Monitoring and treatment results of 88 HBsAg-positive pregnant women.

Approximately 5% of all women in the world are HBsAg-positive. Chronic hepatitis B is a problem in women of reproductive age. This paper assessed 88 HBsAg-positive pregnant women, of whom 11 began treatment during pregnancy and five became pregnant while receiving treatment. The files of HBsAg-positive pregnant women were reviewed between January 2010 and December 2013-retrospectively. From these 88 pregnant women, 72 did not receive any treatment during their pregnancy, 11 began treatment during their pregnancy, and five became pregnant while receiving treatment. Nine of these 11 pregnant women were given tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and two of them lamivudine. Ten babies of the 11 mothers that began treatment during their pregnancy were healthy, but one was lost due to preterm birth. Of the five patients who became pregnant while receiving treatment, the treatments of four women were discontinued and they were monitored during their pregnancies because mild-moderate (less than stage 3) fibrosis was found in their liver biopsy results. It is important to screen all pregnant women for hepatitis B and to assess those found HBsAg-positive. It is possible to protect both the mother and baby using appropriate approaches.

Detection of bacterial translocation during intestinal distension in rats using the polymerase chain reaction.

To investigate whether distension causes bacterial translocation (BT), a rat model reported earlier by us was used and to detect the presence of bacterial DNA in blood by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, the most sensitive detection method to date. In 4 groups of 4-week-old Wistar-albino rats a total of 15 animals each were included. In the 1st group (distension+gavage), 1010 Escherichia coli colonies were given via gavage and distension was carried out by rectal air inoculation. In the 2nd group (gavage), animals were inoculated with E. coli and no distension was induced. The 3rd group (distension) were only distended and no bacteria were inoculated. The control group were neither distended nor inoculated with E. coli. Blood samples were collected 3 h after manipulations and both blood cultures and PCR assays were performed. According to the PCR results BT was evident in 80% of group 1, 20% of group 2, and 33% of group 3 animals. BT was not determined in the control group. Significantly low percentages of positivity were observed in blood cultures in all groups (P < 0.05). These results confirm reports that BT occurs in the presence of distension and that PCR is a superior way of determining BT. Thus, it would be advisable to utilize PCR technology in cases where the possibility of distension exists, as early intervention might be useful before any severe clinical pathology (sepsis, multiple-organ-system failure) becomes evident.