Profile of chronic hepatitis B virus in children in India: experience with 116 children

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in children is mostly asymptomatic and therefore the disease burden is likely to be under appreciated. There is limited information on the profile of chronic HBV infection in children from the Indian subcontinent.

METHOD

In 116 (male:female 89:27) children, aged <15 years, with persistent HBsAg positivity for more than 6 months, a clinical, biochemical, virological and histological assessment was carried out.

RESULTS

At presentation, 21.6% of children were symptomatic, with icterus in 12%. Features of decompensation such as ascites (7%) and gastrointestinal (GI) bleed (5%) were noted uncommonly. Five (4.3%) children had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at presentation. Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was observed in 76% of subjects (median 61; range 14-815). A significantly higher proportion of children with hepatitis B early antigen (HbeAg) positive status had higher histological activity index (HAI) (84% vs 16%, P < 0.001) and fibrosis score (80% vs 20%, P = 0.007). A strong positive correlation was noted between aspartate aminotransferase (AST), ALT, HBV-DNA and histological severity of the disease (HAI > or =4, fibrosis > or =2). Median HBV-DNA levels were significantly higher in the HBeAg positive compared to the HBeAg negative group (25.6 vs 0.7 pg/mL, P = 0.004). Seventy-four percent of the mothers had evidence of past or present HBV infection.

CONCLUSIONS

Majority of the children with chronic HBV infection are asymptomatic at presentation. HBeAg positive status reflects histologically more severe disease, and a higher level of HBV-DNA. Almost two-thirds of the children may have acquired their HBV infection perinataly.

Pharmacokinetics of omeprazole in patients with liver cirrhosis and extrahepatic portal venous obstruction

Omeprazole is frequently used in patients with cirrhosis of the liver to treat peptic ulcer disease. It is also used for the healing of mucosal lesions after endoscopic sclerotherapy of esophageal varices in cirrhosis and extraheptic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO). This study was carried out with the aim of determining the pharmacokinetics of omeprazole in different degrees of liver cirrhosis and in patients with EHPVO, compared with healthy volunteers. Ten healthy volunteers, 30 patients with cirrhosis of the liver, divided into 3 groups of 10 depending on severity (according to Child-Pugh classification A, B and C) and ten patients with EHPVO participated in the study. The subjects received an omeprazole 20 mg capsule after an overnight fast. Blood samples were collected at 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 6, 9 and 24 h after drug administration. Omeprazole level in plasma was estimated by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The elimination half-life was significantly (p < 0.05) increased to 2.38 +/- 0.16, 3.26 +/- 0,12, 3.58 +/- 0.31 and 2.59 +/- 0.22 h in patients with different grades of cirrhosis (A, B and C) and also in patients with EHPVO, respectively, compared with 1.054 + 0.10 h in healthy volunteers. A similar significant increase (p < 0.05) was observed in the AUC(0alpha), while C(max) was significantly increased to 400.40 +/- 27.89 and 602 +/- 55.13 ng/ml in only grade C cirrhosis patients and EHPVO patients, compared with 303.5 +/- 36.42 ng/ml in healthy volunteers. No significant difference was observed in T(max). It was concluded that the metabolism of omeprazole was significantly impaired in both liver cirrhosis and EHPVO in comparison with healthy volunteers.

Pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin in patients with liver cirrhosis

BACKGROUND

Bacterial infections are common in patients with cirrhosis of liver and are frequently treated with ciprofloxacin. Literature on pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin in patients with cirrhosis of the liver is scanty. The present study compared the pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin in cirrhotic patients with that in healthy volunteers.

METHODS

In 20 patients with cirrhosis of liver (all Child-Pugh class B) and 10 healthy volunteers, plasma levels of ciprofloxacin were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography at several time points after a 500-mg oral dose. Various pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated.

RESULTS

No significant differences were observed in maximum plasma levels reached (mean [SD] 2.6 [0.6] vs 2.6 [1.3] microg/ml), time taken for maximum plasma levels to be reached (1.3 [0.6] vs 1.5 [0.9] h), t1/2a (0.7 [0.3] vs 0.4 [0.9] h), elimination half-life (3.6 [1.2] vs 3.2 [1.8] h), and area under the curve (19.3 [3.8] vs 21.9 [4.5] microg/mL x h) in healthy volunteers and cirrhotic patients, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin is unaltered in patients with liver cirrhosis. Ciprofloxacin can be safely administered in the usual doses in such patients.

Hyposplenism in alcoholic cirrhosis, facts or artifacts? A comparative analysis with non-alcoholic cirrhosis and extrahepatic portal venous obstruction

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Hyposplenism has been described in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (AC). However, no data are available regarding hyposplenism in patients with non-alcoholic cirrhosis (NAC) and other forms of portal hypertension such as extrahepatic portal venous obstruction (EHPVO). The aim is to study the splenic functions in patients with AC, NAC, and EHPVO.

METHODS

Splenic functions were assessed consecutively in 22 patients with AC, 21 with NAC, and 23 with EHPVO. The tests included pitted red blood cells (RBC; %) and Howell-Jolly bodies in the peripheral smear. Pitted RBCs > 2% with or without the presence of Howell-Jolly bodies were taken as indicators of hyposplenism. The splenic function in each group was compared with age-matched controls.

RESULTS

Hyposplenism was found in 10 (45.45%) patients with AC, six (28.57%) with NAC and one (4.34%) with EHPVO. The mean pitted RBCs were significantly increased in patients with AC (mean 4.93 +/- 1.36% vs control 1.22 +/- 0.17%, P < 0.05), but not so with NAC (2.01 +/- 0.69%) and EHPVO (mean 0.99 +/- 0.1% vs control 0.66 +/- 0.1%, P > 0.05). Howell-Jolly bodies were seen in only four patients. The mean pitted RBCs were significantly higher among patients who were actively consuming alcohol (9.14 +/- 3.35%) compared to those who abstained at least for more than 24 weeks (2.0 +/- 1.3%, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Hyposplenism is more common in AC patients, particularly those who are actively consuming alcohol compared with those who abstain. Patients with NAC have a lower incidence of hyposplenism, while in EHPVO patients, it is uncommon.