Infliximab was able to induce histological remission. There was a good agreement between histology and faecal biomarkers. Faecal calprotectin and lactoferrin were good predictors of histological remission. Our data support inclusion of histology as a treatment target complementary to endoscopy in clinical trials when evaluating therapeutic response in UC.
Since the beginning of medicine, malnutrition is acknowledged as a manifestation associated to congestive heart failure (CHF), especially in its more advanced stages. Among the list of classical manifestations of cardiac diseases we find many levels of proteincaloric depletion, even the extreme clinical features, generically called cardiac cachexia 1,2 . The clinical and experimental data available indicate a causeeffect relation between CHF and malnutrition 3,4 . There are questions about which mechanisms lead to malnutrition and the importance of each mechanism in the maintenance and aggravation of the features 5,6 . Along with the questions concerning the physiopathology, there are others on the assessment way. The nutritional assessment, which is usually done in hospitalized patients is inaccurate and can use many parameters to achieve a general impression on the existence or not of protein-caloric malnutrition. The key point to determine the malnutrition level, as well as the best assessment parameters, has not been properly defined and standardized yet [7][8][9][10] . This study had as objective to assess the behavior of many indexes of malnutrition status in a group of chronic CHF carriers as a consequence of left ventricular dysfunction due to dilated cardiomyopathy, in an advanced stage of the disease. It also aimed at verifying whether the compromising level of nutritional parameters has any relation with the time of evolution of its symptoms, if the intensity of compromising of indicators of the nutritional status of the disease is related to the level of left ventricular systolic dysfunction, and if its changes have a prognostic value in advanced chronic CHF.
MethodsThe nutritional status of 95 carriers of congestive heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy in functional class III/IV, hospitalized at Hospital Auxiliar de Cotoxó (HCFMUSP) for compensation, was assessed.The patients were selected among those 1,176 hospitalized during the 12 months of sample selection for the study, from which 412 were carriers of congestive heart failure.The exclusion criteria of the study were situations that could cause changes in the nutritional situation of the patients or modify the natural history of the disease: age < 15 or > 65 years old; valvar dysfunctions subjected to surgical corrections; coronary failure; symptomatic cardiac arrhythmias; diastolic blood pressure at admission
ConclusionMalnutrition is frequent in patients with advanced heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy. The reduced body mass was a better predictor of survival than the left ventricular ejection fraction in patients under advanced stage of myocardial compromising.
Background and Aims:
Risk of liver-related morbidity and mortality is not eliminated in cirrhotic patients following direct-acting antiviral treatment. This study aimed to assess virologic and clinical outcomes among chronic hepatitis C patients who received sofosbuvir (SOF)-based regimens.
Methods:
Non-interventional, multicenter,retrospective, single-cohort study of 1,724 patients who started treatment with (SOF)-based regimens between February 2015 and August 2016. SVR12, liver fibrosis, mortality and progression disease risks scores were evaluated.
Results:
Patients median age was 51.9 years and 71.7% were male. Most patients (67.2%) were genotype (GT) 1. Cirrhosis was found in 35.5% of patients being 94.8% compensated. Ledipasvir/SOF was the most common regimen (76.1%) and 20.2% of patients received ribavirin (RBV).SVR12 was 97.7%, higher among females (99.0%; p=0.0298) and patients withoutRBV (98.8%; p=0.0002). SVR12 were approximately 97% among patients with and without extra-hepatic comorbidities (EHC) and in cirrhotic patients. At 24 weeks after treatment cessation, liver fibrosis stage improvement was observed in 45.2% of patients and was higher in SVR12 patients without EHC than with EHC (53.8% vs 37.9%, p=0.0227). At baseline, the 2.5 years median mortality risk was lower among patients without EHC than with EHC (1.6% vs 1.8%; p=0.0043). Same trend was found regarding 5 and 7.5-year risk at baseline and at 12 weeks follow up.
Discussion/Conclusion:
SOF-based regimens showed high SVR rates in all genotypes, being higher among females and those not receiving RBV. Nearly half of patients improved liver fibrosis stage over time. Presence of EHC may lead to poorer prognosis in terms of liver fibrosis, morbidity and all-cause mortality risk.
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