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ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical and epidemiological features of patients with bacterial liver abscess during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 （COVID－19） in Changchun， China. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for 37 411 patients who were discharged from The First Hospital of Jilin University from March 1 to June 30 in 2022， and finally 135 patients with bacterial liver abscess were included for analysis. Related clinical data were collected to summarize their clinical features， and these patients were compared with the patients with bacterial liver abscess in 2019－2021 in terms of disease onset and pathogen. The Kruskal－Wallis H test was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups， and the chi－square test was used for comparison of categorical data between multiple groups. ResultsThe patients with bacterial liver abscess accounted for 0.36% of the patients admitted to our hospital during the same period of time， which showed varying degrees of increase compared with the previous years （χ2=32.081， P<0.001）. The 135 patients with bacterial liver abscess had a mean hospital stay of 11 （6－18） days， which was longer than that in the previous years （H=9.223， P=0.026）. The patients with bacterial liver abscess had higher levels of white blood cell count and C－reactive protein （CRP） than the previous years （H=14.150 and 8.736， P=0.003 and 0.033）. Among the 135 patients， 69 （51.11%） received blood culture， and the results showed sterile growth （59.42%）， Klebsiella pneumoniae （30.43%）， Escherichia coli （4.35%）， Bacteroides fragilis （1.45%）， Enterococcus faecium （1.45%）， Staphylococcus epidermidis （1.45%）， and Klebsiella oxytoca （1.45%）. Among the 135 patients， 90 （66.67%） received pus culture， and the results showed Klebsiella pneumoniae （72.22%）， sterile growth （14.44%）， Escherichia coli （4.44%）， Enterococcus faecium （2.22%）， Pseudomonas aeruginosa （2.22%）， Acinetobacter baumannii （1.11%）， Klebsiella aerogenes （1.11%）， Klebsiella oxytoca （1.11%）， and Enterococcus casseliflavus （1.11%）. Of all 135 patients， 127 （94.07%） were improved and cured after anti－infective therapy and ultrasound－guided abscess puncture and drainage， and 3 patients （2.22%） died during hospitalization. ConclusionDuring the outbreak of COVID－19 in Changchun， there are increases in the number of patients with liver abscess in our hospital， the length of hospital stay， and the levels of white blood cell count and CRP， with Klebsiella pneumoniae as the main pathogen， and most patients are improved after treatment.
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Portopulmonary hypertension (POPH) is an increase in pulmonary artery pressure that occurs on the basis of portal hypertension. As a member of the BMP family, bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) not only has the osteogenic activity, but can also protect endothelial integrity and maintain vascular homeostasis. This article reviews the pathogenesis of POPH, the physiological expression and role of BMP9, and related research advances in the BMP9 signaling pathway and its involvement in pulmonary hypertension and vascular remodeling, thereby exploring the possibility of BMP9 as a new biomarker for POPH to assist in the diagnosis of POPH.
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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of childbearing age, with the clinical manifestations of oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea, hyperandrogenism, and anovulatory infertility, and it is often accompanied by metabolic disorders such as obesity, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and glucose and lipid metabolism disorders. Women with PCOS often have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and other metabolic-associated diseases, and PCOS and NAFLD are related in terms of pathogenesis and treatment. This article reviews the research advances in PCOS with NAFLD in recent years.
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Hepatic hydrothorax (HH) is a challenging complication of liver cirrhosis associated with portal hypertension, and its pathogenesis and therapeutic measures remain unknown. This article summarizes and reviews the advances and challenges in the research on the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of HH and proposes a multidisciplinary treatment strategy, including reducing the production of ascites, preventing effusion from entering the thoracic cavity, removing pleural effusion, occluding the pleural cavity, and performing liver transplantation, so as to provide a reference for more clinicians.
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Dyslipidemia is one of the most common complications of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). This article reviews the latest research on lipid profile, the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and treatment of PBC with hyperlipidemia. Different from other liver diseases, PBC with hyperlipidemia has a unique lipid profile, which changes dynamically with disease progression. It is generally not considered that there are increased risks of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. For those who have indications for treatment, statins are recommended as the first choice. In the future, more in-depth systematic studies are needed to clarify its diagnosis, treatment, and management processes.
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Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) refers to liver injury caused by one or more drugs or their metabolites after use. Due to the various types of drugs and large differences between individuals, there are many difficulties in the clinical diagnosis of DILI, and the search for new biomarkers has become a research hotspot. Related studies have shown that cytokines play a key role in DILI, especially idiosyncratic DILI. This article outlines the role of different cytokines in DILI and their value in predicting the severity and evaluating prognosis of DILI. It is pointed out that cytokines have a broad application prospect as biomarkers for DILI.
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Objective@#The aim was to investigate the genotype distribution of two major epitopes of large surface protein (PreS1) of hepatitis B in Chinese patients and to explore the association between the genotypes of these two epitopes, and to determine whether PreS1 full-length genotype could be revealed according to the polypeptide sequence of key epitopes. @*Methods@#HBV DNA was extracted from the serum of patients for PCR amplification. 278 samples amplified successfully were sequenced and compared with the known HBV sequences in Genbank to determine the two key epitopes of HBV PreS1 genotype (amino acid epitope 21-47 and 94-117, abbreviated as P21 and P94) and PreS1 full-length genotypes. The correlation among three genotyping approaches was analyzed by Cohen’s kappa coefficient to verify the consistency between the key-epitope genotyping and the full-length preS1 genotyping. @*Results@#232 samples were successfully sequenced. The genotyping based on the kind of P21 epitope protein sequence, 201 cases for genotype C, 23 cases for genotype B and 8 cases for uncertain genotypes and genotyping based on the form of P94 epitope protein sequence, 199 cases for genotype C, 25 cases for genotype B and 8 cases for indeterminate genotypes. Lastly, the genotyping based on sequence of the full-length PreS1 sequence, 207 and 25 cases for genotype C and B. P21 or P94 epitope genotyping and PreS1 full length genotyping were highly consistent, respectively, 96.55% and 96.12%, and the two epitopes (P21and P94) genotyping have parallel consistency (93.10%). @*Conclusion@#In this study, an innovatively genotyping method based on the amino acid sequence of key epitopes was proposed. The genotypes of HBV in china were mainly B and C genotypes, and the genotypes of key conserved epitopes of HBV PreS1 were highly consistent with the full-length genotyping ( > 96%). Moreover, genotyping with one or two key epitopes can be used in place of the full-length genotyping.
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With the development and launch of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) in the world in recent years, therapeutic regimens for chronic hepatitis C are constantly evolving. DAAs will also be launched in China in the near future. DAAs mainly target at the non-structural proteins of HCV and can inhibit HCV RNA replication. This article introduces the targets, mechanism of action, and resistance characteristics of different DAAs, as well as their current research and development in China and the results of phase Ⅲ clinical studies, in order to provide a reference for combined therapeutic strategies with DAAs in the treatment for chronic hepatitis C.