigate the effectiveness of preventative interventions in lowering COVID-19 infection and severity. More specifically, we investigated the link between mask-wearing and infection on one side, and the relationship between vaccination and the risk of hospitalization on the other. For this purpose, we used binary logistic regression modeling that allows learning the role of mask-wearing and vaccination in a heterogeneous society with respect to compliance with barrier measures. This study determined that wearing a mask is equally important for people of all ages. Further, findings revealed that the risk of infection was 0.79 times lower among those who were using masks (odds ratio (OR) = 0.79; confidence interval (CI) 95% = 0.668-0.936; p-value = 0.006). At the same time, vaccination is a necessary preventive measure as the risk of hospitalization increases with age. Compared with those who did not get vaccinated, those who got vaccinated were 0.429 times less likely to end up in the hospital (OR = 0.429; CI95% = 0.273-0.676; p < 0.0001). The model performance demonstrates significant relationships between the dependent and independent variables, with the absence of over-dispersion in both studied models, such as the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) scores. These findings emphasize the significance of preventative measures and immunization in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Faible performances diagnostiques de l'IPS cheville de repos par rapport au doppler artériel des membres inférieurs dans le diagnostic de l'AOMI chez le patient coronarien: à propos d'une série hospitalière / Weak diagnostic performance of resting ankle ABI compared with lower limb's arterial Doppler in the diagnosis of PAD in coronary patients: about a hospital serial study

Introduction. L'index de pression systolique (IPS) est considéré comme un outil indispensable, pour la prise en charge de l'artériopathie oblitérante des membres inférieurs (AOMI), cependant un complément d'exploration par les autres testes physiologiques, IPS au gros orteil et IPS effort s'impose afin de réduire le nombre des faux négatifs. Objectif. Démontrer le faible apport de l'IPS cheville de repos par rapport à l'échodoppler artériel des membres inférieurs dans le diagnostic de l'AOMI. Matériels et méthodes. Sur une série de 300 malades coronariens consécutifs durant l'année 2016 hospitalisés dans le service de cardiologie de l'hôpital universitaire de Constantine, un dépistage de l'AOMI a été réalisé par les investigations suivantes : Mesure de l'IPS à la cheville, compléter par la mesure de l'IPS a l'orteil si incompressibilité artérielle et par la mesure de l'IPS d'effort si l'IPS de repos est limite. Un échodoppler artériel des membres inférieurs a été réalisée par un échographe vividE9 General Electric pour l'ensemble de nos malades, en utilisant une sonde à balayage linéaire 12L, destinée à l'exploration vasculaire périphérique permettant d'obtenir un dépistage ciblé, Le traitement et l'exploitation des données ont fait appel au logiciel SPSS22. Résultats. Une sensibilité modérée de l'ordre de 50%, face à une spécificité élevée avoisinant 100% de l'IPS cheville de repos par rapport à l'échodoppler artériel des membres inférieurs. Sensibilité nettement améliorer après complément par les autres testes physiologiques qui sont la prise de l'IPS cheville effort et la mesure de l'index de pression systolique au gros orteil. Conclusion. L'examen vasculaire des membres inférieurs associe à la mesure de l'IPS cheville couplée aux autres testes physiologique (IPS au gros orteil et IPS effort) assurent une bonne sensibilité et spécificité diagnostiques de l'AOMI

Association of TERT, OGG1, and CHRNA5 Polymorphisms and the Predisposition to Lung Cancer in Eastern Algeria.

Lung cancer remains the most common cancer in the world. The genetic polymorphisms (rs2853669 in TERT, rs1052133 in OGG1, and rs16969968 in CHRNA5 genes) were shown to be strongly associated with the risk of lung cancer. Our study's aim is to elucidate whether these polymorphisms predispose Eastern Algerian population to non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To date, no study has considered this association in the Algerian population. This study included 211 healthy individuals and 144 NSCLC cases. Genotyping was performed using TaqMan probes and Sanger sequencing, and the data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression adjusted for covariates. The minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of TERT rs2853669, CHRNA5 rs16969968, and OGG1 rs1052133 polymorphisms in controls were C: 20%, A: 31%, and G: 29%, respectively. Of the three polymorphisms, none shows a significant association, but stratified analysis rs16969968 showed that persons carrying the AA genotype are significantly associated with adenocarcinoma risk (pAdj = 0.03, ORAdj = 2.55). Smokers with an AA allele have a larger risk of lung cancer than smokers with GG or GA genotype (pAdj = 0.03, ORAdj = 3.91), which is not the case of nonsmokers. Our study suggests that CHRNA5 rs16969968 polymorphism is associated with a significant increase of lung adenocarcinoma risk and with a nicotinic addiction.