Should one vaccinate patients with chronic liver disease for hepatitis A virus in India?

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccination is recommended worldwide for patients with chronic liver disease to prevent decompensation due to superinfection with HAV. India being endemic for HAV, the prevalence of pre-existing antibodies against HAV due to subclinical exposure to the virus in childhood among patients with chronic liver disease may be high and, therefore, vaccination may not be needed. However, little data are available on the prevalence of HAV antibody among patients with chronic liver disease in India. METHODS: All patients with chronic liver disease seen at Gastroenterology Center, Army Hospital R and R, New Delhi during the year 2002 and diagnosed to have either chronic liver disease were tested for the presence of IgG anti-HAV antibody in their sera (using a commercial ELISA kit). All patients with acute exacerbation or rapid deterioration of a preexisting chronic liver disease were separately studied for presence of IgM anti-HAV. In addition, a matched number of patients who attended the center due to diseases other than liver disease were also studied as controls. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty seven patients of chronic liver disease and 89 controls were studied. Mean age of these two groups was 38.6 and 42.1 years and 153 (81.8%) and 78 (87.6%) of them were males respectively. Etiology of chronic liver disease was HBV infection in 91(48.7%), HCV infection in 62 (33.2%), autoimmune chronic hepatitis in 3 (1.6%), PBC in seven (3.7%) and cryptogenic 24 (12.8%). Of these 179 (95.7%) patients tested positive for IgG anti-HAV. A total of 37 hospitalisations in 29 patients were noted during the study period due to acute exacerbation of pre-existing chronic liver disease. None of these were positive for IgM anti-HAV, while 28 were positive for IgG anti-HAV. Among the controls, 87 controls (94.6%) were positive IgG anti-HAV. The prevalence of anti-HAV positivity was similar among patients with various etiologies. CONCLUSION: Vaccination against HAV is not routinely required among patients with chronic liver disease in India as there is a very high prevalence of pre-existing antibodies in these patients. HAV superinfection as a cause of acute exacerbation of chronic liver disease was not seen in this.

Cord blood stem cell banking and transplantation.

Stem cells have the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and to give rise to specialized cells. Cord blood as a source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) has several advantages as it is easily available, involves non-invasive collection procedure and is better tolerated across the HLA barrier. Since the first cord blood transplant in 1988, over 2500 cord blood HSC transplants have been done world wide. Since then, the advantages of cord blood as a source of hematopietic stem cells for transplantation have become clear. Firstly, the proliferative capacity of HSC in cord blood is superior to that of cells in bone marrow or blood from adults. A 100 ml unit of cord blood contains 1/10th the number of nucleated cells and progenitor cells (CD34+ cells) present in 1000 ml of bone marrow, but because they proliferate rapidly, the stem cell in a single unit of cord blood can reconstitute the entire haematopoietic system. Secondly, the use of cord blood reduces the risk of graft vs host disease. Cord Blood Stem Cell banks have been established in Europe and United States to supply HSC for related and unrelated donors. Currently, more than 65,000 units are available and more than 2500 patients have received transplants of cord blood. Results in children have clearly shown that the number of nucleated cells in the infused cord blood influences the speed of recovery of neutrophils and platelets after myeloablative chemotherapy. The optimal dose is about 2 x 10(7) nucleated cells/kg of body weight. The present study was carried out for collection, separation, enumeration and cryopreservation of cord blood HSC and establishing a Cord Blood HSC Bank. 172 samples of cord blood HSC were collected after delivery of infant prior to expulsion of placenta. The average cord blood volume collected was 101.20 ml. Mononuclear cell count ranged from 7.36 to 25.6 x 10(7)/ml. Viability count of mononuclear cells was 98.1%. After 1 year of cryopreservation, the viability count on revival was over 82.1%. Related cord blood stem cell transplantation was carried out in three cases at Army Hospital (R&R), Delhi Cantt.

Lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.

BACKGROUND. Lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies are antiphospholipid antibodies which have been independently associated with a high incidence of thrombotic diseases. However, the importance of their combined occurrence has not yet been examined. METHODS. We investigated 70 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus for the presence of anticardiolipin antibodies paying particular attention to a history of thrombosis and abortion. Lupus anticoagulant was detected using the kaolin clotting time, its mixing tests with normal plasma and the inosithin neutralization test. Anticardiolipin antibodies were detected using the ELISA technique. RESULTS. Lupus anticoagulant was detected in 11 patients (16%) and anticardiolipin antibodies in 13 (19%). Six patients were positive for both lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies. These patients had a higher incidence of thrombosis or recurrent abortion (5 of 6) compared to those with lupus anticoagulant (2 of 5) or anticardiolipin antibodies alone (1 of 7). The amount of inosithin required to neutralize lupus anticoagulant was greater [mean (SD) 27.5 (20.5) micrograms] in patients with both lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies than in patients with lupus anticoagulant alone [mean (SD) 4.0 (5.4) micrograms]. CONCLUSION. The presence of lupus anticoagulant is associated with thrombosis and recurrent abortion which are more frequent when both lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies are present and these patients probably have more severe disease as the amount of inosithin required to neutralize the lupus anticoagulant was greater.

Platelet function disorders in north India.

BACKGROUND. Platelet function disorders are a fairly common cause of bleeding manifestations. Although their relative types and incidence are well documented, data from India are lacking. METHODS. Between 1970 and 1991, we studied the clinical and laboratory features of 144 north Indian patients who presented to our hospital with a bleeding diathesis in whom coagulation disorders, von Willebrand's disease and a history of drug ingestion were absent. RESULTS. Isolated platelet factor 3 availability defect was the commonest (56 cases) followed by the thrombasthenias (49 cases), arachidonic acid pathway defect (26 cases), storage pool disease (8 cases) and the Bernard-Soulier syndrome (3 cases). Isolated platelet factor 3 deficiency was rare (2 cases). Two varieties of thrombasthenia were seen--the classical Glanzmann's (13 cases) and thrombopathic (36 cases). The latter was characterized by absent or sub-normal platelet aggregation with agonists along with a reduced (to less than 50% of normal) total platelet factor 3 content. This has not been reported from western countries. Patients with classical Glanzmann's thrombopathic thrombasthenia with absent platelet aggregation and isolated platelet factor 3 deficiency were severe bleeders. Their family history suggested an autosomal recessive transmission in Glanzmann's and thrombopathic thrombasthenia and a possible autosomal dominant transmission in isolated platelet factor 3 availability defect and isolated platelet factor 3 deficiency. CONCLUSION. The frequency of various types of platelet function disorders in Indians is similar to that in western populations except that the incidence of thrombopathic thrombasthenias is higher in India.