IntroductionEvidence shows that treatment for hepatitis B virus (HBV) can suppress viral load. Among the factors directly linked to therapeutic success is adherence to the treatment. Several instruments to assess adherence are available, but they are not validated for use in chronic hepatitis B. The purpose of this paper was to adapt and validate the “Assessment of Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Questionnaire—HIV” (CEAT-VIH) for patients with chronic hepatitis B (referred to herein as CEAT-HBV).MethodsThe validity of the adapted questionnaire evidence was established through concurrent, criterion, and construct validities.ResultsWe found negative and significant correlation between the domain “degree of compliance to antiviral therapy” assessed by CEAT-HBV and the Morisky test (r = −0.62, P < 0.001) and between the domain “barriers to adherence” and HBV viral load (r = −0.42, P < 0.001). In terms of the construct’s discriminative capacity, scores greater than or equal to 80 detected antiviral therapy success, which are necessary for the prediction of an undetectable HBV viral load. Thus, a cutoff value of 80.5 was set with a value of 81% for sensitivity and 67% for specificity.ConclusionThe CEAT-HBV identified 43% (n = 79) non-adherent patients and was shown to be a useful tool in clinical practice.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40121-015-0101-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Approximately 170 million people are chronic carriers of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Patients with chronic hepatitis C are currently treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PEG-IFN/RBV). A genome-wide association with PEG-IFN/RBV treatment response and a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs12979860) has been identified near the interleukin 28B gene that encodes interferon-λ-3. In this paper, we describe an innovative, fast, and low-cost multiplex polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers that detects the rs12979860 polymorphism. The assay is internally controlled and does not require the use of restriction endonucleases or special equipment. Moreover, the assay decreases costs, being about 40% cheaper than direct sequencing methods.
In recent years many studies have examined the genetic predisposition to pancreatic diseases. Pancreatic disease of an alcoholic etiology was determined to be a multi-factorial disease, where environmental factors interact with the genetic profile of the individual. In this review we discuss the main results from studies examining the frequency of genetic mutations in alcoholic chronic pancreatitis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.