621 results on '"Ioan Sporea"'
Search Results
2. Use of a Micronutrient Cocktail to Improve Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) in Adults with Obesity: A Randomized, Double-Blinded Pilot Clinical Trial
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Iulia Teodora Perva, Iulia Elena Simina, Renata Bende, Alexandru Cătălin Motofelea, Adela Chirita Emandi, Nicoleta Andreescu, Alexandra Sima, Adrian Vlad, Ioan Sporea, Cristian Zimbru, Paul Calin Tutac, Maria Puiu, and Mihai Dinu Niculescu
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5-MTHF ,betaine ,choline ,omega-3 fatty acids ,vitamin B12 ,metabolic syndrome ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Background and Objectives: The goal of this study was to assess the impact of supplementation with a combination of nutrients on metabolic-dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)-related liver parameters, and other parameters related to metabolic syndrome in adults with obesity. These measurements included anthropometric and lipid profiling, and FibroScan technology (controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and transient elastography (TE) values). Materials and Methods: A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot clinical trial was conducted over a three-month treatment period. Adults with metabolic syndrome and obesity were allocated to receive either a cocktail of nutrients with defined daily dosages (5-MTHF, betaine, alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, choline bitartrate, docosahexaenoic acid, and vitamin B12) or a placebo. The participants were evaluated at the start and the end of the three-month treatment period. Results: A total of 155 participants entered the study, comprising 84 in the treatment group and 71 in the placebo group. The administration of the nutritional supplement resulted in a notable reduction in both CAP and TE scores when compared to the placebo group. The treatment group exhibited a mean reduction in CAP of 4% (p < 0.05) and a mean reduction in TE of 7.8% (p < 0.05), indicative of a decline in liver fat content and fibrosis. Conclusions: The supplementation over a period of three months led to a significant amelioration of liver fibrosis and steatosis parameters in adults with metabolic syndrome and obesity. These findings suggest that this supplementation regimen could be a beneficial adjunct therapy for improving liver health in adults with obesity-induced MASLD.
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- 2024
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3. Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection and Efficacy of Bismuth Quadruple and Levofloxacin Triple Eradication Therapies: A Retrospective Analysis
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Patricia Serena, Alexandru Popa, Renata Bende, Bogdan Miutescu, Ruxandra Mare, Andreea Borlea, Giovanni Aragona, Andrei Lucian Groza, Luca Serena, Alina Popescu, Ioan Sporea, and Roxana Sirli
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Helicobacter pylori ,eradication ,prevalence ,gastritis ,gastroduodenal ulcers ,gastric cancer ,Science - Abstract
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a widespread global health issue and a primary cause of diseases like gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcers, and gastric cancer. This study examines the prevalence of H. pylori infection in patients undergoing upper endoscopy and assesses the efficacy of bismuth quadruple therapy (BQT) and levofloxacin triple therapy. A retrospective analysis of 507 gastroscopies was conducted, with indications including epigastric pain, heartburn, postprandial fullness, early satiation, and regurgitation. Rapid urease tests were performed, and endoscopic findings documented. Two treatment regimens were used: BQT as the first-line therapy and levofloxacin triple therapy as the second-line. Of the 507 patients, 68.8% were infected with H. pylori. Gastric ulcer patients had significantly higher H. pylori prevalence compared to those with small polyps, Barrett’s esophagus, or normal endoscopy. Among the 310 patients who participated in follow-up interviews, 11.9% did not initiate therapy and 5.1% discontinued due to intolerance. The overall eradication rate was 88.6%, with BQT showing a higher eradication rate (89.4%) compared to levofloxacin triple therapy (83.8%). The study highlights the high prevalence of H. pylori among patients with gastrointestinal symptoms and the effectiveness of BQT as a first-line treatment.
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- 2024
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4. Paraneoplastic Syndromes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Epidemiology, and Survival: A Retrospective Seven Years Study
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Calin Burciu, Roxana Sirli, Renata Bende, Deiana Vuletici, Bogdan Miutescu, Tudor Moga, Felix Bende, Alina Popescu, Ioan Sporea, Oana Koppandi, Eftimie Miutescu, Dana Iovanescu, and Mirela Danila
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hepatocellular carcinoma ,paraneoplastic syndromes ,survival ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Background and Objectives: Liver cancer poses a significant global health threat, ranking among the top three causes of cancer-related deaths. Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) often present with symptoms associated with neoplasms or unusual clinical features such as paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS), including hypoglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, thrombocytosis, and erythrocytosis. Our study aimed to investigate the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and survival outcomes associated with PNS in HCC patients and assess each PNS’s impact on patient survival. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of PNS clinical features and survival among consecutive HCC patients diagnosed at our department over seven years, comparing them with HCC patients without PNS. The study involved a retrospective data evaluation from 378 patients diagnosed with HCC between January 2016 and October 2023. Results: We obtained a PNS prevalence of 25.7%, with paraneoplastic hypercholesterolemia at 10.9%, hypoglycemia at 6.9%, erythrocytosis at 4.5%, and thrombocytosis at 3.4%. Patients with PNS tended to be younger and predominantly male. Multivariate analysis revealed a strong correlation between PNS and levels of alpha-fetoprotein and tumor size, with diabetes also showing a significant statistical association (p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis based on specific paraneoplastic syndromes demonstrated shorter survival in patients with PNS, albeit without significant statistical differences, except for hypoglycemia (p < 0.0001). Matched analysis indicated a shorter survival rate for patients with PNS, although no significant statistical differences were observed. Conclusions: PNS are frequently observed in HCC cases and are associated with unfavorable prognoses and decreased survival rates due to their correlation with increased tumor burdens. However, they do not independently predict poor survival. The impact of individual PNS on HCC prognosis varies.
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- 2024
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5. Artificial Intelligence System for Predicting Prostate Cancer Lesions from Shear Wave Elastography Measurements
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Ciprian Cosmin Secasan, Darian Onchis, Razvan Bardan, Alin Cumpanas, Dorin Novacescu, Corina Botoca, Alis Dema, and Ioan Sporea
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artificial intelligence system ,shear wave elastography ,prostate cancer ,Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens ,RC254-282 - Abstract
(1) Objective: To design an artificial intelligence system for prostate cancer prediction using the data obtained by shear wave elastography of the prostate, by comparing it with the histopathological exam of the prostate biopsy specimens. (2) Material and methods: We have conducted a prospective study on 356 patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy, for suspicion of prostate cancer. All patients were examined using bi-dimensional shear wave ultrasonography, which was followed by standard systematic transrectal prostate biopsy. The mean elasticity of each of the twelve systematic biopsy target zones was recorded and compared with the pathological examination results in all patients. The final dataset has included data from 223 patients with confirmed prostate cancer. Three machine learning classification algorithms (logistic regression, a decision tree classifier and a dense neural network) were implemented and their performance in predicting the positive lesions from the elastographic data measurements was assessed. (3) Results: The area under the curve (AUC) results were as follows: for logistic regression—0.88, for decision tree classifier—0.78 and for the dense neural network—0.94. Further use of an upsampling strategy for the training set of the neural network slightly improved its performance. Using an ensemble learning model, which combined the three machine learning models, we have obtained a final accuracy of 98%. (4) Conclusions: Bi-dimensional shear wave elastography could be very useful in predicting prostate cancer lesions, especially when it benefits from the computational power of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.
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- 2022
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6. Unraveling the Metabolic Changes in Acute Pancreatitis: A Metabolomics-Based Approach for Etiological Differentiation and Acute Biomarker Discovery
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Greta Dancu, Cristi Tarta, Carmen Socaciu, Felix Bende, Mirela Danila, Roxana Sirli, Ioan Sporea, Bogdan Miutescu, and Alina Popescu
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acute pancreatitis ,metabolomics ,lipidomics ,glycerophospholipids ,glycerolipids ,fatty acyls ,Microbiology ,QR1-502 - Abstract
Acute pancreatitis (AP) remains a challenging medical condition, where a deeper metabolic insight could pave the way for innovative treatments. This research harnessed serum metabolomics to discern potential diagnostic markers for AP and distinguish between its biliary (BAP) and alcohol-induced (AAP) forms. Leveraging high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, the metabolic signatures of 34 AP patients were contrasted against 26 healthy participants, and then between different etiologies of AP. The results identified metabolites primarily from glycerophospholipids, glycerolipids, fatty acyls, sterol lipids, and pteridines and derivative classes, with the Human Metabolome Database aiding in classification. Notably, these metabolites differentiated AP from healthy states with high AUROC values above 0.8. Another set of metabolites revealed differences between BAP and AAP, but these results were not as marked as the former. This lipidomic analysis provides an introduction to the metabolic landscape of acute pancreatitis, revealing changes in multiple lipid classes and metabolites and identifying these metabolites. Future research could add and discover new diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic strategies enhancing the management of acute pancreatitis.
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- 2023
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7. The Prevalence of Liver Fibrosis Stages on More than 23,000 Liver Stiffness Measurements by Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography: A Single Center Study
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Alin Lazar, Ioan Sporea, Diana Lungeanu, Ruxandra Mare, Raluca Lupusoru, Alina Popescu, Mirela Danila, Alexandra Deleanu, Isabel Dan, Andrada Lascau, Alexandru Popa, and Roxana Sirli
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liver fibrosis ,liver stiffness ,liver diseases ,non-invasive assessment ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) was the first non-invasive method used for assessing liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. Over the years, many studies have evaluated its performance. It is now used globally, and, in some countries, it represents the primary step in evaluating liver fibrosis. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of VCTE and highlight the prevalence of liver fibrosis stages assessed by VCTE in a large cohort of patients at a single study center. We also aimed to observe the trends in liver stiffness (LS) values over the years according to each type of hepatopathy. A retrospective study was conducted over a period of 13 years (2007–2019) and included patients who presented to our clinic for LS measurements (LSMs), either with known liver diseases or with suspected liver pathology who were undergoing fibrosis screening. The database contained a total of 23,420 measurements. Valid LSMs were obtained in 90.91% (21,291/23,420) of the cases, while 2129 (9.09%) of the measurements were either failed or unreliable. In untreated patients with chronic viral hepatitis, LS values tended to increase during the years, while in patients undergoing antiviral therapy LS values significantly decreased. Our comprehensive study, one of the largest of its kind spanning 13 years, emphasizes the reliability and significance of VCTE in real-world clinical settings.
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- 2023
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8. Diagnosis of malignant biliary obstruction: pondering over the ERCP, MRCP and histology
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Iulia Rațiu, Raluca Lupușoru, Diana Lungeanu, Alina Popescu, Ioan Sporea, Adrian Goldiș, Mirela Dănilă, Bogdan Miuțescu, Tudor Moga, Andreea Barbulescu, Sorina Tăban, Alis Dema, and Roxana Șirli
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Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Objective To compare the diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), magnetic resonance pancreatography (MRCP) and histological examination for malignant biliary obstruction. Methods This retrospective study included patients admitted for biliary obstruction caused by biliary tree malignancy that underwent ERCP, MRCP and histological examination. Data were collected from the medical records. The primary endpoints were the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve value, sensitivity, specificity and overall diagnostic accuracy of the three procedures in terms of a final diagnosis of obstructive biliary malignancy; and the agreement between ERCP, MRCP and histological examination with the final diagnosis. Results A total of 160 patients were included in the study (85 males, 53.1%; mean ± SD age, 69.31 ± 10.96 years). Considering the final diagnosis, the performance of MRCP, ERCP and histology in assessing biliary tumours produced AUROC values of 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.75, 0.90), 0.94 (95% CI 0.85, 0.99) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.70, 0.82), respectively. ERCP presented higher sensitivity, overall diagnostic accuracy and agreement with the final diagnosis than MRCP and histological examination. Conclusion These current data suggest that invasive methods such as ERCP with biopsy remain more reliable than non-invasive methods.
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- 2022
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9. Liver Steatosis: Better Predictor of CKD in MAFLD Than Liver Fibrosis as Determined by Transient Elastography With Controlled Attenuation Parameter
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Luciana Marc, Adelina Mihaescu, Raluca Lupusoru, Iulia Grosu, Florica Gadalean, Flaviu Bob, Lazar Chisavu, Nicu Olariu, Vlad Tucicovschi, Bogdan Timar, Ioan Sporea, Romulus Timar, and Adalbert Schiller
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MAFLD ,NAFLD ,chronic kidney disease ,transient elastography ,controlled attenuation parameter ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Background: Changing the term/concept of the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) may broaden the pathological definition that can include chronic renal involvement, and, possibly, changes chronic kidney disease's (CKD's) epidemiological association with liver disease, because CKD is associated with metabolic disorders and almost all patients with CKD present some form of an atherogenic dyslipidemia. Our study explores the relationship between MAFLD and CKD using Transient Elastography (TE) with a Controlled Attenuated Parameter (CAP).Methods: We evaluated 335 patients with diabetes with MAFLD and with high CKD risk using TE with CAP (FibroScan®). The CKD was defined according to Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) 2012 guidelines. Logistic regression and stepwise multiple logistic regression were used to evaluate the factors associated with CKD. In addition, a receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to assess the performance of CAP and TE in predicting CKD and its optimal threshold.Results: The prevalence of CKD in our group was 60.8%. Patients with CKD had higher mean liver stiffness measurements (LSM) and CAP values than those without CKD. We found that hepatic steatosis was a better predictor of CKD than fibrosis. Univariate regression showed that CAP values >353 dB/m were predictive of CKD; while the multivariate regression analysis (after adjustment according to sex, body mass index (BMI), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), and fasting glucose) showed that CAP values >353 dB/m were more strongly associated with the presence of CKD compared to the LSM (fibrosis) values.Conclusion: In patients with MAFLD, CAP-assessed steatosis appears to be a better predictor of CKD compared to LSM-assessed hepatic fibrosis.
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- 2022
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10. A Statistical Approach to the Diagnosis and Prediction of HCC Using CK19 and Glypican 3 Biomarkers
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Călin Burciu, Roxana Șirli, Renata Bende, Alexandru Popa, Deiana Vuletici, Bogdan Miuțescu, Iulia Rațiu, Alina Popescu, Ioan Sporea, and Mirela Dănilă
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cytokeratin 19 ,glypican-3 ,hepatocellular carcinoma ,statistical model ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Various statistical models predict the probability of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis, with GALAD being one of the most extensively studied scores. Biomarkers like alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), AFP-L3, and des-g-carboxyprothrombin (DCP) are widely used alone or in conjunction with ultrasound to screen for HCC. Our study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Cytokeratin 19 (CK19) and Glypican-3 (GPC3) as standalone biomarkers and in a statistical model to predict the likelihood of HCC. We conducted a monocentric prospective study involving 154 participants with previously diagnosed liver cirrhosis, divided into two groups: 95 patients with confirmed HCC based on clinical, biological, and imaging features and 59 patients without HCC. We measured the levels of AFP, AFP-L3, DCP, GPC3, and CK19 in both groups. We used univariate and multivariate statistical analyses to evaluate the ability of GPC3 and CK19 to predict the presence of HCC and incorporated them into a statistical model—the GALKA score—which was then compared to the GALAD score. AFP performed better than AFP-F3, DCP, GPC3, and CK19 in predicting the presence of HCC in our cohort. Additionally, GPC3 outperformed CK19. We used multivariate analysis to compute the GALKA score to predict the presence of HCC. Using these predictors, the following score was formulated: 0.005*AFP-L3 + 0.00069*AFP + 0.000066*GPC3 + 0.01*CK19 + 0.235*Serum Albumin—0.277. The optimal cutoff was >0.32 (AUROC = 0.98, sensitivity: 96.8%, specificity: 93%, positive predictive value—95.8%, negative predictive value—94.8%). The GALKA score had a similar predictive value to the GALAD score for the presence of HCC. In conclusion, AFP, AFP-L3, and DCP were the best biomarkers for predicting the likelihood of HCC. Our score performed well overall and was comparable to the GALAD score.
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- 2023
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11. Assessment of Thyroid Stiffness and Viscosity in Autoimmune Thyroiditis Using Novel Ultrasound-Based Techniques
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Dana Stoian, Andreea Borlea, Ioan Sporea, Alexandru Popa, Luciana Moisa-Luca, and Alina Popescu
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hashimoto ,Vi PLUS ,shear-wave ,elastography ,dispersion ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
The estimation of viscosity by measuring the shear-wave dispersion (SWD) using ultrasound 2D shear-wave elastography (SWE) is becoming more and more popular. Recent research suggests that SWD can be used in addition to 2D-SWE (shear-wave speed) to diagnose diffuse liver disease. Viscosity was studied for the assessment of normal thyroid tissue. This study aims to evaluate the use of viscosity measurements in patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis using the SuperSonic MACH®30 ultrasound machine (Hologic SuperSonic Imagine, Aix-en-Provence, France) which provides the Vi PLUS mode for viscosity and the 2D SWE PLUS mode for shear-wave speed measurements. Valid measurements were obtained in 308 cases, 153 with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (CAT) and 155 with no thyroid pathology (95.95% feasibility of the methods). The differences between the healthy group and the CAT group were statistically significant both for Vi PLUS (2.5 ± 0.4 vs. 2.8 ± 0.5, p < 0.0001) and for 2D-SWE PLUS (13.5 ± 3.3 vs. 23.1 ± 8.3, p < 0.0001). The diagnostic performance was poor for Vi PLUS alone (AUC = 0.69; cut-off > 2.5 Pa·s, se = 68.6%; sp = 64.52%) and good for 2D-SWE PLUS alone (AUC = 0.861; cut-off > 18.4 kPa, se = 69.9%; sp = 92.2%). Vi PLUS correlated with 2D-SWE PLUS, with the presence of CAT, the thyroid volume, levothyroxine replacement therapy and age. Statistically significant differences were found between the CAT subgroup receiving thyroid replacement therapy and the subgroup without therapy: 24.74 ± 8.33 vs. 21.93 ± 8.12 kPa for 2D-SWE (p = 0.0380) and 3 ± 0.5 vs. 2.7 ± 0.4 Pa·s for Vi PLUS (p = 0.0193). Elastography-based methods improve the classic ultrasound evaluation: 2D-SWE PLUS performed somewhat better in distinguishing CAT from normal thyroid tissue, while Vi PLUS made a slightly better assessment regarding the functional status.
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- 2023
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12. Impact of COVID-19 on Patients with Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis
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Tudor Voicu Moga, Camelia Foncea, Renata Bende, Alina Popescu, Adrian Burdan, Darius Heredea, Mirela Danilă, Bogdan Miutescu, Iulia Ratiu, Teofana Otilia Bizerea-Moga, Ioan Sporea, and Roxana Sirli
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COVID-19 ,decompensated liver cirrhosis ,outcome ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 infection on patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis (DLC) in terms of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), chronic liver failure acute decompensation (CLIF-AD), hospitalization, and mortality. In this retrospective study, we analyzed patients with known DLC who were admitted to the Gastroenterology Department with COVID-19. Clinical and biochemical data were obtained to compare the development of ACLF, CLIF-AD, days of hospitalization, and the presence of independent factors of mortality in comparison with a non-COVID-19 DLC group. All patients enrolled were not vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2. Variables used in statistical analyses were obtained at the time of hospital admission. A total of 145 subjects with previously diagnosed liver cirrhosis were included; 45/145 (31%) of the subjects were confirmed with COVID-19, among which 45% had pulmonary injury. The length of hospital stay (days) was significantly longer in patients with pulmonary injury compared to those without (p = 0.0159). In the group of patients with COVID-19 infection, the proportion of associated infections was significantly higher (p = 0.0041). Additionally, the mortality was 46.7% in comparison with only 15% in the non-COVID-19 group (p = 0.0001). Pulmonary injury was associated with death during admission in multivariate analysis in both the ACLF (p < 0.0001) and the non-ACLF (p = 0.0017) group. COVID-19 significantly influenced disease progression in patients with DLC in terms of associated infections, hospitalization length, and mortality.
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- 2023
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13. Relationship between Novel Elastography Techniques and Renal Fibrosis—Preliminary Experience in Patients with Chronic Glomerulonephritis
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Felix-Mihai Maralescu, Adrian Vaduva, Adalbert Schiller, Ligia Petrica, Ioan Sporea, Alina Popescu, Roxana Sirli, Alis Dema, Madalina Bodea, Iulia Grosu, and Flaviu Bob
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renal biopsy ,fibrosis ,inflammation ,stiffness ,viscosity ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
Introduction: A renal biopsy represents the gold standard in the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of patients with glomerulonephritis. So far, non-invasive elastographic techniques have not confirmed their utility in replacing a biopsy; however, the new and improved software from Hologic Supersonic Mach 30 is a promising method for assessing the renal tissue’s stiffness and viscosity. We investigated whether this elastography technique could reveal renal tissue fibrosis in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis. Materials and methods: Two-dimensional-shear wave elastography (SWE) PLUS and viscosity plane-wave ultrasound (Vi PLUS) assessments were performed in 40 patients with chronic glomerulopathies before being referred for a renal biopsy. For each kidney, the mean values of five stiffness and viscosity measures were compared with the demographic, biological, and histopathological parameters of the patients. Results: In total, 26 men and 14 women with a mean age of 52.35 ± 15.54 years, a mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 53.8 ± 35.49 mL/min/1.73m2, and a mean proteinuria of 6.39 ± 7.42 g/24 h were included after providing their informed consent. Out of 40 kidney biopsies, 2 were uninterpretable with inappropriate material and were divided into four subgroups based on their fibrosis percentage. Even though these elastography techniques were unable to differentiate between separate fibrosis stages, when predicting between the fibrosis and no-fibrosis group, we found a cut-off value of p < 0.001 with 88.89% sensitivity, and a 75% specificity for the 2D SWE PLUS measures and a cut-off value of p < 0.001 with 94% sensitivity, and a 60% specificity for the Vi PLUS measures. We also found a cut-off value of p = 0.0001 with 100% sensitivity, and a 74.29% specificity) and a cut-off value of p = 0.0019 with 60% sensitivity, and a 94.29% specificity) differentiating between patients with over 40% fibrosis and those with under 40%. We also discovered a positive correlation between the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and 2D-SWE PLUS values (r = 0.7065, p < 0.0001) and Vi PLUS values (r = 0.3637, p < 0.0211). C reactive protein (CRP) correlates with the Vi PLUS measures (r = −0.3695, p = 0.0189) but not with the 2D SWE PLUS measures (r = −0.2431, p = 0.1306). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that this novel elastography method can distinguish between individuals with different stages of renal fibrosis, correlate with the renal function and inflammation, and are easy to use and reproducible, but further research is needed for them to be employed routinely in clinical practice.
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- 2023
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14. Impact of Sarcopenia on Survival and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis
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Mirabela-Madalina Topan, Ioan Sporea, Mirela Dănilă, Alina Popescu, Ana-Maria Ghiuchici, Raluca Lupuşoru, and Roxana Şirli
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sarcopenia ,liver cirrhosis ,clinical outcomes ,survival ,handgrip strength ,skeletal muscle index ,Nutrition. Foods and food supply ,TX341-641 - Abstract
Background: Sarcopenia is now recognized more and more as a biomarker with poor outcomes in cirrhotic patients.Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients with liver cirrhosis and prospectively investigate the association between sarcopenia and different complications and its impact on survival.Material and Methods: This prospective study included patients with liver cirrhosis admitted to our department from 2018 to 2020. Sarcopenia was assessed according to EWGSOP2 criteria, incorporating low Handgrip strength (
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- 2021
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15. Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography with Arrival Time Parametric Imaging as a Non-Invasive Diagnostic Tool for Liver Cirrhosis
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Raluca Lupușoru, Ioan Sporea, Iulia Rațiu, Diana Lungeanu, Alina Popescu, Mirela Dănilă, Ruxandra Mare, Luciana Marc, Andrada Lascău, Tudor Voicu Moga, Felix Bende, Ana-Maria Ghiuchici, and Roxana Șirli
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liver cirrhosis ,CEUS ,AtPI/arrival time parametric imaging ,VCTE ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Liver biopsy is the gold standard method for staging liver fibrosis, but it is an invasive procedure that is associated with some complications. There are also non-invasive techniques for assessing liver fibrosis, such as elastography and biological tests, but these techniques can fail in detection or generate false measurements depending on the subject’s condition. This study aimed to determine whether liver fibrosis can be evaluated using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography with arrival time parametric imaging using the ultrasound machine’s parametric image software, the method being called (CEUS-PAT). CEUS-PAT was performed on each subject using SonoVue as a contrast agent, and images showing liver parenchyma and the right kidney on a single screen were used for analysis in parametric imaging, which was performed using the proprietary software of the ultrasound system. The ratio between the kidney and liver arrival times was calculated. The study included 64 predominantly male (56.3%) subjects, 37 cirrhotic patients, and 27 healthy volunteers, with a mean age of 58.98 ± 8.90 years. Significant differences were found between the liver cirrhosis and healthy groups regarding CEUS-PAT, 0.83 ± 0.09 vs. 0.49 ± 0.11, p < 0.0001. The correlation between CEUS-PAT and VCTE was r = 0.81. The optimal cut-off value for detecting liver cirrhosis was >0.7, with an AUC of 0.98, p < 0.001, Se = 89.19%, Sp = 100%, PPV = 100%, and NPV = 87.1%. We demonstrate that CEUS-PAT achieves excellent performance in diagnosing liver cirrhosis and is a fast method for diagnosing liver cirrhosis that can even be applied in situations where the use of other methods is excluded.
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- 2022
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16. Strain Versus 2D Shear-Wave Elastography Parameters—Which Score Better in Predicting Thyroid Cancer?
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Andreea Borlea, Ioan Sporea, Alexandru Popa, Mihnea Derban, Laura Taban, and Dana Stoian
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risk stratification ,thyroid cancer ,strain ,2D shear wave ,SWE ,thyroid elastography ,Technology ,Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) ,TA1-2040 ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 ,Physics ,QC1-999 ,Chemistry ,QD1-999 - Abstract
The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic performance of strain elastography (SE) versus 2D shear-wave elastography (2D-SWE) by providing a head-to-head comparison of the two methods. Ninety-four thyroid nodules were evaluated using conventional ultrasound (B-mode) and SE, namely, real-time elastography (RTE) with a Hitachi Preirus machine (Hitachi Inc., Tokyo, Japan) and consecutively, 2D-SWE with SuperSonic Mach30 equipment (Supersonic Imagine, Aix-en-Provence, France). The results were compared in all cases to the pathology reports. Out of the 94 nodules, 29 (30.9%) were malignant. Both SE and 2D-SWE parameters proved to have excellent diagnostic quality, with comparable results. The mean elasticity index was the best parameter for the 2D-SWE (AUC 0.912); for a cut-off value of 30.5 kPa, it predicts thyroid malignancy with a sensitivity of 79.3%, specificity of 95.38%, NPV of 91.2% and PPV of 88.5%. The best parameter for SE was the strain ratio (cutoff > 3.9; sensitivity 82.7%; specificity 92.3%; AUC 0.905). When integrated in the ultrasound risk algorithm, both elastography methods improved the diagnostic performance: AUC 0.764 vs. 0.886 vs. 0.861 for B-modes: B-mode + 2D-SWE vs. B-mode + SE. We concluded that elastography adds diagnostic value in predicting malignancy, both when Hitachi RTE and SuperSonic 2D-SWE were used.
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- 2022
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17. Non-Invasive Evaluation of Kidney Elasticity and Viscosity in a Healthy Cohort
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Felix-Mihai Maralescu, Felix Bende, Ioan Sporea, Alina Popescu, Roxana Sirli, Adalbert Schiller, Ligia Petrica, Bogdan Miutescu, Andreea Borlea, Alexandru Popa, Madalina Bodea, and Flaviu Bob
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2D-SWE PLUS ,elasticity ,Vi PLUS ,inflammation ,chronic kidney disease ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
Introduction: There is currently a lack of published data on kidney elasticity and viscosity. Non-invasive techniques, such as two-dimensional shear-wave elastography (2D-SWE PLUS) and viscosity plane-wave ultrasound (Vi PLUS), have surfaced as new detection methods, which, thanks to efficient processing software, are expected to improve renal stiffness and viscosity measurements. This study aims to be the first one to assess the normal range values in normal renal function subjects and to investigate the factors that impact them. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study employing 50 participants (29 women and 21 men) with a mean age of 42.22 ± 13.17, a mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 97.12 ± 11 mL/min/1.73 m2, a mean kidney length of 10.16 ± 0.66 cm, and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 24.24 ± 3.98. With a C6-1X convex transducer and the Ultra-FastTM software available on the Hologic Aixplorer Mach 30 ultrasound system, we acquired five measurements of renal cortical stiffness and viscosity (achieved from five distinct images in the middle part of the subcapsular cortex) from each kidney. The ten measurements’ median values correlated with the participant’s demographical, biological, and clinical parameters. Results: The mean kidney elasticity was 31.88 ± 2.89 kiloPascal (kPa), and the mean viscosity was 2.44 ± 0.57 Pascal.second (Pa.s) for a mean measurement depth 4.58 ± 1.02 cm. Renal stiffness seemed to be influenced by age (r = −0.7047, p < 0.0001), the measurement depth (r = −0.3776, p = 0.0075), and eGFR (r = 0.6101, p < 0.0001) but not by BMI (r = −0.2150, p = 0.1338), while viscosity appeared to be impacted by age (r = −0.4251, p = 0.0021), eGFR (r = 0.4057, p = 0.0038), the measurement depth (r = −0.4642, p = 0.0008), and BMI (r = −0.3676, p = 0.0086). The results of the one-way ANOVA used to test the differences in the variables among the three age sub-groups are statistically significant for both 2D-SWE PLUS (p < 0.001) and Vi PLUS (p = 0.015). The method found good intra-operator reproducibility for the 2D-SWE PLUS measurements, with an ICC of 0.8365 and a 95% CI of 0.7512 to 0.8990, and for the Vi PLUS measurements, with an ICC of 0.9 and a 95% CI of 0.8515 to 0.9397. Conclusions: Renal stiffness and viscosity screening may become an efficacious, low-cost way to gather supplemental diagnostic data from patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The findings demonstrate that these non-invasive methods are highly feasible and not influenced by gender and that their values correlate with renal function and decrease with age progression. Nevertheless, more research is required to ascertain their place in clinical practice.
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- 2022
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18. Dynamic Changes in Liver Stiffness in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Undergoing Antiviral Therapy
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Alin Lazar, Ioan Sporea, Alexandru Popa, Raluca Lupusoru, Diana Gherhardt, Ruxandra Mare, Alexandru Apostu, Madalina Hnatiuc, and Roxana Șirli
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hepatitis B virus ,dynamic changes in liver stiffness ,transient elastography ,nucleos(t)ide analogues ,oral antiviral therapy ,FibroScan ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
This is a retrospective single-center study that included 87 subjects. All subjects had chronic hepatitis B or HBV cirrhosis and underwent nucleos(t)ide analogs (NUC) treatment for more than one year. The study aimed to evaluate the dynamic changes in liver stiffness (LS) measured by transient elastography (TE) during a median interval of 64 months. Patients were assessed prior to starting therapy and followed up annually. Liver stiffness measurements (LSM) were performed annually, and ten valid LSMs were obtained in each session. Reliable LSMs were defined as the median value of 10 measurements with Interquartile range/median (IQR/M) ≤ 30%. A significant decrease in liver stiffness values (p < 0.001) was observed during follow-up. In patients with liver cirrhosis, the LSMs decreased significantly after only one year, 24.6 ± 4.3 kPa vs. 13.5 ± 4.2 kPa (p = 0.007), whereas the decrease in non-cirrhotic patients was not significant, 7.31 ± 3.62 vs. 6.80 ± 2.41 (p = 0.27). Liver stiffness decrease was more significant in patients with initially higher transaminases. Undetectable viral load was achieved in 73.5% of patients in year one, 82.7% in year two, and 90.8% in year three of treatment. In conclusion, our study reveals a decrease in liver stiffness by TE in patients with chronic hepatitis B when undergoing anti-HBV therapy in the first two years. It can be used as a method for follow-up in patients undergoing NUC therapy.
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- 2022
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19. Quantification of Thyroid Viscosity in Healthy Subjects Using Ultrasound Shear Wave Dispersion (Viscosity PLUS)
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Dana Stoian, Luciana Moisa, Laura Taban, Ioan Sporea, Alexandru Popa, Felix Bende, Alina Popescu, and Andreea Borlea
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viscosity ,ultrasound ,normal thyroid ,Vi PLUS ,2D SWE ,shear wave dispersion ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Shear-wave elastography (SWE) is widely used in thyroid evaluation, but multiple factors influence thyroid stiffness. Estimating tissue viscosity may enhance the ultrasound diagnosis of thyroid diseases, along with the ultrasound (US) and the SWE assessment. In order to be able to detect diffuse thyroid disease by viscosity measurements, it is essential to firstly define the normal values of thyroid viscosity in healthy subjects. Currently there are no published data on thyroid viscosity measurements. This first prospective study aimed to determine the normal range of thyroid viscosity values in a cohort of healthy thyroids, as well as to determine the factors that may influence them. One hundred and twenty-one consecutive subjects without thyroid pathology were evaluated in the study by means of conventional ultrasound, two-dimensional SWE (2D SWE PLUS) and viscosity plane-wave ultrasound (ViPLUS) embedded in the Supersonic MACH® 30 ultrasound system. Five valid tissue viscosity measurements were obtained for each thyroid lobe in every patient and the median values were analyzed and correlated with the biological and demographic parameters of each patient. Our results reveal that ViPLUS is a highly feasible and reproducible technique for thyroid evaluation. Thyroid stiffness, age, gender, BMI and depth of measurements did not influence the thyroid viscosity values. The mean thyroid viscosity by ViPLUS for normal thyroid tissue was of 2.42 ± 0.41 Pa·s. Viscosity assessment by Supersonic ViPLUS is an innovative, non-invasive technique that has proven to be useful for thyroid US evaluation and remains to demonstrate its effectiveness in identifying patients with thyroid disease.
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- 2022
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20. Efficacy and Safety of a Novel Therapeutic of Natural Origin (NTN) in Adult Patients with Lactose Intolerance: A Multicenter, Randomized, Crossover, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study
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Corina Pop, Ioan Sporea, Javier Santos, Nicolae Tudor, and Nicoleta Tiuca
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lactose intolerance ,novel therapeutic of natural origin ,hydrogen breath test ,food intolerance ,intestinal barrier ,Chemical technology ,TP1-1185 - Abstract
Background: Film-forming substances, such as natural polysaccharides (NP) and pea proteins (PP), act as a protective barrier for treating various gastrointestinal conditions. We assessed the efficacy and safety of a novel therapeutic of natural origin (NTN) containing NP and PP for symptomatic treatment of lactose intolerance. Methods: In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study, patients with lactose intolerance received NTN (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) for 7 days, then the alternate treatment for 7 days. Patients rated their gastrointestinal symptoms using a 7-point Likert scale. The lactose hydrogen breath test was used to assess exhaled hydrogen. Results: NTN as primary or crossover treatment significantly improved patient-reported symptoms of bloating, distension, and abdominal pain. Abdominal pain also improved under primary treatment with placebo. Primary treatment with NTN, but not placebo, normalized mean exhaled hydrogen levels. In the group allocated initially to placebo, crossover to NTN attenuated the increase in hydrogen production. No treatment-related adverse effects were reported in either group. Conclusions: Subjective improvements in bloating, distension, and abdominal pain with NTN were supported by objective evidence of hydrogen production normalization. NTN appears to be a useful alternative to lactose avoidance or enzyme replacement in patients with lactose intolerance.
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- 2022
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21. Gastrointestinal Ultrasound in Functional Disorders of the Gastrointestinal Tract - EFSUMB Consensus Statement
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Giovanni Maconi, Trygve Hausken, Christoph F. Dietrich, Nadia Pallotta, Ioan Sporea, Dieter Nurnberg, Klaus Dirks, Laura Romanini, Carla Serra, Barbara Braden, Zeno Sparchez, and Odd Helge Gilja
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esophagus ,rectum ,stomach ,ultrasound ,small bowel ,Medicine ,Medical physics. Medical radiology. Nuclear medicine ,R895-920 - Abstract
Abdominal ultrasonography and intestinal ultrasonography are widely used as first diagnostic tools for investigating patients with abdominal symptoms, mainly for excluding organic diseases. However, gastrointestinal ultrasound (GIUS), as a real-time diagnostic imaging method, can also provide information on motility, flow, perfusion, peristalsis, and organ filling and emptying, with high temporal and spatial resolution. Thanks to its noninvasiveness and high repeatability, GIUS can investigate functional gastrointestinal processes and functional gastrointestinal diseases (FGID) by studying their behavior over time and their response to therapy and providing insight into their pathophysiologic mechanisms. The European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) has established a Task Force Group consisting of GIUS experts, which developed clinical recommendations and guidelines on the role of GIUS in several acute and chronic gastrointestinal diseases. This review is dedicated to the role of GIUS in assisting the diagnosis of FGID and particularly in investigating patients with symptoms of functional disorders, such as dysphagia, reflux disorders, dyspepsia, abdominal pain, bloating, and altered bowel habits. The available scientific evidence of GIUS in detecting, assessing, and investigating FGID are reported here, while highlighting sonographic findings and its usefulness in a clinical setting, defining the actual and potential role of GIUS in the management of patients, and providing information regarding future applications and research.
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- 2021
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22. Controlled Attenuation Parameter for Quantification of Steatosis: Which Cut-Offs to Use?
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Roxana Sirli and Ioan Sporea
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Diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterology ,RC799-869 - Abstract
Chronic liver diseases (CLDs) are a public health problem, even if frequently they are underdiagnosed. Hepatic steatosis (HS), encountered not only in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) but also in chronic viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, etc., plays an important role in fibrosis progression, regardless of CLD etiology; thus, detection and quantification of HS are imperative. Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) feature, implemented in the FibroScan® device, measures the attenuation of the US beam as it passes through the liver. It is a noninvasive technique, feasible and well accepted by patients, with lower costs than other diagnostic techniques, with acceptable accuracy for HS quantification. Multiple studies have been published regarding CAP performance to quantify steatosis, but due to the heterogeneity of CLD etiologies, of steatosis prevalence, etc., it had widely variable calculated cut-off values, which in turn limited the day-to-day utility of CAP measurements in clinical practice. This paper reviews published studies trying to suggest cut-off values usable in clinical practice.
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- 2021
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23. Spleen Stiffness for Predicting Varices Needing Treatment: Comparison between Two Different Elastography Techniques (Point vs. 2D-SWE)
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Renata Fofiu, Felix Bende, Raluca Lupuşoru, Roxana Şirli, Alina Popescu, and Ioan Sporea
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Diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterology ,RC799-869 - Abstract
The study aimed to establish the benefits of using spleen stiffness values measured by two elastography techniques as noninvasive markers for predicting varices needing treatment and comparing their performances. A prospective study was performed, including 107 subjects with compensated liver cirrhosis, who underwent upper digestive endoscopy, as well as spleen stiffness measurements by means of two elastography techniques: pSWE (point shear wave elastography using Virtual Touch Quantification-Siemens Acuson S2000) and 2D-SWE (2D-shear wave elastography-LOGIQ E9, General Electric). Reliable spleen stiffness measurements were obtained in 96.2% (103/107) patients by means of 2D-SWE and in 94.4% (101/107) subjects with pSWE; therefore, 98 subjects were included in the final analysis, of which 40.8% (40/98) had varices needing treatment. The optimal spleen stiffness cut-off value by 2D-SWE for predicting varices needing treatment was 13.2 kPa (AUROC 0.84), while for pSWE, it was 2.91 m/s (AUROC 0.90). Based on AUROC comparison, no difference between the performance of the two techniques for predicting varices needing treatment was found (p=0.1606). In conclusion, spleen stiffness measured by either 2D-SWE or pSWE is a reliable surrogate marker, with good feasibility, applicability, and predictive accuracy for varices needing treatment, with no significant difference between techniques.
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- 2021
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24. The Non-Invasive Ultrasound-Based Assessment of Liver Viscosity in a Healthy Cohort
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Alexandru Popa, Ioan Sporea, Felix Bende, Alina Popescu, Renata Fofiu, Andreea Borlea, Victor Bâldea, Ariana Pascu, Camelia Gianina Foncea, Radu Cotrău, and Roxana Șirli
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liver fibrosis ,two-dimensional shear-wave elastography ,liver inflammation ,viscosity ,healthy subjects ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Liver fibrosis is the most significant prognostic factor in chronic liver disease (CLD). Clinical practice guidelines recommend the use of non-invasive techniques, such as two-dimensional shear-wave elastography (2D-SWE), to assess liver stiffness as a marker of fibrosis. Several other factors influence liver stiffness in addition to liver fibrosis. It is presumed that changes due to necro-inflammation modify the propagation of shear waves (dispersion). Therefore, new imaging techniques that investigate the dispersion properties of shear waves have been developed, which can serve as an indirect method of measuring liver viscosity (Vi PLUS). Defining the reference values in healthy subjects among different age groups and genders and analyzing the factors that influence these values is essential. However, published data on liver viscosity are still limited. This is the first study that aimed to assess the normal range of liver viscosity values in subjects with healthy livers and analyze the factors that influence them. One hundred and thirty-one consecutive subjects with healthy livers were enrolled in this prospective study. The results showed that Vi PLUS is a highly feasible method. Liver stiffness, age and BMI influenced the liver viscosity values. The mean liver viscosity by Vi PLUS in subjects with healthy livers was 1.59 Pa·s.
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- 2022
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25. Usefulness of Imaging and Biological Tools for the Characterization of Portal Vein Thrombosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
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Călin Burciu, Roxana Șirli, Felix Bende, Renata Fofiu, Alina Popescu, Ioan Sporea, Ana-Maria Ghiuchici, Bogdan Miuțescu, and Mirela Dănilă
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CEUS ,portal vein thrombosis ,alpha-fetoprotein ,hepatocellular carcinoma ,tumor in vein ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and biological tests to characterize portal vein thrombosis (PVT). We retrospectively analyzed 101 patients with PVT, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In all patients, demographic, biologic, imaging, and endoscopic data were collected. All patients underwent CEUS and a second line imaging technique (CE-CT/MRI) to characterize PVT. Of the 101 cirrhotic subjects, 77 (76.2%) had HCC. CEUS had 98.6% sensitivity (Se) and 89.3% specificity (Sp) for the characterization of PVT type. A significant correlation was found between alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and the PVT characterization at CEUS (r = 0.28, p = 0.0098) and CT/MRI (r = 0.3, p = 0.0057). Using the AFP rule-out cutoff values for HCC (AFP < 20 ng/dL), 78% of the subjects were correctly classified as having benign PVT, while 100% of the subjects were correctly classified as tumor-in-vein (TIV) when the rule-in cutoff value was used (AFP ≥ 200 ng/dL). Using multiple regression analysis, we obtained a score for classifying PVT. The PVT score performed better than CEUS (AUC—0.99 vs. AUC—0.93, p = 0.025) or AFP serum levels (AUC—0.99 vs. AUC—0.96, p = 0.047) for characterizing PVT. In conclusion, CEUS is a sensitive method for the characterization of PVT. The PVT score had the highest performance for PVT characterization.
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- 2022
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26. Comparison of Different Nutritional Assessment Tools in Detecting Malnutrition and Sarcopenia among Cirrhotic Patients
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Mirabela-Madalina Topan, Ioan Sporea, Mirela Dănilă, Alina Popescu, Ana-Maria Ghiuchici, Raluca Lupușoru, and Roxana Șirli
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malnutrition ,sarcopenia ,liver cirrhosis ,nutritional screening tools ,anthropometric measurements ,handgrip strength ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Malnutrition and sarcopenia are common complications of liver cirrhosis. This study compares the performance of different nutritional assessment techniques in detecting malnourished patients. Data from 156 patients with liver cirrhosis were collected. We assessed the nutritional status of these patients according to: Subjective Global Assessment (SGA); Royal Free Hospital-Nutritional Prioritizing Tool (RFH-NPT), skinfold thickness (TSF), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), mid-upper arm muscle circumference (MUMC), handgrip strength (HGS), body mass index (BMI), and skeletal muscle index (SMI) evaluated by Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography (CT). According to EWGSOP2 criteria, combining low HGS with low SMI, the prevalence of malnutrition/sarcopenia was 60.2%. RFH-NPT, MUAC, MAMC, and HGS were excellent tests for detecting malnourished patients. Combining RFH-NPT with MUAC or MUMC increased diagnosis accuracy, AUC = 0.89, p < 0.0001. Age, Child-Pugh class C, albumin level, vitamin D deficiency, male gender, and alcoholic etiology were significantly associated with malnutrition. In conclusion, the prevalence of malnutrition among patients with cirrhosis was relatively high. Our study highlights the potential use of a simpler and inexpensive alternative that can be used as a valuable tool in daily practice, the combination between RFH-NPT and MUAC.
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- 2022
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27. Shear Wave Elastography versus Strain Elastography in Diagnosing Parathyroid Adenomas
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Laura Cotoi, Daniela Amzar, Ioan Sporea, Andreea Borlea, Dan Navolan, Flore Varcus, and Dana Stoian
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Diseases of the endocrine glands. Clinical endocrinology ,RC648-665 - Abstract
Objectives. The aim of the study was to compare elastographic means in parathyroid adenomas, using shear wave elastography and strain elastography. Methods. This prospective study examined 20 consecutive patients diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism and parathyroid adenoma, confirmed by biochemical assay, technetium-99 sestamibi scintigraphy, and pathology report, after parathyroid surgery. All patients were examined on conventional 2B ultrasound, 2D shear wave elastography, and strain elastography. We determined using 2D shear wave elastography (SWE) the elasticity index (EI) in parathyroid adenoma, thyroid parenchyma, and surrounding muscle and examined using strain elastography the parathyroid adenoma, and determined the strain ratio with the thyroid tissue and muscle tissue. Results. All patients had positive sestamibi scintigraphy and underwent surgery, with confirmation of parathyroid adenoma in all cases. The mean parathormone (PTH) value before surgery was 153.29 pg/ml (36.5, 464.8) and serum calcium concentration was 10.5 mg/dl (9, 11.5). We compared using 2D-SWE and strain elastography parathyroid adenoma with thyroid tissue and with surrounding muscle. The mean EI measured by SWE in parathyroid adenoma was 4.74 ± 2.74 kPa and in thyroid parenchyma was 11.718 ± 4.206 kPa (mean difference = 6.978 kPa, p
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- 2020
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28. Opportunistic Colonoscopy Cancer Screening Pays off in Romania—A Single-Centre Study
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Iulia Rațiu, Raluca Lupușoru, Prateek Vora, Alina Popescu, Ioan Sporea, Adrian Goldiș, Mirela Dănilă, Bogdan Miuțescu, Andreea Barbulescu, Madalina Hnatiuc, Razvan Diaconescu, Sorina Tăban, Fulger Lazar, and Roxana Șirli
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ADR ,PDR ,CRC ,colonoscopy ,opportunistic screening ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed cancer in men (after prostate and lung cancers) and in women (after breast and lung cancer). It is the second cause of cancer death in men (after lung cancer) and the third one in women (after breast and lung cancers). It is estimated that, in EU-27 countries in 2020, colorectal cancer accounted for 12.7% of all new cancer diagnoses and 12.4% of all deaths due to cancer. Our study aims to assess the opportunistic colorectal cancer screening by colonoscopy in a private hospital. A secondary objective of this study is to analyse the adenoma detection rate (ADR), polyp detection rate (PDR), and colorectal cancer (CRC) detection rate. We designed a retrospective single-centre study in the Gastroenterology Department of Saint Mary Hospital. The study population includes all individuals who performed colonoscopies in 2 years, January 2019–December 2020, addressed to our department by their family physician or came by themselves for a colonoscopy. One thousand seven hundred seventy-eight asymptomatic subjects underwent a colonoscopy for the first time. The mean age was 59.0 ± 10.9, 59.5% female. Eight hundred seventy-three polyps were found in 525 patients. Five hundred and twenty-five had at least one polyp, 185 patients had two polyps, 87 had three polyps, and 40 patients had more than three polyps. The PDR was 49.1%, ADR 39.0%, advanced adenomas in 7.9%, and carcinomas were found in 5.4% of patients. In a country without any colorectal cancer screening policy, polyps were found in almost half of the 1778 asymptomatic patients evaluated in a single private center, 39% of cases adenomas, and 5.4% colorectal cancer. Our study suggests starting screening colonoscopy at the age of 45. A poor bowel preparation significantly impacted the adenoma detection rate.
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- 2021
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29. Quantification of Liver Fibrosis, Steatosis, and Viscosity Using Multiparametric Ultrasound in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Liver Disease: A 'Real-Life' Cohort Study
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Alexandru Popa, Felix Bende, Roxana Șirli, Alina Popescu, Victor Bâldea, Raluca Lupușoru, Radu Cotrău, Renata Fofiu, Camelia Foncea, and Ioan Sporea
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liver fibrosis ,liver steatosis ,liver inflammation ,multiparametric ultrasound ,ultrasound-based elastography ,viscosity ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of four ultrasound-based techniques for the non-invasive multiparametric (MPUS) assessment of liver fibrosis (LF), steatosis (HS), and inflammation in patients with NAFLD. We included 215 consecutive adult patients with NAFLD (mean age: 54.9 ± 11.7; 54.5% were male), in whom LF, HS, and viscosity were evaluated in the same session using four new ultrasound-based techniques embedded on the Aixplorer MACH 30 system: ShearWave Elastography (2D-SWE.PLUS), Sound Speed Plane-wave UltraSound (SSp.PLUS), Attenuation Plane-wave UltraSound (Att.PLUS), and Viscosity Plane-wave UltraSound (Vi.PLUS). Transient Elastography (TE) with Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP) (FibroScan) were considered as control. All elastographic measurements were performed according to guidelines. Valid liver stiffness measurements (LSM) were obtained in 98.6% of patients by TE, in 95.8% of patients by 2D-SWE.PLUS/Vi.PLUS, and in 98.1% of patients by Att.PLUS/SSp.PLUS, respectively. Therefore, 204 subjects were included in the final analysis. A strong correlation between LSMs by 2D-SWE.PLUS and TE (r = 0.89) was found. The best 2D-SWE.PLUS cut-off value for the presence of significant fibrosis (F ≥ 2) was 7 kPa. Regarding steatosis, SSp.PLUS correlated better than Att.PLUS with CAP values: (r = −0.74) vs. (r = 0.45). The best SSp.PLUS cut-off value for predicting the presence of significant steatosis was 1524 m/s. The multivariate regression analysis showed that Vi.PLUS values were associated with BMI and LSM by 2D-SWE.PLUS. In conclusion, MPUS was useful for assessing fibrosis, steatosis, and inflammation in a single examination in patients with NAFLD.
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- 2021
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30. Assessing Baveno VI Criteria Using Liver Stiffness Measured with a 2D-Shear Wave Elastography Technique
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Renata Fofiu, Felix Bende, Alina Popescu, Roxana Șirli, Bogdan Miuţescu, and Ioan Sporea
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Baveno criteria ,portal hypertension ,high risk varices ,2D-SWE ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
The present study evaluates the performance of Baveno VI criteria, using liver stiffness (LS) assessed with a 2D-SWE elastography technique, for predicting high-risk varices (HRV) in patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD). A secondary aim was to determine whether the use of spleen stiffness measurements (SSMs), as additional criteria, increases the performance of the 2D-SWE Baveno VI criteria. Data were collected from 208 subjects with cACLD, who underwent abdominal ultrasound, liver and spleen stiffness measurements, and upper digestive endoscopy. HRV were defined as grade 1 esophageal varices (EV) with red wale marks, grade 2/3 EV, and gastric varices. A total of 35.6% (74/208) of the included subjects had HRV. The optimal LS cut-off value for predicting HRV was 12 kPa (AUROC-0.80). Using both LS cut-off value < 12 kPa and a platelet cut-off value > 150 × 109 cells/L as criteria to exclude HRV, 52/208 (25%) subjects were selected, 88.5% (46/52) were without EV, 9.6% (5/52) had grade 1 EV, and 1.9% (1/52) had HRV. Thus 98% of the subjects were correctly classified as having or not having HRV and 25% of the surveillance endoscopies could have been avoided. Using SS < 13.2 kPa and a platelet cut-off value > 150 × 109 cells/L as additional criteria for the patients that were outside the initial ones, 32.7% of the surveillance endoscopies could have been avoided.
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- 2021
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31. Results of peginterferon alpha-2a treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B in the Western part of Romania
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Roxana Șirli, Ioan Sporea, Milana Szilaski, Manuela Curescu, Mirela Dănilă, and Alina Popescu
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Chronic hepatitis B ,PegInterferon alpha 2a ,Sustained Viral Response (SVR) ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Objective: Currently there are two major types of antiviral therapy in HBV chronic liver disease: PegInterferon alpha-2a and nucleoside/ nucleotide agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response to PegInterferon alfa-2a treatment, in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Material and Methods: We performed a retrospective study on a group of 277 patients with chronic hepatitis B. The indication for treatment was made according to national and international guidelines. Only patients treated for 48 weeks with PegInterferon alpha-2a and in whom a viral load at least 6 months after the end of treatment was available, were included in our study. We defined as complete sustained viral response (complete SVR) an undetectable viral load at least 6 months after the end of treatment and as a partial sustained viral response (partial SVR) a viral load less than 2000 IU/mL (10000 copies/ml) at 6 months or more after the end of treatment. Results: Of the 277 patients, 206 (74.4%) were HBeAg negative and the remaining 71 (25.6%) HBeAg positive. 17.4% (36/206) of HBeAg negative patients treated had SVR, while 11.3% (8/71) of the HBeAg positive patients had SVR (p=0.2612). Among HBeAg negative patients, 2.9% (6/206) had complete SVR and 14.5% (30/206) had partial SVR. In patients with positive HBeAg, complete SVR occurred in 1.4% (1/71) cases and partial SVR in 9.9% (7/71). Conclusion: Our study showed a low rate of SVR in patients with HBV chronic liver disease following PegInterferon treatment, with no significant differences between those with HBeAg + or HBeAg-.
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- 2016
32. Performance of a Noninvasive Time-Harmonic Elastography Technique for Liver Fibrosis Evaluation Using Vibration Controlled Transient Elastography as Reference Method
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Tudor Voicu Moga, Ioan Sporea, Raluca Lupușoru, Alina Popescu, Alexandru Popa, Simona Bota, Roxana Șirli, Mirela Danilă, Anton Schlesinger, and Heiko Tzschätzsch
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performance ,time-harmonic elastography ,liver fibrosis ,vibration controlled transient elastography ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnosis performance of time-harmonic elastography (THE) technique in real life in assessing liver fibrosis, considering vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) as a reference method. Material and Method: We prospectively evaluated outpatients from the gastroenterology department. Liver stiffness (LS) was measured by the THE system by dedicated operators, and by VCTE by experienced operators. The diagnostic accuracy of THE in staging liver fibrosis was assessed. We also performed an intra- and interobserver reproducibility sub-analysis on a sub-group of 27 subjects, where liver stiffness measurements (LSM) were performed by a novice, an elastography expert, and an ultrasound expert. Results: Of the 165 patients, using VCTE cut-off values, 49.6% were F0-F1, 15.7% were F2, 6.6% were F3, and 28.1% were F4. A direct, significant and strong correlation (r = 0.82) was observed between LSM assessed by VCTE and THE, p < 0.0001. The cut-off for ruling out liver cirrhosis (LC) by THE on our study group was 1.83 m/s (10 kPa)-AUROC = 0.90 [95% CI (0.82–0.93)], p < 0.0001, Se = 65.1%, Sp = 96.7%, PPV = 90.3%, NPV = 85.7%. The overall agreement between examiners was excellent: 0.94 (95% CI: 0.89–0.97); still, the ICCs were higher for the more experienced elastography examiner: 0.92 (95% CI: 0.82–0.96) vs. 0.94 (95% CI: 0.87–0.97) vs. 0.97 (95% CI: 0.95–0.99). Conclusions: THE is a feasible and reproducible elastography technique that can accurately rule in and rule out advanced liver disease.
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- 2020
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33. Thyroid Multimodal Ultrasound Evaluation—Impact on Presurgical Diagnosis of Intermediate Cytology Cases
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Andreea Borlea, Dana Stoian, Laura Cotoi, Ioan Sporea, Fulger Lazar, and Ioana Mozos
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Bethesda III cytology ,cancer risk ,volumetric Doppler ,strain elastography ,multimodal ultrasound ,Technology ,Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) ,TA1-2040 ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 ,Physics ,QC1-999 ,Chemistry ,QD1-999 - Abstract
Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is recommended as the final evaluation in diagnosing thyroid nodules. Intermediate cytology is observed in about 15%–25% of the FNA results and has divergent recommendations: follow-up or surgery, either hemi- or total thyroidectomy. The present study aimed to assess the benefit of multimodal ultrasound (US) evaluation in clarifying the attitude in cases with intermediate cytology on FNA. Sixty-four successive cases with Bethesda III or IV cytology results were evaluated using two-dimensional B-mode US (2B), qualitative strain elastography, as well as planar and volumetric (3D) color Doppler using both a linear multifrequency probe and a linear volumetric probe (Hitachi Preirus Machine, Hitachi Inc. Japan). The analyzed nodules were all categorized as low, intermediate, or high risk, based on the following US criteria: taller-than-wide shape, marked hypoechogenicity, irregular borders, inhomogeneity, microcalcifications, or the presence of suspicious adenopathy. Elastographic criteria included stiff lesions, while volumetric Doppler criteria included moderate and marked perinodular vascularization, as suspicious for malignancy. The gold standard for the analysis was the result of the pathology report after thyroidectomy. Our results showed that the prevalence of cancer was 25% (16 cases). In five cases, borderline follicular neoplasia was identified, group which requires watchful waiting. These lesions were also considered as malignant in the final analysis, with a total number of 21 neoplasm cases. Sixteen of the 21 malignant nodules presented with high stiffness, while 15/21 had increased perinodular vascularization. Eight of the 21 cases displayed both important stiffness and perinodular vascularization. Cancer prevalence increased both with severity of stiffness (9.0%–15.0%–66.6%–80.0%) and intensity of vascularization in the adjacent perinodular parenchyma (18.2%–27.7%–35.29%–50.0%). Combining the use of grayscale US, elastography, and 3D Doppler in the evaluation of intermediate cytology cases showed a sensitivity of 85.7%, a specificity of 88.3%, and an accuracy of 90.3% in detecting thyroid cancer cases. We can conclude that the identification of highly suspicious US characteristics observed in 2B, qualitative elastography, and volumetric Doppler increases the risk of malignancy.
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- 2020
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34. Thyroid Pathology in End-Stage Renal Disease Patients on Hemodialysis
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Laura Cotoi, Florin Borcan, Ioan Sporea, Daniela Amzar, Oana Schiller, Adalbert Schiller, Cristina A. Dehelean, Gheorghe Nicusor Pop, Andreea Borlea, and Dana Stoian
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nodular goiter ,hemodialysis ,thyroid disease ,end-stage renal disease ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Objectives: Chronic kidney disease is a rising cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries, including end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The prevalence of thyroid comorbidities in persons with chronic kidney disease is documented higher than in normal population. The study aims to investigate the prevalence of morphological and functional thyroid disorders in patients with chronic kidney disease, with renal replacement therapy (hemodialysis). Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 123 consecutive patients with chronic kidney disease stage 5, on hemodialysis during a period of one month (May 2019–June 2020). All patients were enrolled for maintenance hemodialysis in B Braun Hemodialysis Center Timisoara and were examined on conventional 2B ultrasound. Thyroid blood tests were done, including serum free thyroxin (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) at the time of starting hemodialysis. Results: We evaluated 123 patients (male to female ratio 70/53) mean age 62.2 ± 11.01, mostly above 65 years old, enrolled in the end-stage renal disease program, on renal replacement therapy. From the cohort, 76/123 presented thyroid disease, including autoimmune hypothyroidism, nodular goiter or thyroid cancer. Among them, 63 patients presented nodular goiter, including 3 thyroid cancers, confirmed by surgery and histopathological result, 22 patients had thyroid autoimmune disease. The serum thyroid-stimulating hormone levels found in the cohort was 3.36 ± 2.313 mUI/mL, which was in the normal laboratory reference range. The thyroid volume was 13 ± 7.18 mL. A single patient in the cohort presented Graves Basedow disease, under treatment and three patients present subclinical hyperthyroidism. We have found that thyroid disease risk is increased by 3.4-fold for the female gender and also the increase of body mass index (BMI) with one unit raises the risk of developing thyroid disease with 1.083 times (p = 0.018). Conclusion: To conclude, this study aimed to quantify the prevalence of thyroid disease in end-stage kidney disease population, especially nodular goiter, important for differential diagnosis in cases with secondary hyperparathyroidism. Thyroid autoimmune disease can be prevalent among these patients, as symptoms can overlap those of chronic disease and decrease the quality of life. We have found that thyroid disease has a high prevalence among patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis. Thyroid goiter and nodules in ESRD patients were more prevalent than in the general population. Clinical surveillance and routine screening for thyroid disorders can improve the quality of life in these patients.
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- 2020
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35. TI-RADS Diagnostic Performance: Which Algorithm is Superior and How Elastography and 4D Vascularity Improve the Malignancy Risk Assessment
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Andreea Borlea, Florin Borcan, Ioan Sporea, Cristina Adriana Dehelean, Romeo Negrea, Laura Cotoi, and Dana Stoian
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elastography ,ti-rads ,4d color doppler ,vascularity ,malignancy risk ,thyroid nodule ,stratification ,Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
Given the increased prevalence of thyroid nodules in the general population (~50%), the real challenge resides in correctly recognizing the suspicious ones. This study proposes to compare four important Thyroid Imaging and Reporting Data Systems (TI-RADS) and evaluate the contribution of elastography and 4D Color Doppler assessment of vascularity in estimating the risk of malignancy. In the study, 133 nodules with histopathological examination were included. Of these, 35 (26.31%) proved to be malignant. All nodules were classified using the four selected systems and our proposed improved score. The American College of Radiology (ACR) and EU TI-RADS had good sensitivity (94.28%, 97.14%) and NPV (93.33%, 95.83%), but fairly poor specificity (31.81%, 23.46%) and PPV (35.48%, 31.19%), with an accuracy of 42.8% and 45.8%, respectively. Horvath TI-RADS had better accuracy of 66.9% and somewhat improved specificity (62.24%), but poorer sensitivity (80%). Russ’ French TI-RADS includes elastography in the risk assessment strategy. This classification proved superior in all aspects (Se: 91.42%, Sp:82.65%, NPV:96.42%, PPV:65.30%, and Acc of 84.96%). The mean strain ratio (SR) value for malignant lesions was 5.56, while the mean SR value for benign ones was significantly lower, 2.54 (p < 0.05). It also correlated well with the response variable: histopathological result (p < 0.001). Although, adding 4D vascularity to the French score generated a similar calculated accuracy and from a statistical point of view, the parameter itself proved beneficial for predicting the malignancy risk (p < 0.001) and may add important knowledge in uncertain situations. Advanced ultrasound techniques definitely improved the risk estimation and should be used more extensively.
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- 2020
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36. How to perform Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS)
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Christoph F. Dietrich, Michalakis Averkiou, Michael Bachmann Nielsen, Richard G. Barr, Peter N. Burns, Fabrizio Calliada, Vito Cantisani, Byung Choi, Maria C. Chammas, Dirk-André Clevert, Michel Claudon, Jean-Michel Correas, Xin-Wu Cui, David Cosgrove, Mirko D'Onofrio, Yi Dong, JohnR. Eisenbrey, Teresa Fontanilla, Odd Helge Gilja, Andre Ignee, Christian Jenssen, Yuko Kono, Masatoshi Kudo, Nathalie Lassau, Andrej Lyshchik, Maria Franca Meloni, Fuminori Moriyasu, Christian Nolsøe, Fabio Piscaglia, Maija Radzina, Adrian Saftoiu, Paul S. Sidhu, Ioan Sporea, Dagmar Schreiber-Dietrich, Claude B. Sirlin, Maria Stanczak, Hans-Peter Weskott, Stephanie R. Wilson, Juergen Karl Willmann, Tae Kyoung Kim, Hyun-Jung Jang, Alexandar Vezeridis, and Sue Westerway
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guidelines ,teaching ,ultrasonography ,cancer ,Medicine ,Medical physics. Medical radiology. Nuclear medicine ,R895-920 - Abstract
“How to perform contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)” provides general advice on the use of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) for clinical decision-making and reviews technical parameters for optimal CEUS performance. CEUS techniques vary between centers, therefore, experts from EFSUMB, WFUMB and from the CEUS LI-RADS working group created a discussion forum to standardize the CEUS examination technique according to published evidence and best personal experience. The goal is to standardise the use and administration of UCAs to facilitate correct diagnoses and ultimately to improve the management and outcomes of patients.
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- 2018
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37. Bidirectional Relationship between Gastric Emptying and Plasma Glucose Control in Normoglycemic Individuals and Diabetic Patients
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Bogdan Mircea Mihai, Cătălina Mihai, Cristina Cijevschi-Prelipcean, Elena-Daniela Grigorescu, Mihaela Dranga, Vasile Drug, Ioan Sporea, and Cristina Mihaela Lăcătușu
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Diseases of the endocrine glands. Clinical endocrinology ,RC648-665 - Abstract
Gastric emptying and glycemic control pathways are closely interrelated processes. Gastric chyme is transferred into the duodenum with velocities depending on its solid or liquid state, as well as on its caloric and nutritional composition. Once nutrients enter the intestine, the secretion of incretins (hormonal products of intestinal cells) is stimulated. Among incretins, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) has multiple glycemic-regulatory effects that include delayed gastric emptying, thus triggering a feedback loop lowering postprandial serum glucose levels. Glycemic values also influence gastric emptying; hyperglycemia slows it down, and hypoglycemia accelerates it, both limiting glycemic fluctuations. Disordered gastric emptying in diabetes mellitus is understood today as a complex pathophysiological condition, with both irreversible and reversible components and high intra- and interindividual variability of time span and clinical features. While limited delays may be useful for reducing postprandial hyperglycemias, severely hindered gastric emptying may be associated with higher glycemic variability and worsened long-term glycemic control. Therapeutic approaches for both gastric emptying and glycemic control include dietary modifications of meal structure or content and drugs acting as GLP-1 receptor agonists. In the foreseeable future, we will probably witness a wider range of dietary interventions and more incretin-based medications used for restoring both gastric emptying and glycemic levels to nearly physiological levels.
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- 2018
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38. The Future of Liver Elastography in the Field of Hepatology
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Ioan Sporea
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Medicine ,Medical physics. Medical radiology. Nuclear medicine ,R895-920 - Abstract
Ultrasound-based liver elastography is being increasingly used in clinical practice to help clinicians assess prognosis and recommend the most appropriate treatment in hepatology patients. In coming years liver elastography will probably be increasingly used as part of "point of care" ultrasonography.
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- 2017
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39. 2D-Shear Wave Elastography in the Evaluation of Parathyroid Lesions in Patients with Hyperparathyroidism
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Ioana Golu, Ioan Sporea, Lavinia Moleriu, Anca Tudor, Marioara Cornianu, Adrian Vlad, Romulus Timar, Melania Balas, Daniela Amzar, and Mihaela Vlad
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Diseases of the endocrine glands. Clinical endocrinology ,RC648-665 - Abstract
Background and Aims. 2D-shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) is a relatively new elastographic technique. The aim of the present study is to determine the values of the elasticity indexes (EI) measured by 2D-SWE in parathyroid benign lesions (adenomas or hyperplasia) and to establish if this investigation is helpful for the preoperative identification of the parathyroid adenoma. Material and Methods. The study groups were represented by 22 patients with primary or tertiary hyperparathyroidism, diagnosed by specific tests, and 43 healthy controls, in whom the thyroid parenchyma was evaluated, in order to compare the EI of the thyroid tissue with those of the parathyroid lesions. Results. The mean EI measured by 2D-SWE in the parathyroid lesions was 10.2 ± 4.9 kPa, significantly lower than that of the normal thyroid parenchyma (19.5 ± 7.6 kPa; p=0.007), indicating soft tissue. For a cutoff value of 12.5 kPa, the EI assessed by 2D-SWE had a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 86% (AUC = 0.949; p
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- 2017
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40. Does the size of the needle influence the number of portal tracts obtained through percutaneous liver biopsy?
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Ioan Sporea, Diana Gherhardt, Alina Popescu, Roxana Şirli, Maria Cornianu, Diana Herman, and Simona Bota
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Liver biopsy ,Menghini needle ,Needle size ,Portal tracts ,Specialties of internal medicine ,RC581-951 - Abstract
Aim. Liver biopsy (LB) is often essential for the diagnosis and staging of chronic viral hepatitis. The aim of our paper was to establish if the size of the biopsy needle influences the number of portal tracts obtained through LB.Material and methods. We conducted a retrospective study on 596 echoassisted percutaneous LBs performed in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Timisoara during a 4 years period. We included only those biopsy results that had mentioned both the type of needle and the number of portal tracts. All LBs were echoassisted and performed with Menghini modified needles 1.4 and 1.6 mm in diameter (technique with two passages into the liver). The liver fragments were analyzed by a senior pathologist and Knodell score was used to describe necroinflammatory activity as well as fibrosis. We compared the number of portal tracts obtained with 1.4 vs. 1.6 Menghini needles.Results. Type 1.4 mm Menghini needles were used for 80 LBs, while 1.6 mm type were used in 516 LBs. Liver fragments obtained with 1.6 mm Menghini needles had a significantly higher mean number of portal tracts as compared to those obtained with 1.4 needles (24.5 ± 10.6 vs. 20.8 ± 8.6, p = 0.003).Conclusion. The 1.6 mm Menghini needles provide better liver biopsy specimens, with higher number of portal tracts, as compared to 1.4 mm Menghini needles.
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- 2012
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41. Can ARFI elastography predict the presence of significant esophageal varices in newly diagnosed cirrhotic patients?
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Simona Bota, PhD, Ioan Sporea, Roxana Şirli, Mircea Focşa, Alina Popescu, Mirela Dănilă, and Mihnea Strain
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Spleen stiffness ,Liver stiffness ,Liver cirrhosis ,Portal hypertension ,Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Elastography ,Specialties of internal medicine ,RC581-951 - Abstract
Aim. To establish an algorithm which includes the liver stiffness (LS) and/or spleen stiffness (SS) assessed by ARFI for the prediction of significant esophageal varices-EV (at least grade 2).Material and methods. Our study included 145 newly diagnosed cirrhotic patients admitted in our Department between September 2009-August 2011. 62 patients (42.7%) had significant EV. We performed 10 ARFI measurements in each patient, both in the liver and in the spleen; median values were calculated, expressed in meters/second. In 24 consecutive newly diagnosed cirrhotic patients admitted between September 2011-December 2011, we prospectively analyzed the value of the new score for predicting significant EV.Results. The LS and SS assessed by ARFI elastography, and the percentage of patients with ascites were stastically significant higher in patients with significant EV as compared with those without EV or grade 1 EV. By multiple regression analysis we obtained the following formula for predicting significant EV: prediction of significant EV (Pred EV2-3) score: -0.572 + 0.041 × LS (m/s) + 0.122 × SS (m/s) + 0.325 × ascites (1-absent, 2-present). The best Pred EV2-3 cut-off value for predicting significant EV was > 0.395 (AUROC = 0.721, accuracy = 69.6%). The accuracy in the group of patients in which the value of this score was prospectively analyzed was similar with that obtained in the first cohort of patients (70.8 vs. 69.6%). In conclusion, the proposed Pred EV2-3 score had a enough good value for predicting significant EV.
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- 2012
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42. Current Knowledge in Ultrasound-Based Liver Elastography of Pediatric Patients
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Christoph F. Dietrich, Roxana Sirli, Giovanna Ferraioli, Alina Popescu, Ioan Sporea, Corina Pienar, Christian Kunze, Heike Taut, Simone Schrading, Simona Bota, Dagmar Schreiber-Dietrich, and Dong Yi
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ultrasound elastography ,pediatric ,liver fibrosis ,stiffness ,shear wave elastography (SWE) ,Technology ,Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) ,TA1-2040 ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 ,Physics ,QC1-999 ,Chemistry ,QD1-999 - Abstract
Studies performed using transient elastography (TE), point shear wave elastography (pSWE) and two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) have shown that these techniques are all feasible and accurate in children for the evaluation of liver fibrosis due to several etiologies. However, for some specific pediatric pathologies, such as biliary atresia, the evidence is still limited. As shown in adults, inflammation is a confounding factor when assessing fibrosis severity and care should be taken when interpreting the results. Due to the scarce comparative data between serological tests and elastography techniques in children, a definite conclusion regarding which is the best cannot be drawn. Neither non-invasive elastographic techniques nor laboratory scores allow determination of the presence and the degree of inflammation, necrosis, iron or copper deposits.
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- 2018
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43. Is there still a place for liver biopsy for the evaluation of chronic liver diseases in the era of non-invasive methods?
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IOAN SPOREA
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Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Published
- 2016
44. Kidney shear wave speed values in subjects with and without renal pathology and inter-operator reproducibility of acoustic radiation force impulse elastography (ARFI)--preliminary results.
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Flaviu Bob, Simona Bota, Ioan Sporea, Roxana Sirli, Ligia Petrica, and Adalbert Schiller
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Aimto assess the inter-operator reproducibility of kidney shear wave speed, evaluated by means of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) elastography, and the factors which influence it.MethodsOur prospective pilot study included 107 subjects with or without kidney pathology in which kidney shear wave speed was evaluated by means of ARFI elastography. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess ARFI elastography reproducibility.ResultsA strong agreement was obtained between kidney shear wave speed measurements obtained by the two operators: ICC = 0.71 (right kidney) and 0.69 (left kidney). Smaller ICCs were obtained in "healthy subjects", as compared to patients with kidney diseases (0.68 vs. 0.75), in women as compared with men (0.59 vs. 0.78), in subjects younger than 50 years as compared with those aged at least 50 years (0.63 vs. 0.71), in obese as compared with normal weight and overweight subjects (0.36 vs. 0.66 and 0.78) and in case of measurements depth 6 cm as compared with those performed at a depth of 4-6 cm from the skin (0.32 and 0.60 vs. 0.81).ConclusionARFI elastography is a reproducible method for kidney shear wave speed assessment.
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- 2014
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45. PhD students: making research and publishing
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Ioan Sporea, MD, PhD
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Medicine (General) ,R5-920 - Abstract
PhD student time is very interesting in the life of researchers. Many of them are young graduates, without or with very few experience in the field of scientific research. During four years, they must become experts in a narrow field (virtually, the subject of their PhD thesis), but at the same time they have to be trained for research and for publishing. Is it possible? It is mandatory! PhD students start with a one year training in the basic field of research during which they attend different courses regarding how to search the literature, how to perform research, how to perform statistical analysis, how to prepare a paper, where and how to publish and so on. Following this training year, together with their mentor (the coordinator of the PhD thesis), the PhD student starts working on the thesis. And this means reading as much as possible significant published data regarding his/her subject, proper research (basic, experimental, or clinical), and finally preparing papers for publication (in the beginning as abstracts for different meetings and later as original articles in dedicated journals).Participation of PhD students to different meetings is important to improve the quality of their research as an exercise for oral presentations. On the other hand, oral presentation is useful because the paper is open for discussion and corrections can be made during and after the oral presentation. During last ten years, there were organized conferences for PhD students and young doctors, particularly in Târgu Mureș and Timișoara. It was a good opportunity to show results, to discuss and to cooperate.This is why in December 2016, the Doctoral School of Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy decided to organize a scientific competition between PhD students, in an interesting scientific session. The top 10 PhD students (according to the cumulative Impact Factor of their first author publications) were invited to present their scientific research in a 12 minutes oral presentation followed by discussions, in an open scientific session. Also, the other PhD students were invited to send abstracts for a poster session. The best papers from both oral and poster sessions were rewarded with consistent prizes. This supplement of Research and Clinical Medicine journal is the result of the PhD poster scientific session. It is in the intention of the Doctoral School to follow very closely the scientific results (published papers) of our PhD students, and the best publications will be rewarded. The abstracts published in this supplement can be read and discussed by the other PhD students, by the Academic society and maybe followed by interesting suggestions for the authors. It is our intention to continue to organize such scientific meeting and to transform them from events to a tradition.
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- 2016
46. 50th years anniversary of EFSUMB: Initial roots, maturation, and new shoots
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Christian Jenssen, Caroline Ewertsen, Fabio Piscaglia, Christoph F. Dietrich, Odd Helge Gilja, Paul S. Sidhu, Adrian Saftoiu, Alina Popescu, Ioan Sporea, Vito Cantisani, and Stefan Meng
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Anniversaries and Special Events ,Humans ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,Plant Roots - Published
- 2022
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47. Point Shear Wave Elastography by ElastPQ for Fibrosis Screening in Patients with NAFLD: A Prospective, Multicenter Comparison to Vibration-Controlled Elastography
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David JM Bauer, Vladimir Matic, Ruxandra Mare, Laura Maiocchi, David Chromy, Theresa Müllner-Bucsics, Mattias Mandorfer, Sandra Mustapic, Ioan Sporea, Giovanna Ferraioli, Ivica Grgurevic, and Thomas Reiberger
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Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging - Abstract
Since nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the leading cause of liver disease in the Western world, clinicians need reliable noninvasive tools for the identification of NAFLD-associated fibrosis. Limited evidence on the performance of the novel shear wave elastography technique Elast-PQ (EPQ) in NAFLD is available.In this prospective, European multinational study we assessed the diagnostic accuracy of EPQ using vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) as a reference standard.Among 353 NAFLD patients, 332 (94.1%) fulfilled reliability criteria of VCTE and EPQ (defined by IQR/median ≤0.3; 41.3% female, mean age: 59 [IQR: 16.5], mean BMI: 29.0 (7.1)). 4/353 (1.1%) and 17/353 (4.8%) had unreliable VCTE and EPQ measurements, respectively. VCTE-based NAFLD fibrosis stages were F0/F1: 222(66.9%), F2: 41 (12.3%), F3: 30 (9.1%), F4: 39 (11.7%). We found a strong correlation (Pearson R=0.87; p0.0001) and concordance (Lin's concordance correlation coefficient =0.792) of EPQ with VCTE. EPQ was able to identify NAFLD-fibrosis risk with the following EPQ cutoffs: ≥6.5 kPa for significant fibrosis (≥F2) (≥1.47 m/s; sensitivity: 78%; specificity: 95%; AUROC: 0.94), ≥6.9 kPa for advanced fibrosis (≥F3) (≥1.52 m/s; sens.: 88%, spec.: 89%; AUROC: 0.949), and ≥10.4 kPa for cirrhosis (F4) (≥1.86 m/s; sens.: 87%; spec.: 94%; AUROC: 0.949).The point shear wave elastography technique EPQ shows excellent correlation to and concordance with VCTE. EPQ can reliably exclude NAFLD fibrosis6.0 kPa (1.41 m/s) and indicate a high risk of advanced fibrosis ≥10.4 kPa (≥1.86 m/s).Die nichtalkoholische Fettleber (NAFLD) ist mittlerweile die häufigste Lebererkrankung in der westlichen Welt. Daher besteht ein Bedarf an nichtinvasiven Methoden zur Einschätzung des Fibrose-Risikos bei NAFLD. Über die Aussagekraft der neue Scherwellen-Technologie Elast-PQ (EPQ) liegen nur wenige Daten vor.Diese prospektive, europäische multinationale Studie untersuchte die diagnostische Genauigkeit von EPQ bei NAFLD-PatientInnen im Vergleich zur Vibrations-kontrollierten transienten Elastografie (VCTE).Von 353 NAFLD-Patient*innen erfüllten 332 (94,1%) die Zuverlässigkeitskriterien für VCTE und EPQ (definiert als IQR/median ≤0,3). Die Studienpopulation war zu 41,3% weiblich, mit einem medianen Alter von 59 [IQR: 16,5] Jahren und einem medianen BMI von 29 [IQR: 7] kg/mDie Punkt-Scherwellen-Elastografie-Methode EPQ zeigt eine exzellente Korrektion und Konkordanz mit der VCTE. Bei NAFLD-Patient*innen wird durch EPQ6,0 kPa (1,41 m/s) eine signifikante Fibrose ausgeschlossen und durch EPQ ≥10,4 kPa (≥1,86 m/s) ein hohes Risiko für eine fortgeschrittene Fibrose angezeigt.
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- 2022
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48. Etrolizumab versus infliximab for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (GARDENIA): a randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, phase 3 study
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Silvio Danese, Jean-Frederic Colombel, Milan Lukas, Javier P Gisbert, Geert D'Haens, Bu'hussain Hayee, Remo Panaccione, Hyun-Soo Kim, Walter Reinisch, Helen Tyrrell, Young S Oh, Swati Tole, Akiko Chai, Kirsten Chamberlain-James, Meina Tao Tang, Stefan Schreiber, Nazimuddin Aboo, Tariq Ahmad, Xavier Aldeguer Mante, Matthieu Allez, Sven Almer, Romain Altwegg, Montserrat Andreu Garcia, Ramesh Arasaradnam, Sandro Ardizzone, Alessandro Armuzzi, Ian Arnott, Guy Aumais, Irit Avni-Biron, Peter Barrow, Ian Beales, Fernando Bermejo San Jose, Abraham Bezuidenhout, Livia Biancone, Michael Blaeker, Stuart Bloom, Bernd Bokemeyer, Fabrizio Bossa, Peter Bossuyt, Guillaume Bouguen, Yoram Bouhnik, Gerd Bouma, Raymond Bourdages, Arnaud Bourreille, Christian Boustiere, Tomas Brabec, Stephan Brand, Carsten Buening, Anthony Buisson, Guillaume Cadiot, Xavier Calvet Calvo, Franck Carbonnel, Daniel Carpio, Jae Hee Cheon, Naoki Chiba, Camelia Chioncel, Nicoleta-Claudia Cimpoeru, Martin Clodi, Gino Roberto Corazza, Rocco Cosintino, Jose Cotter, Thomas Creed, Fraser Cummings, Gian Luigi de' Angelis, Marc De Maeyer, Milind Desai, Etienne Desilets, Pierre Desreumaux, Olivier Dewit, Johanna Dinter, Ecaterina Daniela Dobru, Tomas Douda, Dan Lucian Dumitrascu, Matthias Ebert, Ana Echarri Piudo, Magdy Elkhashab, Chang Soo Eun, Brian Feagan, Roland Fejes, Catarina Fidalgo, Sigal Fishman, Bernard Flourié, Sharyle Fowler, Walter Fries, Csaba Fulop, Mathurin Fumery, Gyula G Kiss, Sonja Gassner, Daniel Gaya, Bastianello Germanà, Liliana Simona Gheorghe, Cyrielle Gilletta de Saint Joseph, Paolo Gionchetti, Adrian-Eugen Goldis, Raquel Gonçalves, Jean-Charles Grimaud, Tibor Gyökeres, Herve Hagege, Andrei Haidar, Heinz Hartmann, Peter Hasselblatt, Buhussain Hayee, Xavier Hebuterne, Per Hellström, Pieter Hindryckx, Helena Hlavova, Frank Hoentjen, Stefanie Howaldt, Ludek Hrdlicka, Kyu Chan Huh, Maria Isabel Iborra Colomino, Florentina Ionita-Radu, Peter Irving, Jørgen Jahnsen, ByungIk Jang, Jeroen Jansen, Seong Woo Jeon, Rodrigo Jover Martinez, Pascal Juillerat, Per Karlén, Arthur Kaser, Radan Keil, Deepak Kejariwal, Dan Keret, Reena Khanna, Dongwoo Kim, Duk Hwan Kim, Hyo-Jong Kim, Joo Sung Kim, Kueongok Kim, Kyung-Jo Kim, Sung Kook Kim, Young-Ho Kim, Jochen Klaus, Anna Kohn, Vladimir Kojecky, Ja Seol Koo, Robert Kozak, Milan Kremer, Tunde Kristof, Frederik Kruger, David Laharie, Adi Lahat-zok, Evgeny Landa, Jonghun Lee, Kang-Moon Lee, Kook Lae Lee, YooJin Lee, Frank Lenze, Wee Chian Lim, Jimmy Limdi, James Lindsay, Pilar Lopez Serrano, Edouard Louis, Stefan Lueth, Giovanni Maconi, Fazia Mana, Steven Mann, John Mansfield, Santino Marchi, Marco Marino, John Marshall, Maria Dolores Martin Arranz, Radu-Bogdan Mateescu, John McLaughlin, Simon McLaughlin, Ehud Melzer, Jessica Mertens, Paul Mitrut, Tamas Molnar, Vinciane Muls, Pushpakaran Munuswamy, Charles Murray, Timna Naftali, Visvakuren Naidoo, Yusuf Nanabhay, Lucian Negreanu, Augustin Nguyen, Thomas Ochsenkuehn, Ambrogio Orlando, Julian Panes Diaz, Maya Paritsky, Dong Il Park, Jihye Park, Luca Pastorelli, Markus Peck-Radosavljevic, Farhad Peerani, Javier Perez Gisbert, Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet, Laurence Picon, Marieke Pierik, Terry Ponich, Francisco Portela, Maartens Jeroen Prins, Istvan Racz, Khan Fareed Rahman, Jean-Marie Reimund, Max Reinshagen, Xavier Roblin, Rodolfo Rocca, Francesca Rogai, Gerhard Rogler, Agnes Salamon, Ennaliza Salazar, Zoltan Sallo, Sunil Samuel, Miquel de los Santos Sans Cuffi, Edoardo Vincenzo Savarino, Vincenzo Savarino, Guillaume Savoye, Andrada Seicean, Christian Selinger, David Martins Serra, Hang Hock Shim, SungJae Shin, Britta Siegmund, Jesse Siffledeen, Wayne Simmonds, Jan Smid, Jose Sollano, Geun Am Song, Alexander Speight, Ioan Sporea, Dirk Staessen, George Stancu, Alan Steel, David Stepek, Victor Stoica, Andreas Sturm, Gyorgy Szekely, Teck Kiang Tan, Carlos Taxonera Samso, John Thomson, Michal Tichy, Gabor Tamas Toth, Zsolt Tulassay, Marcello Vangeli, Marta Varga, Ana Vieira, Stephanie Viennot, Erica Villa, Petr Vitek, Harald Vogelsang, Petr Vyhnalek, Peter Wahab, Jens Walldorf, Byong Duk Ye, Christopher Ziady, Danese S., Colombel J.-F., Lukas M., Gisbert J.P., D'Haens G., Hayee B., Panaccione R., Kim H.-S., Reinisch W., Tyrrell H., Oh Y.S., Tole S., Chai A., Chamberlain-James K., Tang M.T., Schreiber S., Aboo N., Ahmad T., Aldeguer Mante X., Allez M., Almer S., Altwegg R., Andreu Garcia M., Arasaradnam R., Ardizzone S., Armuzzi A., Arnott I., Aumais G., Avni-Biron I., Barrow P., Beales I., Bermejo San Jose F., Bezuidenhout A., Biancone L., Blaeker M., Bloom S., Bokemeyer B., Bossa F., Bossuyt P., Bouguen G., Bouhnik Y., Bouma G., Bourdages R., Bourreille A., Boustiere C., Brabec T., Brand S., Buening C., Buisson A., Cadiot G., Calvet Calvo X., Carbonnel F., Carpio D., Cheon J.H., Chiba N., Chioncel C., Cimpoeru N.-C., Clodi M., Corazza G.R., Cosintino R., Cotter J., Creed T., Cummings F., de' Angelis G.L., De Maeyer M., Desai M., Desilets E., Desreumaux P., Dewit O., Dinter J., Dobru E.D., Douda T., Dumitrascu D.L., Ebert M., Echarri Piudo A., Elkhashab M., Eun C.S., Feagan B., Fejes R., Fidalgo C., Fishman S., Flourie B., Fowler S., Fries W., Fulop C., Fumery M., G Kiss G., Gassner S., Gaya D., Germana B., Gheorghe L.S., Gilletta de Saint Joseph C., Gionchetti P., Goldis A.-E., Goncalves R., Grimaud J.-C., Gyokeres T., Hagege H., Haidar A., Hartmann H., Hasselblatt P., Hebuterne X., Hellstrom P., Hindryckx P., Hlavova H., Hoentjen F., Howaldt S., Hrdlicka L., Huh K.C., Iborra Colomino M.I., Ionita-Radu F., Irving P., Jahnsen J., Jang B., Jansen J., Jeon S.W., Jover Martinez R., Juillerat P., Karlen P., Kaser A., Keil R., Kejariwal D., Keret D., Khanna R., Kim D., Kim D.H., Kim H.-J., Kim J.S., Kim K., Kim K.-J., Kim S.K., Kim Y.-H., Klaus J., Kohn A., Kojecky V., Koo J.S., Kozak R., Kremer M., Kristof T., Kruger F., Laharie D., Lahat-zok A., Landa E., Lee J., Lee K.-M., Lee K.L., Lee Y., Lenze F., Lim W.C., Limdi J., Lindsay J., Lopez Serrano P., Louis E., Lueth S., Maconi G., Mana F., Mann S., Mansfield J., Marchi S., Marino M., Marshall J., Martin Arranz M.D., Mateescu R.-B., McLaughlin J., McLaughlin S., Melzer E., Mertens J., Mitrut P., Molnar T., Muls V., Munuswamy P., Murray C., Naftali T., Naidoo V., Nanabhay Y., Negreanu L., Nguyen A., Ochsenkuehn T., Orlando A., Panes Diaz J., Paritsky M., Park D.I., Park J., Pastorelli L., Peck-Radosavljevic M., Peerani F., Perez Gisbert J., Peyrin-Biroulet L., Picon L., Pierik M., Ponich T., Portela F., Prins M.J., Racz I., Rahman K.F., Reimund J.-M., Reinshagen M., Roblin X., Rocca R., Rogai F., Rogler G., Salamon A., Salazar E., Sallo Z., Samuel S., Sans Cuffi M.D.L.S., Savarino E.V., Savarino V., Savoye G., Seicean A., Selinger C., Serra D.M., Shim H.H., Shin S., Siegmund B., Siffledeen J., Simmonds W., Smid J., Sollano J., Song G.A., Speight A., Sporea I., Staessen D., Stancu G., Steel A., Stepek D., Stoica V., Sturm A., Szekely G., Tan T.K., Taxonera Samso C., Thomson J., Tichy M., Toth G.T., Tulassay Z., Vangeli M., Varga M., Vieira A., Viennot S., Villa E., Vitek P., Vogelsang H., Vyhnalek P., Wahab P., Walldorf J., Ye B.D., and Ziady C.
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Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Population ,Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ,Injections, Subcutaneou ,Placebo ,Severity of Illness Index ,Gastroenterology ,Young Adult ,Double-Blind Method ,Internal medicine ,Gastrointestinal Agent ,Clinical endpoint ,medicine ,education ,Adverse effect ,Aged ,Aged, 80 and over ,education.field_of_study ,Hepatology ,business.industry ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Ulcerative colitis ,Infliximab ,Treatment Outcome ,Etrolizumab ,Concomitant ,Colitis, Ulcerative ,Female ,business ,Inflammatory diseases Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences [Radboudumc 5] ,Human ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Item does not contain fulltext BACKGROUND: Etrolizumab is a gut-targeted anti-β7 integrin monoclonal antibody. In a previous phase 2 induction study, etrolizumab significantly improved clinical remission versus placebo in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. We aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of etrolizumab with infliximab in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. METHODS: We conducted a randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group, phase 3 study (GARDENIA) across 114 treatment centres worldwide. We included adults (age 18-80 years) with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (Mayo Clinic total score [MCS] of 6-12 with an endoscopic subscore of ≥2, a rectal bleeding subscore of ≥1, and a stool frequency subscore of ≥1) who were naive to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors. Patients were required to have had an established diagnosis of ulcerative colitis for at least 3 months, corroborated by both clinical and endoscopic evidence, and evidence of disease extending at least 20 cm from the anal verge. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive subcutaneous etrolizumab 105 mg once every 4 weeks or intravenous infliximab 5 mg/kg at 0, 2, and 6 weeks and every 8 weeks thereafter for 52 weeks. Randomisation was stratified by baseline concomitant treatment with corticosteroids, concomitant treatment with immunosuppressants, and baseline disease activity. All participants and study site personnel were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who had both clinical response at week 10 (MCS ≥3-point decrease and ≥30% reduction from baseline, plus ≥1-point decrease in rectal bleeding subscore or absolute rectal bleeding score of 0 or 1) and clinical remission at week 54 (MCS ≤2, with individual subscores ≤1); efficacy was analysed using a modified intention-to-treat population (all randomised patients who received at least one dose of study drug). GARDENIA was designed to show superiority of etrolizumab over infliximab for the primary endpoint. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02136069, and is now closed to recruitment. FINDINGS: Between Dec 24, 2014, and June 23, 2020, 730 patients were screened for eligibility and 397 were enrolled and randomly assigned to etrolizumab (n=199) or infliximab (n=198). 95 (48%) patients in the etrolizumab group and 103 (52%) in the infliximab group completed the study through week 54. At week 54, 37 (18·6%) of 199 patients in the etrolizumab group and 39 (19·7%) of 198 in the infliximab group met the primary endpoint (adjusted treatment difference -0·9% [95% CI -8·7 to 6·8]; p=0·81). The number of patients reporting one or more adverse events was similar between treatment groups (154 [77%] of 199 in the etrolizumab group and 151 [76%] of 198 in the infliximab group); the most common adverse event in both groups was ulcerative colitis (55 [28%] patients in the etrolizumab group and 43 [22%] in the infliximab group). More patients in the etrolizumab group reported serious adverse events (including serious infections) than did those in the infliximab group (32 [16%] vs 20 [10%]); the most common serious adverse event was ulcerative colitis (12 [6%] and 11 [6%]). There was one death during follow-up, in the infliximab group due to a pulmonary embolism, which was not considered to be related to study treatment. INTERPRETATION: To our knowledge, this trial is the first phase 3 maintenance study in moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis to use infliximab as an active comparator. Although the study did not show statistical superiority for the primary endpoint, etrolizumab performed similarly to infliximab from a clinical viewpoint. FUNDING: F Hoffmann-La Roche.
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- 2022
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49. Rapid Decline of Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate and its Effect on Mortality Risk of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma
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Florica Gadalean, Florina Parv, Ligia Petrica, Ioan Sporea, Bogdan Timar, Cristina Gluhovschi, Flaviu Bob, Oana Milas, Anca Simulescu, Mihaela Patruica, Lazar Chisavu, Ciorcan Mircea, Adalbert Schiller, and Mirela Danila
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Infectious Diseases ,Hepatology - Abstract
Background: In patients with Hepatocarcinoma (HCC), the association between the rapid decline of kidney function and clinical outcomes is still unknown, although kidney-liver crosstalk is comprehensively studied. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the prevalence and determinants of the rapid decline of kidney function and its potential prognostic role and influence on mortality in HCC patients treated by percutaneous injection therapy (PEIT). Methods: This prospective cohort included 114 HCC, with 64.9% males and a mean age of 65.17 years. The rapid decline of kidney function was defined according to kidney disease improving global outcome (KDIGO). The cancer of the liver Italian program (CLIP) score was calculated to predict survival. Multivariable logistic regression analysis for rapid estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline was performed after evaluating individual covariates. Multivariable Cox regression models for rapid eGFR decline and mortality were analyzed. Results: During a median follow-up of 31 months, 43.85% of patients presented a rapid decline in eGFR. The baseline eGFR was significantly higher in the group with the rapid decline of kidney function: 86.08 ± 19.17 mL/min/1.73m2 vs. 75.53 ± 25.7 mL/min/1.73 m2 (P = 0.001). The CLIP score (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.70 - 3.84, P < 0.001) was independently associated with rapid eGFR decline. In Cox regression, rapid eGFR decline was independently associated with mortality (HR = 3.49, 95%CI: 1.28 - 9.56, P = 0.015). Conclusions: Nearly half of the HCC patients presented a rapid eGFR decline. The HCC severity evaluated by the CLIP score was an independent predictor of the rapid decline of kidney function. The rapid decline in eGFR was associated with a higher mortality risk in HCC patients, independent of other known risk factors.
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- 2023
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50. The role of elastography for liver fibrosis screening in alcoholic liver disease
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Camelia Gianina Foncea, Tudor Voicu Moga, Ioan Sporea, Alexandru Popa, Roxana Sirli, Felix Bende, Alina Popescu, and Renata Fofiu
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Acoustics and Ultrasonics ,Radiological and Ultrasound Technology ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging - Abstract
Non-invasive tests have been developed to determine the severity of liver disease in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). We aimed to assess the severity of liver steatosis and liver fibrosis (LF) in a cohort of patients with AUD using liver elastography and biological scores.Materials and methods: A prospective study was performed on 172 subjects, without previously known liver disease, with a positive AUDIT-C score, serum markers, and vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) with Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP).Results: From 172 subjects with positive AUDIT-C test, VCTE diagnosed advanced fibrosis (F3) in 13.9% (24/172) of the subjects and liver cirrhosis (F4) in 17.5% (30/172). Moderate and severe steatosis was found in 18.6% (32/172), respectively 52.3% (90/172). Significant correlations were found between liver stiffness and APRI (r=0.33, p=0.001), FIB-4(r=0.31, p=0.0012) and the age-platelet index (r=0.25, p=0.008). FIB-4 (p=0.01) and age-platelet index (p=0.03) were independently associated with the presence of advanced fibrosis. Age-platelet index (AUC- 0.82) performed significantly better than AST/ALT (AUC- 0.55) and APRI (AUC- 0.58) (p= 0.0001 and p= 0.0014, respectively), but no differences were found when compared to FIB-4 (AUC- 0.77) (p=0.35) for predicting advanced fibrosis.Conclusion: In conclusion, in a cohort of patients with AUD, 70.9% presented moderate and severe liver steatosis and 17.5% were newly diagnosed with liver cirrhosis.
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- 2022
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