Hepatitis B reactivation risk and physician awareness in rheumatological patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor-α treatment.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the risk of hepatitis B virus reactivation in rheumatic patients using anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha drugs and the awareness of physicians about hepatitis B virus reactivation. METHODS: Demographic characteristics, pre- and post-treatment hepatitis markers, and laboratory parameters of patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha therapy in our rheumatology clinic were retrospectively examined. RESULTS: A total of 448 patients, 240 (53.6%) female and 208 (46.4%) male, were evaluated. Their mean age was 48.02±14.64 years. While HBsAg was examined in 443 (98.9%) patients before treatment, 7 (1.6%) patients were found to be HBsAg positive. While anti-HBc IgG was examined in 405 (90.4%) patients, it was positive in 69 (17%) patients. HBs Ag (total 446-99.6%) test was performed in three patients who were not tested for HBsAg before the treatment, and anti-HBc total (431-96.2% total) test was performed in 26 patients who were not tested for anti-HBc total. All HBsAg positive patients and 17 (24.6%) of those with previous hepatitis B received antiviral treatment. While the median follow-up period of the patients was 24 (6-60) months, no patient developed hepatitis B virus reactivation. CONCLUSION: The screening rates and awareness of physicians providing anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha therapy for hepatitis B virus infection were found to be higher compared to similar studies. Hepatitis B virus reactivation did not develop in any patient. Since the risk of hepatitis B virus reactivation is low, especially in patients with previous hepatitis B, it would be more appropriate to follow up the patients without giving antiviral prophylaxis.

The efficacy and tolerability of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir treatment in a real-world chronic hepatitis C patients cohort.

Background and Aim: The aims of the present study were to evaluate the real-life efficacy and tolerability of glecaprevir (GLE)/pibrentasvir (PIB) in the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Materials and Methods: Between May 2019 and May 2022, 686 patients with CHC, treated with GLE/PIB combination from 21 participating centers in Turkiye, were enrolled in the study. Results: All patients were Caucasian, and their median age was 56 years. At the start of GLE/PIB treatment, the median serum Hepatitis C virus RNA and serum alanine amino transaminase (ALT) levels were 6.74 log10 IU/mL and 47 U/L, respectively. Fifty-three percent of the patients were infected with genotype 1b, followed by genotype 3 (17%). Diabetes was the more common concomitant disease. The sustained virological response (SVR12) was 91.4% with intent-to-treat analysis and 98.5% with per protocol analysis. The SVR12 rates were statistically significant differences between the patients who were i.v. drug users and non-user (88.0% vs. 98.8%, p=0.025). From the baseline to SVR12, the serum ALT levels and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score were significantly improved (p<0.001 and p=0.014, respectively). No severe adverse effect was observed. Conclusion: GLE/PIB is an effective and tolerable treatment in patients with CHC.

Real-Life Data on Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir in Patients with Chronic Viral Hepatitis C Genotype 1b: A Single-Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: The course of hepatitis C disease has changed with the use of direct-acting antiviral drugs in the treatment of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the real-life efficacy and safety of the sofosbuvir/ledipasvir drug regimen in the treatment of patients with genotype 1b. METHODS: Treatment-naive or -experienced 49 genotypes 1b patients treated with sofosbuvir/ledipasvir participated in the study. Laboratory and hepatitis C virus RNA values were evaluated at baseline, week 12, and week 24 of treatment (36th week for those who received 24 weeks of treatment). RESULTS: The sustained virologic response rate was 100% in patients who completed treatment. At the end of the study, there was a significant decrease in alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and alpha-fetoprotein levels (P = .000014, P = .000581, P = .000012, and P = .000821), respectively. Renal function tests (creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate) worsened (P = .003 and P = .007, respectively). Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was developed in 2 patients during post-treatment follow-up. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, the probability of not developing HCC was 86.5% at 26 months. CONCLUSION: The sofosbuvir/ledipasvir combination is effective in treating genotype 1b chronic hepatitis C with high sustained virologic response rates. Because there are few drug interactions, it may be a suitable option for patients taking multiple medications or who are transplant recipients. Renal function should be monitored closely during and after treatment, as there is a risk of worsening renal function after treatment.

Gastrointestinal Bleeding Risk Factors in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors leading to the development of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) by comparing patients with diabetes mellitus Type 2 (T2DM) with dyspeptic complaints without GIB; and patients with T2DM who had GIB, regardless of the presence of helicobacter pylori. STUDY DESIGN: Analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Endocrinology and Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, from January 2018 to June 2019. METHODOLOGY: The patients were divided into GIB and dyspepsia groups. After the identification of patients in both groups, demographic characteristics, drugs, comorbidities, presence of diabetic macro- and micro-vascular complications, and endoscopic findings were examined retrospectively for each patient. RESULTS: There were 106 patients, with 53 patients in each group. Mean age was significantly higher in the GIB group compared to the dyspepsia group (p<0.001). Body mass index (BMI) was significantly lower in the GIB group (p<0.001). Frequency of congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and cerebrovascular disease (CVD), heart valve disease, and cardiac arrhythmia was significantly higher in GIB group (p <0.05 for all). No significant correlation was found between acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) use and GIB (p=0.103). The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC), and clopidogrel was significantly higher in the GIB group (p=0.032, p=0.031, and p=0.032, respectively). Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use was significantly higher in the dyspepsia group (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: Age, and poly medications were associated with increased frequency of GIB. The use of ASA, when not administered with other agents that may induce GIB, does not increase the risk of developing GIB in obese T2DM patients younger than 65 years of age, who have increased HbA1c levels. Key Words: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Dyspepsia, Gastrointestinal bleeding, Acetylsalicylic acid, Risk factors, Obesity, Medication.

Deep neural network approaches for detecting gastric polyps in endoscopic images.

Gastrointestinal endoscopy is the primary method used for the diagnosis and treatment of gastric polyps. The early detection and removal of polyps is vitally important in preventing cancer development. Many studies indicate that a high workload can contribute to misdiagnosing gastric polyps, even for experienced physicians. In this study, we aimed to establish a deep learning-based computer-aided diagnosis system for automatic gastric polyp detection. A private gastric polyp dataset was generated for this purpose consisting of 2195 endoscopic images and 3031 polyp labels. Retrospective gastrointestinal endoscopy data from the Karadeniz Technical University, Farabi Hospital, were used in the study. YOLOv4, CenterNet, EfficientNet, Cross Stage ResNext50-SPP, YOLOv3, YOLOv3-SPP, Single Shot Detection, and Faster Regional CNN deep learning models were implemented and assessed to determine the most efficient model for precancerous gastric polyp detection. The dataset was split 70% and 30% for training and testing all the implemented models. YOLOv4 was determined to be the most accurate model, with an 87.95% mean average precision. We also evaluated all the deep learning models using a public gastric polyp dataset as the test data. The results show that YOLOv4 has significant potential applicability in detecting gastric polyps and can be used effectively in gastrointestinal CAD systems. Gastric Polyp Detection Process using Deep Learning with Private Dataset.

Risk of hepatitis B reactivation in patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor-α therapy.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening rates in patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α therapy and the frequency of HBV reactivation in patients with resolved hepatitis B virus infection (hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] negative, hepatitis B core antibody [Anti-HBc] positive). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data from 1834 patients who underwent anti-TNF-α therapy in the Rheumatology, Gastroenterology and Dermatology Departments of our hospital between 2010 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Within 6 months before the initial anti-TNF-α therapy, performing a HBsAg and/or anti-HBc test is defined as HBV screening. HBV reactivation is defined as the presence of detectable serum HBV DNA or HBsAg seroconversion from negative to positive. RESULTS: The overall HBV screening rate was 82.3% before starting anti-TNF-α therapy. There was an increasing trend in HBV screening rates during the years analyzed (64% in 2010, 87.4% in 2019) (P < .001). Before anti-TNF-α therapy was initiated, 272 patients were HBsAg negative and anti-HBc positive. Among these patients, HBV reactivation did not occur in 31 patients who received antiviral prophylaxis, whereas HBV reactivation occurred in only 1 (0.4%) of the 241 patients who did not receive antiviral prophylaxis. CONCLUSION: Hepatitis B virus screening rates prior to starting anti-TNF-α therapy were relatively high, and its trend was increased by year. HBV reactivation because of anti-TNF-α use rarely occurred in patients with resolved HBV infection. Further studies are needed on whether routine anti-HBc screening and/or HBV DNA follow-up are necessary in these patients aside from HBsAg.