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In Lebanon, hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence is estimated to 0.2% among all ages, with genotype 1 the most common genotype. The age distribution shows 2 peaks reflecting 2 probable mode of transmission of HCV in Lebanon: 20-39 years and more than 40 years. The burden of HCV-related complications on the health system in Lebanon is expected to increase in the upcoming years. The number and prevalence per age group and the fibrosis stage of HCV infections is required to better estimate the burden of the disease in Lebanon. We calculated the prevalence per age group. Concerning fibrosis stage, patients recently diagnosed with HCV and never been treated previously were included and were divided into three groups according to their age Concerning the prevalence by age group, the lowest was seen in the group less than 20 years and the highest in the population aged more than 60. Concerning the fibrosis by age group, the majority of patients less than 40 years had low fibrosis stage, while in the group of more than 60 years F3 and F4 represent respectively 15.07% and 68.49%. Female gender had more significant fibrosis and cirrhosis than male gender. There is an exponential increase of significant fibrosis with age In Lebanon, the highest prevalence of hepatitis C is seen in the age group more than 60 years. In the 2 age groups (40-59 years and >60 years), we noted an advanced fibrosis stage and the majority of patient more than 60 years were cirrhotic at the time of diagnosis, which can reflect the burden of the disease in these groups.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) can cause a wide variety of illnesses such as peptic ulcer disease, gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. The diagnosis and eradication of H. pylori are crucial. The diagnosis of H. pylori is usually based on the rapid urease test (RUT) and gastric antral biopsy for histology. The aim of this study is to evaluate the numbers of needed biopsies and their location (antrum/fundus) to obtain optimal result for the diagnosis of H. pylori. Three hundred fifty consecutive patients were recruited, 210 fulfill the inclusion criteria and had nine gastric biopsies for the detection of H. pylori infection: two antral for the first RUT (RUT1), one antral and one fundic for the second (RUT2), one antral for the third (RUT3) and two antral with two fundic for histology (HES, Giemsa, PAS). The reading of the 3 types of RUT was performed at 1 hour, 3 hours and 24 hours and biopsies were read by two experienced pathologists not informed about the result of RUT. Results of RUT were considered positive if H. pylori was found on histology of at least one biopsy. The RUT1 at 1h, 3h and 24h has a sensitivity of 72%, 82% and 89% and a specificity of 100%, 99% and 87% respectively. The positive predictive value (PPV) was 100%, 99% and 85% respectively and the negative predictive value (NPV) of 81%, 87% and 90%. The RUT2 at 1h, 3h and 24h, respectively, had a sensitivity of 86%, 87% and 91% and a specificity of 99%, 97% and 90%. The PPV was 99%, 96% and 88% and NPV of 89%, 90%, 94%. The RUT3 at 1h, 3h and 24h, respectively, had a sensitivity of 70%, 74% and 84% and a specificity of 99%, 99% and 94%. The PPV was 99%, 99% and 92% and NPV of 79%, 81% and 87%. The best sensitivity and specificity were obtained for RUT1 read at 3h, for RUT2 read 1h and 3h, and the RUT3 read at 24h.This study demonstrates that the best sensitivity and specificity of rapid test for urease is obtained when fundic plus antral biopsy specimens are used with a reading time at 3 hours.