Digestive and liver disease : official journal of the Italian Society of Gastroenterology and the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver
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Multicenter Study
Liver Match, a prospective observational cohort study on liver transplantation in Italy: study design and current practice of donor-recipient matching.
The Liver Match is an observational cohort study that prospectively enrolled liver transplantations performed at 20 out of 21 Italian Transplant Centres between June 2007 and May 2009. Aim of the study is to investigate the impact of donor/recipient matching on outcomes. In this report we describe the study methodology and provide a cross-sectional description of donor and recipient characteristics and of graft allocation. ⋯ The deceased donor population in Italy has a high-risk profile compared to other countries, mainly due to older donor age. Almost half of the grafts are transplanted in recipients with HCC. Higher risk donors tend to be preferentially allocated to recipients with HCC, who are usually less ill and older. No other relevant allocation strategy is currently adopted at national level.
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Dysphagia and vomiting are frequent after laparoscopic gastric banding (LAGB). These symptoms could be secondary to esophageal motility disorders. Our aim was to assess esophageal motility and clearance in symptomatic LAGB patients using high resolution manometry (HRM). ⋯ In symptomatic LAGB patients, esophageal dysmotility is frequent. High resolution manometry allows the assessment of esophageal clearance and provides guidance for the choice of treatment.
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Rituximab has provided a revolutionary contribution to the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). A high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been described in B-cell NHL patients. Cases of liver dysfunction in HCV-positive patients have been reported with rituximab-containing regimens. ⋯ HCV-positive status may represent a risk factor for the development of hepatic flares in B-cell NHL patients receiving rituximab-containing regimens. Despite the increase in liver function tests, there were no major clinical events.
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Viral hepatitis B is a leading cause of acute and chronic liver disease worldwide, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Vaccination is the most effective measure for controlling and preventing hepatitis B and its severe long-term sequelae. ⋯ The implementation of such vaccination programmes has globally resulted in a marked decrease in disease burden, in the carrier rate and in hepatitis B-related morbidity and mortality. Despite this success, work remains to be done to fully achieve the WHO goal of control of hepatitis B and HBV-related diseases on a global scale.
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Recent studies suggest that stage-independent symptoms of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) such as chronic fatigue are a consequence of structural and functional abnormalities of the brain. Critical flicker frequency (CFF) is a psychophysiological modality analysing function of cerebral cortex. ⋯ CFF fails to determine brain dysfunction in non-encephalopatic patients with PBC, suggesting that functional efficiency of their cerebral cortex remains unaffected and other central mechanisms are responsible for chronic fatigue in these patients.