Case Report: Pericardial Actinomycosis in a 79-Year-Old Man with Poor Dental Hygiene.

Actinomycosis is an uncommon infection caused by Actinomyces species, and the diagnosis is often challenging owing to low prevalence and diverse clinical manifestations. Pericardial involvement of actinomycosis is particularly rare. Here, we present a case of a 79-year-old man who initially complained of exertional dyspnea, orthopnea, and decreased urine amount. There was no fever, chest pain, or productive cough. Physical examination was remarkable for decreased breath sounds at the left lower lung field. Poor dental hygiene and a firm, well-defined mass without discharge over the hard palate were noted. Echocardiography revealed reduced ejection fraction of the left ventricle, global hypokinesia, and thickened pericardium (> 5 mm) with a small amount of pericardial effusion. On admission, the patient underwent diagnostic thoracentesis, and the results suggested an exudate. However, bacterial and fungal cultures were all negative. There was no malignant cell by cytology. Computed tomography revealed contrast-enhanced pericardial nodular masses. Video-assisted thoracoscopic pericardial biopsy was performed. Histopathology confirmed actinomycosis with chronic abscess formation, and a tissue culture yielded Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. The symptoms resolved with administration of clindamycin for 6 months. This case highlights the challenge in the diagnosis of cardiac actinomycosis, the potential role of concomitant microorganisms as diagnostic clues, and the favorable clinical response achieved with appropriate antibiotic treatment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma after treatment cessation in non-cirrhotic HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B: A multicentre cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Scarce data exist on the effect of nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) discontinuation on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHBe-). Therefore, we assessed whether HCC risk is increased in non-cirrhotic CHBe- patients who discontinue compared to those remaining on NAs. METHODS: This cohort study included 650 consecutive non-cirrhotic Caucasian or Asian patients with CHBe- without a history of HCC who discontinued NAs after a median of 5 or 3 years (cases, n = 325; Caucasians: 143, Asians: 182) or remained on NA therapy beyond 5 or 3 years respectively (controls, n = 325; Caucasians: 223, Asians: 102). Propensity score (PS) 1:1 matching was applied to adjust for patients' origin, age and sex. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 44 months, HCC developed in 7/325 cases and 9/325 controls or 7/245 PS-matched cases and 7/245 PS-matched controls with 5-year cumulative HCC incidence of 5.1% and 4.9% respectively (log-rank, P = .836). No difference in 5-year HCC risk was observed between cases and controls of Caucasian (3.0% vs 4.8%; log-rank, P = .510) or Asian origin (1.3% vs 2.2%; log-rank, P = .873). In both cases and controls, HCC incidence was independently associated with age and PAGE-B score. In cases alone, HCC development after NA discontinuation was associated only with pretreatment platelet counts and PAGE-B score, but not with any type of relapse or HBsAg loss. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that discontinuation of effective long-term NA therapy in non-cirrhotic CHBe- patients are not associated with increased HCC risk, which is not affected by post-NA relapses and/or HBsAg loss.

Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse US Imaging: Liver Stiffness in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B with and without Antiviral Therapy.

Purpose To investigate the clinical utility and longitudinal change of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) ultrasonographic (US) imaging in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Materials and Methods A retrospective cohort study of patients with chronic hepatitis B who underwent serial ARFI examinations in a tertiary referral center in Taiwan between 2012 and 2016 was conducted. The clinical information and noninvasive liver stiffness measurement tests (ARFI, Fibrosis-4 index [FIB-4], and FibroScan) were collected. Serial ARFI measurements were compared in patients without antiviral therapy (nontreatment group) and during antiviral therapy (treatment group). The linear mixed-effects model with random coefficients was used to compare longitudinal repeated measurements. Results A total of 559 patients undergoing serial ARFI examinations were included. The ARFI value correlated with FIB-4 (correlation coefficient = 0.55, P < .001) and FibroScan (correlation coefficient = 0.69, P < .001) results. There were 314 patients with five or more ARFI measurements in more than 3 years of follow-up. The ARFI value remained unchanged in the nontreatment group (n = 189, from 1.11 to 1.11 m/sec, time trend P = .911). However, the ARFI value declined significantly in the treatment group (n = 125, from 1.63 to 1.37 m/sec, time trend P < .001), both in patients with cirrhosis (n = 51, from 2.15 to 1.75 m/sec, time trend P < .001) and in those without (n = 74, from 1.27 to 1.11 m/sec, time trend P < .001). Conclusion ARFI US imaging is an important clinical noninvasive test for liver stiffness measurement and can be used for serial measurements in the management of chronic hepatitis B. Antiviral therapy significantly reduces liver stiffness during longitudinal follow-up.