RESUMO
SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: There are limited data on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in chronic hepatitis B virus infection. We aimed to determine the predictors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B virus infection. METHODS: All consecutive treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection at the Haseki Training and Research Hospital between October 1, 2021, and September 31, 2022, were retrospectively enrolled. Chronic hepatitis B virus infection is defined by positive serum hepatitis B surface antigen for 6 months or more. Patients with significant alcohol consumption, prolonged steatogenic drug use, malignancy, monogenic hereditary disorders, patients co-infected with hepatitis D virus, hepatitis C virus infection, or human immunodeficiency virus were excluded. Demographic characteristics, anthropometric determinants, laboratory findings, and virological parameters were retrospectively collected from patients' charts and electronic medical records. RESULTS: A total of 457 patients with treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B virus infection were included in the study. The three multivariate regression models revealed that age (p<0.028), body mass index (p=0.046), diabetes mellitus (p=0.030), hemoglobin (p=0.008), platelet (p=0.012), and triglyceride (p=0.002) in Model 1; body mass index (p=0.033), diabetes mellitus (p<0.001), hemoglobin (p=0.008), platelet (p=0.004), LDL (p=0.023), and HDL (p=0.020) in Model 2; and age (p<0.001), body mass index (p=0.033), hemoglobin (p=0.004), platelet (p=0.004), and HDL (p=0.007) in Model 3 were independent predictors. CONCLUSION: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was observed in about one-third of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection and was positively associated with older age, higher body mass index, presence of comorbid conditions including diabetes mellitus, increased levels of metabolic laboratory parameters, especially serum triglyceride and LDL, and decreased HDL.
RESUMO
SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: Positive results of the serum tube agglutination test that persist after treatment may be interpreted by clinicians as treatment failures. Therefore, our study examined the value of serum tube agglutination test in demonstrating treatment success. METHODS: In this retrospective study conducted at a single center, the pre- and post-treatment serum tube agglutination test titers of patients diagnosed with brucellosis were compared. RESULTS: The end-of-treatment serum tube agglutination test titer was negative in 24 (18%) of 139 patients diagnosed with brucellosis. The most common complaints of the patients were fever (78.4%), chills (88.5%), sweating (84.9%), anorexia (79.1%), and arthralgia (63.3%). The rate of positive blood culture before the treatment was 68.3%. The absence of fever (p=0.005) and arthralgia (p=0.024) and the pretreatment serum tube agglutination test titer of <1/160 (p=0.014) were significant markers of serological cure. CONCLUSION: Although serum tube agglutination test is an effective and very successful test in the diagnosis of brucellosis, our study shows that serum tube agglutination test is not useful in demonstrating the treatment success of human brucellosis in the early post-treatment period.