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The influence of atrial fibrillation (AF) on the clinical pattern of patients with chronic renal insufficiency on hemodialysis remains unknown despite the cardiovascular pathology in these patients being well documented and being the primary cause of death in this patient population. The objective of this study was to compare the long-term outcome in those patients on our dialysis unit in sinus rhythm with those in AF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This study aimed to characterize the chronically infected general hepatitis C virus (HCV) population in Barcelona using a highly sensitive subtyping method that can identify the 67 recognized HCV subtypes and diagnose mixed infection by various genotypes/subtypes in a single individual. The resulting information has implications for selecting optimal direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment for each patient and establishing public healthcare policies in our setting. Methods Consecutive HCV patients (treatment-naïve or interferon-based failures) attending Vall d'Hebron Hospital outpatient clinics from February 2015 to May 2016 ( N = 1473) were included in the study. Patient samples were characterized using HCV subtyping by next-generation ultra-deep pyrosequencing. Results The following genotypes (G) were found: G1 (1126/1473 (76.4%)), G4 (145/1473 (9.8%)), G3 (135/1473 (9.2%)), G2 (51/1473 (3.5%)), and G5 (1/1473 (0.1%)). Twenty-two subtypes were seen: 1b (790/1473 (53.6%)), 1a (332/1473 (22.5%)), 3a (133/1473 (9.0%)), 4d (105/1473 (7.1%)), 4a (29/1473 (2.0%)), and 2c (25/1473 (1.7%)), with 16 low-prevalence subtypes accounting for the remaining 3.0% (44/1473). There was a worrisome 1.0% (15/1473) of mixed infections. G2 (51/1473 (3.5%)) showed a high level of heterogeneity. Analyses by age groups showed a predominance of G1b over G1a (428/506 (84.6%) vs. 24/506 (4.7%)) in patients born before 1950 ( N = 506/1473), and similar percentages of these subtypes in those born between 1951 and 1975 ( N = 834/1473) (315/834, 37.8% vs. 266/834, 31.9%) and after 1976 ( N = 133/1473) (47/133, 35.3% vs. 42/133, 31.6%). Conclusions Subtype distribution showed a higher level of heterogeneity than was expected, particularly for G2. Prevalence of mixed infections was around 1%. HCV subtype distribution related to patient age group suggested that patients born from 1936 to 1975 in our setting should undergo screening for the infection. Next-generation sequencing enabled better classification of candidates for DAA-based treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]