Background The sustained virological response (SVR) rate for the 12-week sofosbuvir (SOF)/ledipasvir (LVD) treatment of adolescent genotype-4 patients is high. The aim of this study is to evaluate 8 versus 12-week treatment efficacy and safety in adolescent genotype-4 patients. Patients and methods In total, 157 chronic hepatitis C-infected adolescent patients (mean age 14±2 years, 62% males) were included in this study. All patients received a morning dose of SOF (400 mg)/LVD (90 mg) as a single tablet for 8 and 12 weeks. Laboratory and biochemical monitoring were performed at weeks 4 and 8, end of treatment (8/12) and 12 weeks after the end of treatment (SVR12). Results In total, SVR12 was 98% [95% confidence interval (CI): 96–100] for all treated patients. For patients treated for 12 weeks, SVR12 was 97.6% (95% CI: 96–101) (82/84 patients), and 98.6% (95% CI: 93–101) (72/73) patients for those treated for 8 weeks. For both regimens, no serious adverse effects, treatment discontinuation or cases of death were detected. The main adverse effects for the 8-week patient group were fatigue (2.8%), headache (1.4%), nausea (1.4%) and epigastric tenderness (1.4%). For the 12-week-treated group, adverse events were epigastric tenderness (1.2%), nausea (1.2%), diarrhoea (2.4%) and rash (2.4%). Three patients were lost to follow-up: two were in the 12-week treatment group and one was in the 8-week group. All of them reached end of treatment but were lost before SVR12. No relapsers were observed in either group. Conclusion Eight weeks of treatment of SOF/LVD combination is equally effective and safe as 12 weeks in adolescent genotype-4 patients.

Aim of the study We aimed to evaluate soluble CD25 (sCD25) as a marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis. Material and methods Eighty-eight subjects were enrolled in our study in the years 2017-2018. They were divided into three groups as follows: group 1 – HCC group ( n = 44) patients, represented by BCLC stage A ( n = 16) patients, stage B ( n = 14) patients and stage C ( n = 14) patients for each stage. All HCC patients were on top of cirrhosis. Group 2 – group of cirrhotic patients without HCC ( n = 32); 50% of them were Child-Turcotte-Pugh class A ( n = 16) while class B was represented only by 43.7% ( n = 14) of patients. Group 3 – control group ( n = 12) of healthy subjects. Results The levels of sCD25 and AFP were higher in HCC patients than cirrhotic and control groups without a statistically significant difference between the three groups ( p -value > 0.05). For HCC presence, sensitivity and specificity of sCD25 were 86.4% and 29.5% respectively at a cut-off value of 1.1 × 10 3 pg/ml (AUC = 0.619, p -value = 0.054, PPV = 33.2%, NPV = 68.44%). For early detection of HCC, sCD25 had a sensitivity of 70.5% and a specificity of 30.9% at a cut-off value of 1.575 × 10 3 pg/ml (AUC = 0.577, p -value = 0.251, PPV = 58.5%, NPV = 43.1%), while the sensitivity and specificity of AFP were 75% and 62.5% respectively at a cut-off value of 9.5 ng/ml (AUC = 0.828, p = 0.000, PPV = 73.4%, NPV = 64.4%) in the same settings. Conclusions sCD25 seems to offer no better detection rate of HCC compared to AFP with lower sensitivity and specificity.

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Aim of the study: We aimed to discuss our experience in management of children with extra-hepatic portal vein thrombosis (EHPVT). Material and methods: This retrospective cohort study included 62 children with EHPVT. All patients' records were reviewed. The patients' socio-demographic data, post-natal history, disease presentation and clinical examination were collected. Data from laboratory investigations -complete blood count, liver function tests, renal function tests, abdominal ultrasound/Doppler studies, upper endoscopic findings and treatment regimens -were collected whenever available. Results: Of the 62 patients, 62.9% were male and 37.1% were female. The mean age at disease presentation was 3.5 ±2.7 years. The main initial clinical presentation of the disease was hematemesis and/or melena (30 cases; 48.4%). History of umbilical catheterization (UVC) was present in 60% of cases. The thrombophilia profile was assessed in 17 patients, of whom 12 (70.6%) were found to have a coagulation disorder. Splenomegaly was present in 91.7% of the patients. Hematological abnormalities in the form of cytopenias were present in most cases. Ultrasound revealed the presence of collaterals in 76.2%. Upper endoscopy showed the presence of varices in 45 cases, all of which needed endoscopic intervention, while in 11 cases the varices were either low grade or absent and thus were subjected only to medical treatment with propranolol and 6 cases were lost to follow-up. Splenectomy was done in only one case and 2 cases underwent the Rex operation. Conclusions: Variceal bleeding is the most common clinical presentation of EHPVT in children. UVC is still the main etiological factor of EHPVT in our cohort especially with presence of thrombophilic disorder.

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