PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “HEPATITIS, INFECTIONS”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Occupational exposure to hepatitis infection among Turkish nurses: frequency of needle exposure, sharps injuries and vaccination.

The aim of this study was to assess the demographic factors and pattern of injuries sustained by nurses, and to determine the occupational hazard of exposure to hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses among nurses. The study involved 906 hospital-based nurses working in three large hospitals. Between August 2002 and January 2003 a total of 595 practising nurses were accepted for inclusion. The results of questionnaires completed were collated and chi2 and ratios were used for analysis. Of the 595 nurses, 111 (18.7%) had evidence of previous or current HBV infection and 32 (5.4%) of HCV infection. We found that 11.2% of the nurses who had worked for a period of between 0 and 5 years and 37.1% of those who had worked for a period between 16 and 20 years had evidence of HBV or HCV infection. Of the nurses working in surgical clinics, 59.4% had evidence of previous HBV or HCV infection and those working in hospital clinics had an 18.2% infection rate. Of the nurses occupationally exposed to HBV and HCV infections, 22.4% had received sharps injuries from apparatus and 63.6% had suffered needlestick exposure. Findings also showed 2.7% HBsAg positivity and 5.4% anti-HCV positivity. Of the 452 (76%) nurses who faced the occupational hazard of exposure to hepatitis infections, 27.7% (125/452) had not been vaccinated against HBV. Nurses working in our health-care sector are frequently exposed to occupational exposure for HBV and HCV infections. In order to prevent the infection of nurses with hepatitis, we advocate precautions and protection from sharps injuries. A programme of education, vaccination and post-exposure prophylaxis must be implemented.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed2006

Steatosis and progression of fibrosis in untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

Hepatic steatosis is common in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and is reported to be a risk factor for progression of fibrosis. The aims of this study were to evaluate the interactions between hepatic steatosis and fibrosis in a well-defined cohort of patients with CHC. The computerized pathology database at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center was searched for patients with CHC who had undergone liver biopsy between 1980 and 2003. Biopsies were scored for necroinflammation using a modified histology activity index, fibrosis using the Ishak system, and steatosis as either none (<5% of cells), mild (5%-25%), or moderate-to-severe (>25%). Four hundred ninety-four patients were identified. The mean age was 44 +/- 9.8 years; 60% were male, 80% Caucasian, and 65% were infected with genotype 1. Steatosis was mild in 31% and moderate to severe in 9% of patients. In univariate analysis, steatosis was associated with increased age, body weight, body mass index (BMI), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, histological necroinflammatory activity, and fibrosis. However, in multivariate analysis, steatosis was associated only with increased age, BMI, and ALT levels and not with fibrosis. One hundred thirty-six patients had 2 liver biopsies separated by 0.5 to 17 years. Worsening of fibrosis occurred in 40% of patients and correlated independently with increasing age, periportal necroinflammation, and ALT elevations but not with steatosis. In conclusion, in this cohort of patients with CHC, steatosis was associated with older age, higher BMI, and higher serum ALT levels but not with the presence of or subsequent progression of fibrosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Indirect outcomes associated with cytomegalovirus (opportunistic infections, hepatitis C virus sequelae, and mortality) in liver-transplant recipients with the use of preemptive therapy for 13 years.

BACKGROUND: The effect of preemptive therapy on indirect sequelae associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) in liver-transplant recipients has not been clearly delineated. METHODS: Thirteen years of outcome with the use of preemptive therapy were assessed in a cohort of 216 consecutive liver-transplant recipients. RESULTS: The incidence of major infections (31% vs. 44.3%), bacterial infections (31% vs. 39.2%), bacteremia (19% vs. 29.1%), or fungal infections (3.4% vs. 7.6%) did not differ significantly for patients with CMV infection who received preemptive therapy compared with those who never developed CMV infection and did not receive antiviral prophylaxis for CMV (P>0.20 for all variables). The rate of opportunistic infections also did not differ when patients were stratified by primary CMV infection, reactivation infection, or no CMV infection. Recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) hepatitis occurred in 55.6% of the patients with CMV treated with preemptive therapy and 49.8% of those without CMV infection (P>0.20). The probability of survival at 6 months, 12 months, 2 years, and 3 years was also comparable for the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Liver-transplant recipients with CMV infection, including high-risk R-/D+ patients, when followed using the preemptive therapy approach had no significant difference in meaningful outcomes such as opportunistic superinfections, HCV recurrence rates, rejection, and survival when compared with the patients in whom CMV infection never developed and who did not receive antiviral prophylaxis for CMV.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed2004

Factors that identify survival after liver retransplantation for allograft failure caused by recurrent hepatitis C infection.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is becoming the most common indication for liver retransplantation (ReLTx). This study was a retrospective review of the medical records of liver transplant patients at our institution to determine factors that would identify the best candidates for ReLTx resulting from allograft failure because of HCV recurrence. The patients were divided into 2 groups on the basis of indication for initial liver transplant. Group 1 included ReLTx patients whose initial indication for LTx was HCV. Group 2 included patients who received ReLTx who did not have a history of HCV. We defined chronic allograft dysfunction (AD) as patients with persistent jaundice (> 30 days) beginning 6 months after primary liver transplant in the absence of other reasons. HCV was the primary indication for initial orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in 491/1114 patients (44%) from July 1996 to February 2004. The number of patients with AD undergoing ReLTx in Groups 1 and 2 was 22 and 12, respectively. The overall patient and allograft survival at 1 year was 50% and 75% in Groups 1 and 2, respectively (P = .04). The rates of primary nonfunction and technical problems after ReLTx were not different between the groups. However, the incidence of recurrent AD was higher in Group 1 at 32% versus 17% in Group 2 (P = .04). Important factors that predicted a successful ReLTx included physical condition at the time of ReLTx (P = .002) and Child-Turcotte-Pugh score (P = .008). In conclusion, HCV is associated with an increased incidence of chronic graft destruction with a negative effect on long-term results after ReLTx. The optimum candidate for ReLTx is a patient who can maintain normal physical activity. As the allograft shortage continues, the optimal use of cadaveric livers continues to be of primary importance. The use of deceased donor livers in patients with allograft failure caused by HCV remains a highly controversial issue.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

No significant correlation exists between core promoter mutations, viral replication, and liver damage in chronic hepatitis B infection.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) core promoter mutants have been proposed to contribute to severe liver damage by increasing viral loads, but this has not yet been clearly shown. To examine the effects of core promoter mutants on viral load and liver damage, we first developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based semiquantitative HBV DNA detection method with a high sensitivity (able to detect as low as 10(3) molecules/mL). Then we cloned 12 predominant core promoter mutants from 41 chronic hepatitis B patients. The in vitro promoter and replication activities of these mutants were similar to those of wild-type virus. However, viral load was highly variable, and this was dependent on individual patients rather than mutant type. In addition, there was no mutant type that showed any unique correlation with alanine transaminase (ALT) levels. Viral load was not significantly correlated with ALT level in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Quantitation of HBV levels also revealed no clear correlation between hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) status and viral load. Taken together, these results indicated that the replication activity of core promoter mutants has little effect on viral load, and that viral load does not correlate with the severity of liver damage or with HBeAg status.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Acute pancreatitis in hepatitis A infection.

Hepatitis viruses are an uncommon cause of acute pancreatitis. We present the case of a boy with acute pancreatitis complicating viral hepatitis with satisfactory recovery. The finding of IgM-anti HAV antibodies implicates hepatitis A virus as the cause.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

Salivary HBsAg in hepatitis B infection.

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was detected by solid phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) in mixed saliva of 15 out of 50 antigenemic patients. The salivary antigen was present in low titers for a short period of time in the acute stage of illness. Occult blood was detected in most mixed saliva samples. In parotid saliva neither HBsAg nor occult blood was found. Salivary HBsAg is probably due to admixture of blood or exudate.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Acute hepatitis A infection in hepatitis B chimpanzee carriers.

Two hepatitis B virus carrier chimpanzees which were superinfected with hepatitis A virus developed acute hepatitis followed by the production of antibodies to hepatitis A virus. The Southern blot technique employed to monitor liver hepatitis B virus DNA revealed that the amount of viral DNA in both animals was significantly reduced during the acute phase of hepatitis A infection. The levels of plasma hepatitis B DNA polymerase activity were also reduced in one chimpanzee. The high titers of HBsAg in the circulation remained unchanged throughout the study, and antibodies to the surface antigen and to e antigen were not detected. The morphological lesions in the liver were severe in one chimpanzee from whom one specimen showed both periportal focal necrosis and zonal parenchymal necrosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

[Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection, hepatitis B virus and syphilis in full term pregnancy].

BACKGROUND: The estimation of the frequency of infection by HIV, hepatitis B virus and syphilis in unselected populations of full-term pregnancy is useful for epidemiologic surveillance of these diseases and for decision marking in prenatal detection. METHODS: A transversal study of 3,193 women who gave birth in the Hospital General de Elche between March 1989 and February 1990 was carried out. A blind survey was developed to avoid ethic problems and bias derived from the undertaking of HIV test without patient consent. RESULTS: The prevalence of HIV was 0.5/1,000 women (CI 95%, 0-1.5); HBV 8.9/1,000 (CI 95%, 4.6-13.2) and syphilis 1.5/1,000 (CI 95%, 0.9-2.1). CONCLUSIONS: The diffusion of the AIDS epidemic in Spain to the general population does not at present seems important although studies should be performed in the future to monitor the trend. The prevalence of syphilis in Spain is low in this study in comparison with the results of other Spanish studies which may be explained by greater quality of care in to pregnancy. The prevalence of HBV suggests the need for detection and vaccination of newborns.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

Prevention of hepatitis B infection by hepatitis B immune globulin in infants born to mothers with acute hepatitis during pregnancy.

Eleven infants born to mothers with acute hepatitis B during the third trimester of pregnancy who were hepatitis B surface antigen-positive at delivery were treated with hepatitis B immune globulin within 24-48 h of birth. Five infants received one dose of hepatitis B immune globulin and 6 infants received a second dose at 1 mo of age. During the average 12.5-mo follow-up period, only 1 of 11 (9%) treated infants became hepatitis B surface antigen-positive and this individual developed acute hepatitis B at 9.5 mo of age and recovered. Twenty-four infants born to mothers with acute hepatitis B during the third trimester of pregnancy who were untreated served as historical controls. Of these, 17 (71%) showed evidence for hepatitis B infection and 15 (62.5%) became chronic hepatitis B virus carriers. This study shows that administration of hepatitis B immune globulin to infants born to mothers with acute hepatitis B is effective in preventing perinatal transmission of the hepatitis B virus. With the availability of the hepatitis B virus vaccine, the current recommendation is to give hepatitis B immune globulin to such infants within 24 h of birth, followed by three doses of the hepatitis B virus vaccine beginning soon after birth, and again 1 and 6 mo later.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Failure of interferon to prevent recurrent hepatitis B infection in hepatic allograft.

Chronic liver disease associated with hepatitis B virus infection is both common and serious; no satisfactory treatment currently exists. Orthotopic liver transplantation is an option for patients with end-stage liver disease associated with hepatitis B virus infection despite the risk of allograft reinfection. Passive immunoprophylaxis has been attempted perioperatively to prevent graft infection but has not been beneficial. Some patients with chronic type B hepatitis have benefited clinically from antiviral therapy and, in particular, interferon, but its use has not previously been reported as an approach to prevent allograft infection. We administered recombinant leukocyte A interferon perioperatively to a patient who underwent liver transplantation for type B chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis. Circulating hepatitis B virus DNA was found postoperatively while the patient was receiving interferon, and stainable viral antigen subsequently reappeared in the transplanted liver. Thus, the drug failed to prevent viral replication and allograft infection. Thus far, no evidence of progression of the chronic hepatitis has been noted.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Endogenous DNA polymerase-positive core particles from hepatitis-infected hepatocytes.

The purification is described of liver-derived hepatitis B core antigen (HBc Ag) from human hepatocytes demonstrating only intranuclear particles by electron microscopy. The purified preparation contained 5 x 10(11) particles per ml. The particles were mono-dispersed and relatively free of background material. DNA-dependent polymerase activity was present and had greater activity than an equal number of cores derived from Dane particles isolated from plasma. Specificity of the polymerase reaction was confirmed by precipitation of the activity with specific anti-HBc antiserum. A proportion of the liver-derived core particles was nonreactive for DNA polymerase activity. The polymerase-positive population of particles had a larger size than the polymerase-negative population of liver-derived cores as evidenced by gel filtration in Sepharose 4B.

DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase↗
PubMed1997

[Changes of serum GBV-C RNA levels under administration of interferon and cyclosporine for patients with GBV infected hepatitis].

We describe here interferon(IFN) and cyclosporine(CyA) therapy for GBV/HGV hepatitis. Up to the present, reported cases with IFN therapy in Japan were all most co-infected with chronic hepatitis C virus by retrospective studies. According to these results, IFN induced a transient decrease of serum GBV-C RNA levels during the administration, but, after the administration, these returned to levels at the pretreatment. We summarized in this review these therapeutic effects of previous reports in Japan. And, we reported our experienced case of GBV-C RNA-positive fulminant hepatitis treated with IFN and CyA. These observations induced that IFN was effective for decreasing serum levels of GBV-C RNA, and CyA was effective for increasing these levels. However, effects of IFN were transient. Therefore, we are planning re-treatment of IFN for this patient in near feature. Further study about the epidemical analysis of GBV-C/HGV hepatitis and therapeutic analysis of IFN for this disease are needed.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

[Acute virus hepatitis - infection hygiene recommendations based on current knowledge].

As to the up to now under the uniform collective notion "infectious hepatitis" notifiable diseases according to the actual stage of realization a group of diseases is concerned which are caused by at least 3 pathogens. Apart from the hepatitis A and B it is the hepatitis non-A/non-B for which an unequivocal differentiation of pathogens with standardized methods of proof is still pending. There is no cross-immunity between the individual virus-caused hepatitides. They behave diversely clinically and epidemiologically. The in very case indicated infection-hygienic measures result from the different duration of infectiousness, the ways and modes of transmission. They concern the hygiene of the hospital and the immunoprophylaxis as well as the separation of persons from the environment of patients who work in S-professions (activity in the branch of food-supply, groups of children). The problems concerning chronic carriers of infectious hepatitis B are hitherto still unclarified. The legal regulations up to now valid for this group of persons, the necessary hospital hygiene when they are admitted and possible future ways of solution for the total problem are explained.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Cryoglobulinemia due to chronic viral hepatitis infections is not a major problem in clinical practice.

Background: Essential mixed cryoglobulinemia (EMC) is a systemic disease frequently associated with chronic viral hepatitis. This study was conducted in order to assess the prevalence of EMC in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. We also evaluated the possible associations of EMC with (1) the clinical, virological, and histological status of liver disease; (2) the presence of EMC-related symptoms; and (3) the response rate to interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) treatment, in an attempt to address whether EMC is a major problem in hepatitis patients. Methodology: A total of 154 consecutive patients (104 with HBV and 50 with HCV infection) were investigated for the presence of rheumatoid factor (RF), cryoglobulins, and EMC-related manifestations. Sixty-two HBV patients were chronic carriers of hepatitis B surface antigen, 29 had chronic hepatitis B, and 13 HBV cirrhosis. Thirty-five HCV patients had chronic hepatitis C and 15 HCV cirrhosis. HCV genotyping was performed in 44 patients. Results: The prevalence of cryoglobulins was significantly higher (P<0.001) in HCV patients (46%) than in HBV patients (13.4%). EMC was associated with a high frequency of RF detection, older age, and longer duration of viral diseases. Weakness or malaise, arthralgias, and purpura were significantly more frequent in cryoglobulin-positive patients. These manifestations, however, were mild in most of the patients. The EMC-related symptoms were significantly associated with the presence of HCV infection, increased levels of cryoglobulins, and RF detection (P<0.01, P<0.05, and P<0.000005, respectively). Worse liver histology was unrelated to a higher prevalence or increased levels of cryoglobulins in both HBV and HCV infection. There was no relationship between EMC and a specific HCV genotype. IFN-alpha therapy led to the disappearance of cryoglobulins and EMC-related manifestations in most cases. The response rate to IFN-alpha was similar in both groups of patients (with and without EMC). Conclusions: A higher prevalence of EMC was observed in HCV patients than in HBV patients. However, this finding was unrelated to overt clinical manifestations of EMC, a specific HCV genotype, or worse liver histology. The latter suggests that EMC does not contribute to liver injury and vice versa, that EMC pathogenesis is rather unrelated to the degree of liver injury. From a clinical point of view, testing for cryoglobulins seems reasonable only for HCV patients with EMC-related manifestations, since this may have therapeutic consequences. RF detection could be used primarily as a surrogate marker for the existence of cryoglobulins.

Journal Article↗