Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology最新文献

Among 35 species of genus Helicobacter, H. pylori is the most common causative agent of human gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. The infection can spread through direct human-to-human contact, fecal-oral route, and contaminated water. The study was designed to investigate the rate of prevalence of H. pylori in the population of Dhamar, Yemen. In this one-year study, 460 including 250 male and 210 female stool specimens were collected between January to December 2020 in Dhamar Governorate, Yemen. Of the total 460, 215 rural (male: n = 120 and female: n = 95) and 245 urban (male: n = 130 and female: n = 115) specimens were investigated for identification of H. pylori by serological test using Helicobacter pylori stool antigen (HpSA) test. In addition, for comparing an improved recovery of H. pylori, conventional culture-based isolation was also carried out using three selective media. Modified Campy-blood Agar (MCA), Belo Horizonte Agar (BHA), and Egg yolk Emulsion (EYE) medium supplemented with antimicrobial agents including vancomycin (10 mg/L), cefsulodin (5 mg/L), trimethoprim (5 mg/L), and amphotericin B (5 mg/L) and isolates were phenotypically characterized. The HpSA test results revealed that of the total 460 specimens, 89 (19.3%) were positive for H. pylori with relatively low in male (n = 43; 17.2%) as compared to the female (n = 46; 21.9%) specimens. After 3-10 days of incubation, H. pylori was recovered at a variable rate on each selective (MCA: 16.5%; BHA: 15.0%; EYE: 13.0%) media. However, culture-based assay results showed less recovery (n = 81; 17.6%) with no significant difference among all selective media tested and between genders (male: n = 39; 15.6%; female: n = 42; 20.0%). The infection rate was comparatively higher in rural (n = 45; 20.9%) as compared to urban (n = 36; 14.7%) population. Overall, the study data showed the prevalence of infection in both genders of all age groups. The present study showed a relatively high rate of infection of H. pylori in the Dhamar population. The serological identification and culture-based methods are important for rapid detection, aid in treatment, and developing policies for the control and eradication of H. pylori infection and to prevent the disease in different age groups in Yemen.

Background: Vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTA) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) are used more frequently to diagnose liver fibrosis and steatosis among nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients. However, limited robust data are available on the clinical variables strongly related to these disorders and who needs to be referred for screening.

Methods: We used the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey 2017-2018 database to identify the clinical predictors strongly related to liver steatosis and advanced fibrosis. Baseline comparisons among these groups were made based on widely accepted cutoffs. Linear and logistic regressions were performed to identify the associations between the clinical variables and liver steatosis and fibrosis. We used adaptive lasso regression, gradient-boosted model, and decision trees to determine clinical variables strongly related to these outcomes. A Naïve Byes classifier and decision trees were used to calculate the predicted probabilities of liver steatosis and fibrosis.

Results: 32% of our population had evidence of liver steatosis using 294 dB/m as a cutoff. An increase in age, serum triglyceride, and body mass index were associated with a statistically significant increase in liver steatosis; in contrast, females had statistically significantly lower values for liver steatosis by 15 points in the multivariable linear regression model. Serum LDL, smoking, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure are poorly associated with liver steatosis in the adaptive lasso regression. On the other hand, sex, tobacco use, metabolic energy expenditure, and serum triglyceride are the least associated with liver fibrosis based on decision tree analysis and a gradient-boosted model. In decision trees, people with a body mass index above 30 and HbA1c above 5.7 have a 72% likelihood of liver steatosis compared to 14% for people with a body mass index below 30. On the other hand, people with a body mass index above 41 have a 38% likelihood of liver fibrosis.

Conclusion: Body mass index, hemoglobin A1c, serum triglyceride level, sex, and age could provide a good prediction for liver steatosis, while body mass index, blood pressure, platelet counts, hemoglobin A1c, serum LDL, or HDL are highly associated with liver fibrosis and should be used as an initial screening tool prior referral for VCTE/CAP.

Background and aims: COVID-19 has led to potential delays in liver cancer treatment, which may have undesirable effects on the prognosis of patients. We aimed to quantify the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who underwent transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in patients with HCC who underwent TACE at a tertiary care center during the prelockdown (March to July 2019) and lockdown (March to July 2020) periods. Demographic data, tumor characteristics, functional status, and vital status were collected from the hospital medical records. The endpoints were TACE interval, treatment response, and survival after TACE. Cox proportional hazards regression determined the significant preoperative factors influencing survival.

Results: Compared to prelockdown, a significant delay occurred during the lockdown in repeated TACE treatments (76.7 vs. 63.5 days, P=0.007). The trend suggested a significant decrease in patients with HCC in the repeated TACE group (-33.3%). After screening, 145 patients were included (prelockdown (n = 87), lockdown (n = 58)). There was no significant difference in the 1-month objective response rate between the prelockdown and lockdown groups (65.5% vs. 64.4%, P=1.00). During follow-up, 56 (64.4%) and 34 (58.6%) deaths occurred in the prelockdown and lockdown groups, respectively (P=0.600). Multivariate analysis revealed no association between the lockdown group and decreased survival (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.57-1.35, P=0.555).

Conclusions: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on liver cancer care resulted in significant decreases and delays in repeated TACE treatments in 2020 compared to 2019. However, treatment delays did not seem to significantly impact survival.

Objective: To identify any concomitant complications other than bleeding (COTB) before and after endoscopic treatment of esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EGVB) in liver cirrhosis patients and explore the underlying risk factors.

Materials and methods: Cirrhotic patients complicated with EGVB, who underwent interventional endoscopic treatments in our hospital from November 2017 to August 2020, were enrolled in this study. Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed for COTB at admission and within 2 years of the first endoscopic treatment. Patients were screened for potential risk factors of COTB before and after the treatment. Univariate analysis was performed to identify clinical factors of secondary complications, and statistically significant factors were included in the multivariate Cox and logistic regression analyses.

Results: Of the 547 patients with cirrhosis, 361 individuals had COTB in the first endoscopic treatment. In this cohort, the top 3 prevalent incidences were portal vein thrombosis (PVT) or spongiosis, cholelithiasis, and pathogenic infections. The COTB did not occur at admission in 171 liver cirrhosis patients but happened at the follow-up. Higher Child-Pugh scores indicated potential risks of multiple concurrent complications, including bleeding. Risk factors for concomitant PVT or cavernous changes after endoscopic treatment of EGVB, pathogenic infections, and cholelithiasis could prolong the cirrhosis symptoms, while noncholestatic cirrhosis patients might have a lower risk than posthepatitis B cirrhosis patients, in the context of a higher degree of EGV and serum level of D-D and a lower blood calcium level.

Conclusions: Clinical treatment and interventions can be tailored to avoid other complications during and after EGVB treatment, which can affect the outcome and prognosis of bleeding symptoms.

Aim: The present study aimed at investigating associations of the platelet-to-monocyte ratio (PMR), a novel hematological indicator of inflammatory responses with 30-day outcomes in patients with HBV-associated decompensated cirrhosis (HBV-DeCi).

Methods: We recruited 329 patients with HBV-DeCi for this retrospective study and extracted baseline clinical data and laboratory characteristics from medical records. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine major factors influencing 30-day mortality. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to compare the predictive values of prognostic markers.

Results: During the 30-day follow-up period, 21 (6.4%) patients died. The PMR was significantly different between nonsurvivors and survivors. Lower PMR was found to be associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality, and PMR (odds ratio: 1.011; 95% CI: 1.003-1.019; P=0.005) was found to be an independent predictor of 30-day mortality in patients with HBV-DeCi with a significant predictive value (AUC = 0.826, 95% CI: 0.781-0.865). The combination of PMR and MELD score could improve prognostic accuracy in these patients (AUC = 0.911, 95% CI: 0.876-0.940).

Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that low PMR may be an independent predictor of 30-day mortality in patients with HBV-DeCi, and combined with the MELD score, it may be useful to complement other conventional measures to enable effective management of these patients.

Cardiovascular diseases are currently one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in liver transplant patients over the long term. Therefore, evaluating prognostic factors for cardiovascular events (CVEs) in this population is essential for taking preventive measures. The aim of this study was to identify the impact of diabetes and other metabolic disorders on CVEs in liver transplant patients. Three hundred fifty-six liver transplant recipients who survived at least 6 months after surgery were enrolled. Patients were followed for a median time of 118 months (12-250 months). All cardiovascular events were carefully recorded and detailed in the patients' charts. Demographic data, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, weight changes, and a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome both before and after transplantation were noted to assess their possible relationship with CVE. The presence of a diagnosis of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was also evaluated. Immunosuppressive therapy was included in the analysis. Diabetes mellitus (DM), especially when present before transplantation, was strongly associated with CVEs (hazard risk HR 3.10; 95% confidence interval CI: 1.60-6.03). Metabolic syndrome was found to be associated with CVEs in univariate analysis (HR 3.24; 95% CI: 1.36-7.8), while pretransplantation and de novo MAFLD were not. Immunosuppressive therapy had no influence on predisposing transplanted patients to CVEs during follow-up. Further prospective studies may be useful in investigating the risk factors for CVEs after liver transplantation and improving the long-term survival of transplant patients.

Purpose: Our objective was to compare the value of positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) with the new imaging agent [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 and the traditional imaging agent [¹⁸F]FDG for the preoperative diagnosis of gastric cancer.

Methods: Forty patients with gastric cancer diagnosed by gastroscopy in gastrointestinal surgery at our hospital from June 2020 to January 2021 were analyzed. All patients underwent simultaneous [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 and [¹⁸F]FDG PET/MRI. The standard uptake value (SUV), fat removal standard uptake value (SUL), and diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for primary and metastatic lesions were compared, and their diagnostic value for different lymph node dissection stages was analyzed.

Results: The median age of the patients in this cohort was 68 years. Twenty-nine patients underwent surgery, and 11 patients underwent gastroscopic biopsy. The SUV_max of primary lesions in the FDG group and the FAPI group was 5.74 ± 5.09 and 8.06 ± 4.88, respectively (P < 0.01); SUL_max values were 3.52 ± 2.80 and 5.64 ± 3.25, respectively (P < 0.01). The SUV_max of metastases in the two groups was 3.81 ± 3.08 and 5.17 ± 2.80, respectively (P < 0.05). The diagnostic sensitivities for primary lesions in the FDG group and the FAPI group were 0.72 and 0.94, respectively (P < 0.05). Combined with postoperative pathological staging, there was no difference in diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of lymph node staging between the FDG and FAPI groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: Compared with the traditional imaging agent, [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 has better diagnostic efficiency but no substantial advantage for preoperative lymph node staging.

Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to determine whether there is a difference between high levels of microsatellite instability (MSI-H) and microsatellite stability (MSS) in DNA mismatch repair-deficient (DMMR) colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

Methods: A total of 452 CRC patients with DMMR from December, 2014, to April, 2021, in our hospital were selected retrospectively. However, only 105 patients underwent Sanger or next-generation-sequencing (NGS) to confirm their microsatellite status. Ultimately, 55 MSI-H patients and 20 MSS patients with intact medical record information were included in this study.

Results: The MSS group was associated with a higher mutation rate in the KRAS gene (P=0.011). Meanwhile, MSI-H was related to colon cancer (P < 0.01). However, no significant differences in other clinical characteristics were observed between the two groups of patients. There was no significant difference between the MSI-H and MSS groups in terms of overall survival (OS) (P=0.398) and disease-free survival (DFS) (P=0.307).

Conclusion: The MSI-H status was associated with colon cancer and a lower mutation rate of the KRAS gene in DMMR patients. In CRC-DMMR patients, the MSS group exhibited better OS and DFS than the MSI-H group, although these differences were not statistically significant. Accordingly, in clinical practice, we should not confuse these two types of patients.

Background: The serum systemic inflammation biomarkers are known predictors of colorectal cancer (CRC) patient prognosis. However, their significance in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with CRC has not been studied. To address this gap, we conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative systemic inflammation biomarkers in HIV-infected patients with CRC.

Methods: The study enrolled 57 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and HIV who underwent surgery at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center between January 2015 and December 2021. Preoperative tests were conducted, and systemic inflammation biomarkers were measured. The patients were categorized into two groups using the optimal cut-off value. The Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test were used to determine overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox proportional regression model. A time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (t-ROC) was used to compare the prognostic abilities of the biomarkers.

Results: The study included 57 HIV-infected CRC patients, with a median age of 60 and a follow-up time ranging from 3 to 86 months. Of the patients, 49 were male and 8 were female. The cumulative three-year OS and PFS rates were 55.0% and 45.0%, respectively. The optimal cut-off value for preoperative NLR was found to be 2.8, which was significantly correlated with lower CD8+ T and CD3+ T lymphocyte counts. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that a low NLR was an independent predictor of better OS and PFS (OS: HR = 0.094, 95% CI: 0.02-0.45, P=0.003; PFS: HR = 0.265, 95% CI: 0.088-0.8, P=0.019). The time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (t-ROC) analysis showed that NLR was a superior systemic inflammation biomarker for predicting the prognosis of HIV-infected CRC patients throughout the observation period.

Conclusion: The preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), an easily measurable immune biomarker, may provide useful prognostic information in HIV-infected colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.