The cutoff value of body weight change that most accurately reflected symptom reduction was 1.5 kg/week; this value is expected to be an effective indicator of response to tolvaptan in clinical practice.
We aimed to examine the relationship between renal dysfunction and anaemia that may develop during combination therapy involving pegylated interferon, ribavirin and telaprevir (PEG-IFN/RBV/TVR) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Sixty-eight patients with genotype 1b high viral loads were treated with PEG-IFN/RBV/TVR. Peg-IFN and RBV doses were administered according to body weight. TVR was prescribed at 2250 mg/day for 44 patients and at 1500 mg/day for 24 patients who had low haemoglobin level (<12 g/dL). When anaemia had developed, the RBV dose was decreased. The serum TVR concentration at day 8 was measured, and the serum RBV concentration was measured serially. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was estimated to assess renal function. At week 1, serum TVR concentration was not correlated with a decrease in eGFR; however, the TVR dose, on a weight basis (mg/kg), and eGFR were correlated (r = 0.2691; P = 0.0265). Moreover, there was a negative correlation between eGFR and RBV serum concentration (r = −0.3694; P = 0.0025), and the serum RBV concentration and decrease in the haemoglobin were significantly correlated from week 1 to week 8. In triple therapy, the TVR dose per weight is correlated with a decline in renal function. Thus, the serum concentration of RBV increases, with a concomitant decrease in haemoglobin. It is important to adjust the doses of TVR and RBV to avoid excessive serum RBV levels and the development of severe anaemia, to achieve a good clinical effect.
Aim:We investigated the utility of high-sensitivity hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) assays compared with conventional HBsAg assays.Methods: Using serum samples from 114 hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers in whom HBsAg seroclearance was confirmed by conventional HBsAg assays (cut-off value, 0.05 IU/mL), the amount of HBsAg was re-examined by high-sensitivity HBsAg assays (cut-off value, 0.005 IU/mL). Cases negative for HBsAg in both assays were defined as consistent cases, and cases positive for HBsAg in the high-sensitivity HBsAg assay only were defined as discrepant cases.Results: There were 55 (48.2%) discrepant cases, and the range of HBsAg titers determined by high-sensitivity HBsAg assays was 0.005-0.056 IU/mL. Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of nucleos(t)ide analog therapy, liver cirrhosis, and negative anti-HBs contributed to the discrepancies between the two assays. Cumulative anti-HBs positivity rates among discrepant cases were 12.7%, 17.2%, 38.8%, and 43.9% at baseline, 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years, respectively, whereas the corresponding rates among consistent cases were 50.8%, 56.0%, 61.7%, and 68.0%, respectively. Hepatitis B virus DNA negativity rates were 56.4% and 81.4% at baseline, 51.3% and 83.3% at 1 year, and 36.8% and 95.7% at 3 years, among discrepant and consistent cases, respectively. Hepatitis B surface antigen reversion was observed only in discrepant cases.Conclusions: Re-examination by high-sensitivity HBsAg assays revealed that HBsAg was positive in approximately 50% of cases. Cumulative anti-HBs seroconversion rates and HBV-DNA seroclearance rates were lower in these cases, suggesting a population at risk for HBsAg reversion.
Gastric varices that arise secondary to the splenic vein occlusion can result in gastrointestinal hemorrhaging. Endoscopic color Doppler ultrasonography (ECDUS) was performed in 16 patients with gastric varices secondary to splenic vein occlusion. This study retrospectively evaluated the role of ECDUS in the diagnosis of gastric varices secondary to splenic vein occlusion. Thirteen patients had co-existing pancreatic diseases: 8 with chronic pancreatitis, 4 with cancer of the pancreatic body or tail and 1 with severe acute pancreatitis. Of the remaining 3 patients, 1 had myeloproliferative disease, 1 had advanced gastric cancer, and the third had splenic vein occlusion due to an obscure cause. The endoscopic findings of gastric varices were: variceal form (F) classified as enlarged tortuous (F2) in 12 cases and large, coil-shaped (F3) in 4 cases, and positive for erosion or red color sign of the variceal surface in 4 cases and negative in 12 cases. ECDUS color flow images of gastric variceal flow clearly depicted a round fundal region at the center, with varices expanding to the curvatura ventriculi major of the gastric body in all 16 cases. The velocities of F3 type gastric varices were significantly higher than those of the F2 type. The wall thickness of varices positive for erosion or red color sign was significantly less than the negative cases. I conclude that ECDUS color flow images of gastric variceal flow depicted specific findings of gastric varices secondary to splenic vein occlusion at the round fundal region at the center, with varices expanding to the curvatura ventriculi major of the gastric body.
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.