Does the risk of cardiovascular events differ between biopsy-proven NAFLD and MAFLD?

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among individuals with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Recently, NAFLD was renamed metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). This study aimed to compare cardiovascular risk (CVR) and CVD between patients with NAFLD and MAFLD. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study of biopsy-proven liver steatosis performed between 2013 and 2018 at a university hospital. Cases were divided into NAFLD or MAFLD and demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected to assess CVR (through the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk estimator and atherogenic indices) and CVD. RESULTS: Out of 1233 liver biopsies, 171 (13.9%) presented steatosis. Of these, 109 patients met diagnostic criteria for NAFLD (63.7%) and 154 (90.1%), for MAFLD. In the NAFLD group, 78% of the cases had steatohepatitis, 24.8% had cirrhosis, and 3.7%, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the MAFLD group, 72.7% of the cases had liver inflammatory activity, 28.6% had cirrhosis, and 13.6% had HCC. In patients with MAFLD and NAFLD, CVR was intermediate/high (36.4 and 25.7%, p = 0.209) and CVD occurred in 20.1 and 12.8% (p = 0.137) of the cases, respectively, with no influence of liver injury severity. We observed a significant increase in high 10-year CVR (p = 0.020) and CVD (p = 0.007) in patients with MAFLD and concomitant viral infection (HCV and/or HBV) compared to cases with MAFLD only. CONCLUSION: Patients with both NAFLD and MAFLD had intermediate/high CVR, with a high rate of CVD. Patients with MAFLD and concomitant viral infection showed significantly increased CVR and CVD compared to those without viral infection.

The efficacy of hepatitis B treatments in achieving HBsAg seroclearance: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Current therapies for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) include nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) and interferon (IFN), but their relative efficacy as monotherapy or in combination has not been examined systematically for HBsAg loss (functional cure). Hence, we systematically reviewed the evidence for HBsAg loss in CHB patients treated with IFN, NA or the combination. We searched PubMed, EMBASE and abstracts from EASL, Asia Pacific Association for study of the Liver and American Association for the Study of Liver Disease for randomized controlled trials of CHB patients, comparing NA, IFN or the combination. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool v2.0 and GRADE method were used. Analyses were stratified by NA genetic barrier, cirrhosis, type of combination therapy, HBeAg, treatment naivety, IFN dosage/duration and outcome duration. Sensitivity analysis was performed for selected strata, and HBsAg loss was measured at the end-of-study (EOS), end-of-treatment (EOT) or end-of-follow-up (EOF). Effects were reported as risk differences (RD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using a random-effects model. Forty-five studies were included, all with low risk of bias. For HBsAg loss at EOS, when comparing combination vs IFN, RD = 1%, 95%CI-1%, 2%; combination vs NA, RD = 5%, 95%CI 3%,7%; IFN vs NA, RD = 3%, 95%CI 2%,5%. Subgroup analysis showed a significant effect of standard IFN dose vs nonstandard; IFN duration ≥48 weeks vs <48 weeks, and loss of efficacy >2 years of follow-up. Similar findings were seen in HBsAg seroconversion, but only three studies reported HBsAg seroreversion. In conclusion, IFN monotherapy/combination had a small but significant increase in HBsAg loss over NA, associated with standard dose of IFN and ≥48 weeks of therapy, although this effect faded over time.

Enteropatia associada à Olmesartana / Olmesartan associated enteropathy

A enteropatia induzida por olmesartana é uma entidade reconhecida recentemente como diagnóstico diferencial de atrofia vilosa. A apresentação clínica é semelhante à doença celíaca, porém a não resposta à retirada do glúten e sorologia antitransglutaminase negativa são chaves para o diagnóstico diferencial. A fisiopatologia é incerta, havendo especulações quanto à predisposição genética e mecanismo de ação da própria droga. A melhora clínica e histológica após a suspensão da medicação é a principal característica. Aqui reportamos um caso de enteropatia induzida por olmesartana de apresentação clínica aguda.(AU)

The olmesartan induced enteropathy is a recently recognized entity in the differential diagnosis of villous atrophy. The clinical presentation is similar to celiac disease, but transglutaminase negative sorology and noimprovement after gluten removal are key to the differential diagnosis. The pathophysiology is uncertain, withspeculations about genetic predisposition and the medication's mechanism of action itself. The clinical and histological improvement after drug discontinuation is the main feature. Here we report a case of Olmesartaninduced enteropathy with acute clinical presentation.(AU)

Impact of a short-term educational intervention on adherence to asthma treatment and on asthma control.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a short-term individualized education program on adherence to asthma treatment, inhalation techniques, and asthma control. METHODS: A prospective study involving patients aged 14 years or older, with a confirmed diagnosis of asthma and recruited from the asthma outpatient clinic of a university hospital in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The study was conducted in two phases (before and after the educational intervention). At a routine medical visit, the participants completed a general questionnaire in order to assess the level of asthma control and inhalation techniques. The participants also underwent pulmonary function testing. Subsequently, they participated in an asthma education program, which consisted of one individualized session. The participants were reevaluated after three months. RESULTS: Of the 174 patients recruited, 115 completed the study. Between the first and second evaluations, there was a significant improvement in the effective use of inhaled corticosteroids (90.4% vs. 93.3%; p = 0.003), the effective use of long-acting ß2 agonists (57.4% vs. 63.5%; p < 0.0001), the effective use of a combined regimen with these two medications (57.4% vs. 62.6%; p < 0.0001), and the self-reported adherence to corticosteroid therapy (p = 0.001). There was a significant decrease in the proportion of patients visiting ERs (30.4% vs. 23.5%; p = 0.012). However, the level of asthma control and the inhalation technique did not improve significantly (p = 0.095 and p = 0.512, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This short-term asthma education program resulted in an improvement in the use of medications for asthma control and a decrease in the number of ER visits, although it had no significant effect on the inhalation technique.

Impacto de uma intervenção educacional de curta duração sobre a adesão ao tratamento e controle da asma / Impact of a short-term educational intervention on adherence to asthma treatment and on asthma control

OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito de um programa educativo individualizado de curta duração para asma sobre a adesão ao tratamento, técnicas inalatórias e controle da doença. MÉTODOS: Estudo prospectivo em duas fases (antes e depois da intervenção) em pacientes com idade > 14 anos e com diagnóstico confirmado de asma, recrutados no ambulatório especializado de um hospital universitário em Porto Alegre (RS). Durante a visita médica de rotina, os participantes responderam um questionário geral para avaliar o nível de controle da asma e a técnica inalatória e foram submetidos a testes de função pulmonar. Participaram, então, de um programa educativo em asma que consistiu de uma sessão individualizada. A reavaliação ocorreu em três meses. RESULTADOS: Dos 174 pacientes recrutados, 115 completaram o estudo. Entre as avaliações, houve uma melhora significativa no uso efetivo de corticosteroides inalatórios (90,4 por cento vs. 93,3 por cento; p = 0,003), no uso efetivo de β2-agonistas de longa ação (57,4 por cento vs. 63,5 por cento; p < 0,0001), no uso efetivo do regime combinado dessas duas medicações (57,4 por cento vs. 62,6 por cento; p < 0,0001) e na adesão relatada ao tratamento com corticosteroides (p = 0,001). Houve uma redução significativa na proporção de pacientes com visitas a emergência (30,4 por cento vs. 23,5 por cento; p = 0,012), mas o nível de controle da asma e a técnica inalatória não melhoraram significantemente (p = 0,095 e p = 0,512, respectivamente). CONCLUSÕES: Este programa educativo de curta duração resultou em maior utilização das medicações de controle da asma e em redução das visitas a emergência, apesar de não ter ocorrido efeito significante sobre a técnica inalatória.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a short-term individualized education program on adherence to asthma treatment, inhalation techniques, and asthma control. METHODS: A prospective study involving patients aged 14 years or older, with a confirmed diagnosis of asthma and recruited from the asthma outpatient clinic of a university hospital in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The study was conducted in two phases (before and after the educational intervention). At a routine medical visit, the participants completed a general questionnaire in order to assess the level of asthma control and inhalation techniques. The participants also underwent pulmonary function testing. Subsequently, they participated in an asthma education program, which consisted of one individualized session. The participants were reevaluated after three months. RESULTS: Of the 174 patients recruited, 115 completed the study. Between the first and second evaluations, there was a significant improvement in the effective use of inhaled corticosteroids (90.4 percent vs. 93.3 percent; p = 0.003), the effective use of long-acting β2 agonists (57.4 percent vs. 63.5 percent; p < 0.0001), the effective use of a combined regimen with these two medications (57.4 percent vs. 62.6 percent; p < 0.0001), and the self-reported adherence to corticosteroid therapy (p = 0.001). There was a significant decrease in the proportion of patients visiting ERs (30.4 percent vs. 23.5 percent; p = 0.012). However, the level of asthma control and the inhalation technique did not improve significantly (p = 0.095 and p = 0.512, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This short-term asthma education program resulted in an improvement in the use of medications for asthma control and a decrease in the number of ER visits, although it had no significant effect on the inhalation technique.