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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208112.].

Background Universal vaccination for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and migratory movements have changed the demographic characteristics of this disease in Spain and in Europe. Therefore, we evaluated the characteristics of the disease and the possible differences according to origin (immigrants vs non-immigrants) and access to treatment. Methods This is a multicenter cross-sectional study (June 2014 to May 2015) in which outpatients with a positive HBsAg were seen and followed in four Hepatology units. Demographic and clinical data and indication and access to treatment were collected in two different regions of Catalonia (Spain) where there are no barriers to treatment due to a comprehensive coverage under the National Health System. Results A total of 951 patients were evaluated (48.1% men). Of these, 46.6% were immigrants (58.7% of them were born in Africa) and were significantly younger compared to non-immigrants. The proportions of patients with alcohol consumption, being overweight, and other indicators of metabolic co-morbidities were significantly higher in non-immigrants. Among the 937 patients receiving HBeAg examination, 91.7% were HBeAg-negative. Chronic HBeAg-positive infection was significantly higher in immigrants (3.9% vs 0.6%, P = 0.001) and chronic HBeAg-negative hepatitis was higher non-immigrants (31.7% vs 21.4%, P Conclusions The immigrant population with HBV is younger and has a lower prevalence of metabolic co-morbidities and a higher frequency of chronic HBeAg infection. Despite having access to care and an indication for treatment, some do not get adequately treated due to several factors including local adaptation that precludes access to treatment.

Purpose. The prevalence of adrenal insufficiency (AI) in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis is unknown. Because these patients have lower levels of cortisol-binding carrier proteins, their total serum cortisol (TSC) correlates poorly with free serum cortisol (FC). Salivary cortisol (SaC) correlates better with FC. We aimed to establish SaC thresholds for AI for the 250 μg intravenous ACTH test and to estimate the prevalence of AI in noncritically ill cirrhotic patients. Methods. We included 39 patients with decompensated cirrhosis, 39 patients with known AI, and 45 healthy volunteers. After subjects fasted ≥8 hours, serum and saliva samples were collected for determinations of TSC and SaC at baseline 0’(T0) and at 30-minute intervals after intravenous administration of 250 μg ACTH [30’(T30), 60’(T60), and 90’(T90)]. Results. Based on the findings in healthy subjects and patients with known AI, we defined AI in cirrhotic patients as SaC-T0< 0.08 μg/dL (2.2 nmol/L), SaC-T60 < 1.43 μg/dl (39.5 nmol/L), or ΔSaCμg/dl (27.6 nmol/L). We compared AI determination in cirrhotic patients with the ACTH test using these SaC thresholds versus established TSC thresholds (TSC-T0< 9 μg/dl [248 nmol/L], TSC-T60 < 18 μg/dl [497 nmol/L], or ΔTSCμg/dl [248 nmol/L]). SaC correlated well with TSC. The prevalence of AI in cirrhotic patients was higher when determined by TSC (48.7%) than by SaC (30.8%); however, this difference did not reach statistical significance. AI was associated with sex, cirrhosis etiology, and Child-Pugh classification. Conclusions. Measuring SaC was more accurate than TSC in the ACTH stimulation test. Measuring TSC overestimated the prevalence of AI in noncritically ill cirrhotic patients.

Background and aim Treatment of hepatitis C with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) has few side effects. Although pivotal studies suggested that DAA were safe in patients with psychiatric diseases who could not be treated with previous antiviral therapies, their effects on anxiety and depression have not yet been analysed in clinical practice. The aim of our study was to analyse anxiety and depression in the setting of DAA treatment in a clinical practice series. Methods All patients starting DAA treatment between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015 were eligible. Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale at different times during treatment. The results were plotted on line graphs and evaluated using a linear regression model with repeated measures. Results One hundred and forty-five patients were included (11% with major psychiatric disorders; 32% on psychiatric treatment). Sustained virologic response (SVR) was achieved in 97.3% of cases. Anxiety and depression measures did not differ between time points. No differences between patients on psychiatric treatment or with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis were found at any time point analysed. Conclusion DAA treatment had no impact on anxiety or depression during or after chronic hepatitis C infection treatment, even in high-risk patients with major psychiatric disorders.

SUMMARY Background Sustained virological response rates of up to 52% have been obtained with peginterferon α2a (40 kDa) plus ribavirin in patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 in randomized-controlled trials. Aim To assess early virological response and its clinical utility in predicting an sustained virological response in patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 in routine clinical practice in Spain. Methods Treatment-naive patients received pegylated interferon α2a (40 kDa) 180 µg/week plus ribavirin 1000/1200 mg/day for 48 weeks, and were followed for a further 24 weeks. Overall, 475 patients received at least one dose of medication and were included in the efficacy population. Results The overall sustained virological response rate was 48%. Of those with week 12 virological data, 83% had an early virological response. The negative predictive value of an early virological response was 93%. Conclusion If sustained virological response is the goal, a treatment-decision based on a 12-week evaluation during routine clinical practice is feasible.

Summary Background : Helicobacter pylori infection may lead to peptic ulcer disease, and causes significant morbidity in patients with cirrhosis. The measurement of H. pylori antigens in human stools has been proposed as a valuable, non-invasive, diagnostic tool. A number of tests have recently been commercialized. However, very few data are available on their reliability in patients with cirrhosis. Aim : To evaluate the usefulness of three new tests — HpSA (Meridian Diagnostics Inc., Cincinnati, OH, USA), Simple H. pyl (OPERON S.A., Zaragoza, Spain) and FemtoLab H. pylori (Connex, Martinsried, Germany) — in the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in cirrhotic patients. Methods : H. pylori infection was determined in 79 cirrhotic patients (48 men, 31 women; age range, 29–82 years; mean, 62 ± 11 years) by concordance of histology and urea breath test. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of each stool test were calculated. Results : According to the reference method, the sensitivities of HpSA, Simple H. pyl and FemtoLab H. pylori immunoassays were 76%, 87% and 78%, respectively, and their specificities were 93%, 62% and 79%, respectively. Conclusions : Faecal tests are non-invasive and easy-to-perform tools for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. However, their sensitivity and specificity seem to be non-optimal in patients with cirrhosis.

Summary Background : Helicobacter pylori-associated peptic ulcer is a frequent complication in cirrhotic patients and its morbidity rate is high. In spite of this, diagnostic methods for H. pylori infection have not been fully evaluated in these patients. Aim : To evaluate H. pylori diagnostic methods in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods : One hundred and one cirrhotic patients were included in the study. Three antral and two corpus biopsies were obtained for rapid urease test of the antral mucosa, and Giemsa stain and immunohistochemistry were performed for both the corpus and antrum. Serology, 13C-urea breath test and faecal H. pylori antigen determination were also carried out. Results : Sixty-two patients were positive and 35 were negative for H. pylori infection; four were indeterminate. The sensitivity and specificity were 90.4% and 100%, respectively, for antral histology, 100% and 100% for gastric body histology, 90.4% and 100% for antral immunohistochemistry, 96.2% and 96.7% for body immunochemistry, 85.7% and 97% for rapid urease test, 83.6% and 55.9% for serology, 96.4% and 97.1% for 13C-urea breath test and 75.4% and 94.1% for faecal antigen. Conclusion : The most reliable tests for H. pylori infection in cirrhotic patients were the 13C-urea breath test and gastric body histology.

Ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin/clavulanic are two widely used antibiotics due to their high efficacy and few side effects. While the percentage of hepatotoxicity of these antibiotics is low, their frequent use has led to a progressive increase in the number of cases. Both antibiotics have been associated with a wide variety of hepatotoxic reactions, from a slight rise of transaminases to fulminant hepatitis. Once hepatotoxicity secondary to a drug appears, the first step is to discontinue the drug. Physicians may opt to administer an alternative treatment with a different chemical structure. It should be borne in mind, however, that different chemical structures may also cause recurrent drug-induced liver injuries (DILI). We present the case of a patient who consecutively developed DILI due to ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin/clavulanic.

Introducción: la hepatitis crónica por VHC cursa de forma asintomática desarrollando cirrosis hepática y sus complicaciones en un 20-40% de los casos. En estudios previos se ha demostrado que la fibrosis avanzada es un factor pronóstico fundamental. El método gold standard para la valoración del grado de fibrosis es la biopsia hepática. Nuestro grupo ha validado un índice predictivo, el NIHCED (Sabadell's Non Invasive, Hepatitis C related-Cirrosis Early Detection Score), basado en datos demográficos, analíticos y ecográficos para determinar la presencia de cirrosis. Objetivo: nuestro objetivo es el de evaluar si el NIHCED predice la presencia de fibrosis avanzada en los pacientes con hepatitis crónica por virus C. Material y métodos: estudio prospectivo donde se incluyeron pacientes con hepatitis crónica por VHC. Se les realizó una biopsia hepática y el NIHCED. El grado de fibrosis se correlacionó con el valor del NIHCED mediante curva de ROC y el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman. Resultados: se incluyeron un total de 321 pacientes (ratio hombre/mujer 1,27) con una edad media de 48 ± 14 años. La biopsia hepática mostró que 131 (30,5%) no tenían fibrosis o era expansión portal, mientras que 190 (69,5%) tenían fibrosis avanzada o cirrosis. Para un punto de corte de 6 puntos, la sensibilidad fue del 72%, especificidad del 76,3%, VPP del 81%, VPN del 63,7% y una precisión diagnóstica del 72,5%, con un área bajo la curva fue de 0,787 y un coeficiente de correlación de Spearman de r = 0,65. Conclusiones: el NIHCED predice la presencia de fibrosis avanzada en un elevado porcentaje de pacientes sin necesidad de realizar biopsia hepática.

Introducción: el carcinoma hepatocelular (CHC) es una neoplasia con una elevada incidencia y una alta mortalidad. Objetivo: nuestro objetivo es la descripción de la historia natural de una cohorte de pacientes con CHC e identificar variables asociadas a supervivencia. Material y métodos: estudio retrospectivo y descriptivo de pacientes diagnosticados de CHC entre 1995-2002. Las variables cualitativas se expresaron mediante frecuencias y porcentajes y las cuantitativas con mediana y desviación típica. La supervivencia se estimó mediante el método de Kaplan Meyer y la prueba de Log Rank. Resultados: se analizaron un total de 154 pacientes con CHC. La ratio hombre-mujer fue de 2,9/1. La edad media de 68 ± 9 años. El 82% de los pacientes fueron exitus en un tiempo medio de seguimiento de 28 meses. La mediana de supervivencia fue de 21,5 meses (IC 95%: 16,98-26,04). Se realizó tratamiento con intención curativa en un 40,3% y el resto tratamiento paliativo. Las variables asociadas a la supervivencia fueron: presencia o no de ascitis, el número de lesiones en el momento del diagnóstico y si el tratamiento realizado fue con intención curativa o no. No hubieron diferencias estadísticamente significativas respecto a: sexo, edad, etiología de la cirrosis y estadio de Child en el momento del diagnóstico. Conclusiones: los factores asociados a una menor supervivencia en los pacientes con carcinoma hepatocelular fueron la presencia de ascitis y el número de lesiones en el momento del diagnóstico. La realización de tratamiento con intención curativa se asocia a una mayor supervivencia.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype is an important predictive outcome parameter for pegylated interferon plus ribavirin therapy. Most published therapeutic trials to date have enrolled mainly patients with HCV genotypes 1, 2 and 3. Limited studies have focused on genotype 4 patients, who have had a poor representation in pivotal trials. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatment with standard dose pegylated interferon alfa-2a in combination with weight-based ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 4. In this prospective observational study, 198 patients with HCV-4 were included in this study from February 2004 to August 2005,188 patients who received at least 1 dose of drugs were included in the ITT analysis and they were treated with pegylated interferon alfa-2a and ribavirin for 48 weeks. Baseline and demographic characteristics, response to treatment at weeks 12, 48 and 72, and the nature and frequency of adverse effects were analyzed. Virological response at week 12 was achieved in 144 patients (76.6%). Virological response at the end of treatment was present in 110 patients (58.5%). At week 72, 99 patients presented SVR (52.7%). The reported adverse events were similar to those found in the literature for treatments of similar dose and duration. In conclusion, combined treatment with pegylated interferon alfa-2a and ribavirin was well tolerated and effective in chronic hepatitis C genotype 4, yielding response rates between those reported for genotype 1 and those of genotypes 2-3.