Search

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a clinical syndrome defined by an acute deterioration of the liver function associated with extrahepatic organ failures requiring intensive care support and associated with a high short-term mortality. ACLF has emerged as a major cause of mortality in patients with cirrhosis and chronic liver disease. ACLF has a unique pathophysiology in which systemic inflammation plays a key role; this provides the basis of novel therapies, several of which are now in clinical trials. Intensive care unit (ICU) therapy parallels that applied in the general ICU population in some organ failures but has peculiar differential characteristics in others. Critical care management strategies and the option of liver transplantation (LT) should be balanced with futility considerations in those with a poor prognosis. Nowadays, LT is the only life-saving treatment that can radically improve the long-term prognosis of patients with ACLF. This narrative review will provide insights on the current understanding of ACLF with emphasis on intensive care management.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is the classical hepatobiliary manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and a lead indication for liver transplantation (LT) in the western world. In this article, we present a Consensus Statement on LT practice, developed by a dedicated Guidelines’ Taskforce of the European Society of Organ Transplantation (ESOT). The overarching goal is to provide practical guidance on commonly debated topics, including indications and timing of LT, management of bile duct stenosis in patients on the transplant waiting list, technical aspects of transplantation, immunosuppressive strategies post-transplant, timing and extension of intestinal resection and futility criteria for re-transplantation.

Background: Data regarding outcome of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in vaccinated patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) are lacking. We evaluated the outcome of COVID-19 in AIH patients who received at least one dose of Pfizer- BioNTech (BNT162b2), Moderna (mRNA-1273) or AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1-S) vaccine. Patients and methods: We performed a retrospective study on AIH patients with COVID-19. The outcomes of AIH patients who had acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) breakthrough infection after at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine were compared to unvaccinated patients with AIH. COVID-19 outcome was classified according to clinical state during the disease course as: (i) no hospitalization, (ii) hospitalization without oxygen supplementation, (iii) hospitalization with oxygen supplementation by nasal cannula or mask, (iv) intensive care unit (ICU) admission with non-invasive mechanical ventilation, (v) ICU admission with invasive mechanical ventilation or (vi) death, and data was analyzed using ordinal logistic regression. Results: We included 413 (258 unvaccinated and 155 vaccinated) patients (81%, female) with a median age of 52 (range: 17–85) years at COVID-19 diagnosis. The rates of hospitalization were (36.4% vs. 14.2%), need for any supplemental oxygen (29.5% vs. 9%) and mortality (7% vs. 0.6%) in unvaccinated and vaccinated AIH patients with COVID-19. Having received at least one dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was associated with a significantly lower risk of worse COVID-19 severity, after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities and presence of cirrhosis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.18, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.10–0.31). Overall, vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 was associated with a significantly lower risk of mortality from COVID-19 (aOR 0.20, 95% CI 0.11–0.35). Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 vaccination significantly reduced the risk of COVID-19 severity and mortality in patients with AIH.

Background & Aims: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) has been well characterised and codified through the development of diagnostic criteria. These criteria have been adapted and simplified and are widely used in clinical practice. However, there is a need to update and precisely define the criteria for both treatment response and treatment. Methods: A systematic review was performed and a modified Delphi consensus process was used to identify and redefine the response criteria in autoimmune hepatitis. Results: The consensus process initiated by the International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group proposes that the term ‘complete biochemical response’ defined as ‘normalization of serum transaminases and IgG below the upper limit of normal’ be adopted to include a time point at 6 months after initiation of treatment. An insufficient response by 6 months was a failure to meet the above definition. Non-response was defined as ‘<50% decrease of serum transaminases within 4 weeks after initiation of treatment’. Remission is defined as liver histology with a Hepatitis Activity Index <4/18. Intolerance to treatment was agreed to stand for ‘any adverse event possibly related to treatment leading to potential drug discontinuation’. Conclusions: These definitions provide a simple and reproducible framework to define treatment response and non-response, irrespective of the therapeutic intervention. A consensus on endpoints is urgently required to set a global standard for the reporting of study results and to enable inter-study comparisons. Future prospective database studies are needed to validate these endpoints. Lay summary: Consensus among international experts on response criteria and endpoints in autoimmune hepatitis is lacking. A consensus on endpoints is urgently required to set a global standard for the reporting of study results and to enable the comparison of results between clinical trials. Therefore, the International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group (IAIHG) herein presents

Background: Single session radiosurgery represents a widely accepted treatment for intracranial meningiomas. However, this approach could involve a high risk of treatment-related complications when applied to large volume lesions. In these cases and for those not suitable for surgical resection, radiosurgery in multisession setting could represents a viable option. The literature results are reassuring in terms of correlated adverse events as well as in terms of tumor control. However, no prospective long-term results are available. In this scenario, we design a prospective monocentric phase II study, in order to verify the safety of a multisession radiosurgery schedule delivering 25 Gy in 5 daily fractions. Methods: Patients diagnosed with large and/or near to critical structures, intracranial meningiomas have been treated by means of multisession radiosurgery in both exclusive and postoperative settings. The primary study aim is safety that has been being prospectively scored based on international scales, including NCI Common Toxicity criteria, version 4.03, Barrow Neurological Institute pain intensity score, Barrow Neurological Institute facial numbness score and House-Brackmann Facial Nerve Grading System for qualitative analysis. Secondary aim is treatment efficacy in terms of local control that has been being assessed on volumetric analysis. Discussion: This is the first prospective phase II trial on multisession radiosurgery for large and/or near to critical structures intracranial meningiomas. If positive results will be found, this study could represent the starting point for a phase III trial exploring the role of multisession radiosurgery in the exclusive and postoperative radiation therapy treatment of intracranial meningiomas.

Background: We investigated associations between baseline use of immunosuppressive drugs and severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Patients and methods: Data of AIH patients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 were retrospectively collected from 15 countries. The outcomes of AIH patients who were on immunosuppression at the time of COVID-19 were compared to patients who were not on AIH medication. The clinical courses of COVID-19 were classified as (i)-no hospitalization, (ii)-hospitalization without oxygen supplementation, (iii)-hospitalization with oxygen supplementation by nasal cannula or mask, (iv)-intensive care unit (ICU) admission with non-invasive mechanical ventilation, (v)-ICU admission with invasive mechanical ventilation or (vi)-death and analysed using ordinal logistic regression. Results: We included 254 AIH patients (79.5%, female) with a median age of 50 (range, 17-85) years. At the onset of COVID-19, 234 patients (92.1%) were on treatment with glucocorticoids (n = 156), thiopurines (n = 151), mycophenolate mofetil (n = 22) or tacrolimus (n = 16), alone or in combinations. Overall, 94 (37%) patients were hospitalized and 18 (7.1%) patients died. Use of systemic glucocorticoids (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.73, 95% CI 1.12-25.89) and thiopurines (aOR 4.78, 95% CI 1.33-23.50) for AIH was associated with worse COVID-19 severity, after adjusting for age-sex, comorbidities and presence of cirrhosis. Baseline treatment with mycophenolate mofetil (aOR 3.56, 95% CI 0.76-20.56) and tacrolimus (aOR 4.09, 95% CI 0.69-27.00) were also associated with more severe COVID-19 courses in a smaller subset of treated patients. Conclusion: Baseline treatment with systemic glucocorticoids or thiopurines prior to the onset of COVID-19 was significantly associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with AIH.

Background: Meningioma are the second most common brain tumors in adults and can cause significant morbidity and mortality. The scarcity of in vitro and in vivo models represents the major obstacle to understand the molecular basis of meningioma tumorigenesis. The main aim of this study was to assess a method for radiobiology of meningioma cells colture by means of well-known meningioma lines. New method: We carried out a protocol of cells culture for irradiation of meningioma cells. We used the immortalized cell lines IOMM-Lee and CH-157 to study their radiation-reponse by means of clonogenic assays and to evaluate their proliferation and apoptosis. We irradiated the cells with different total doses using two different linear accelerators. Results: We observed a more radiation resistance of the IOMM-Lee than the CH-157. Indeed, the cellular death of CH-157 was obtained at a very low dose irradiation. Moreover, we showed a dose-response effect due to the early and late apoptosis, in fact the rate of apoptotic cells is greater than that of the necrotic cells at any dose of irradiation and at any time of analysis. Comparison with existing methods: There is not a standardized method for radiobiology of meningioma experiments. Conclusions: Our method of cells culture appears suitable for radiosensitivity studies on meningioma. We can confirm that the response to radiotherapy depends not only on irradiation features, but also on tumor radiosensitivity.

The trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a chronic, episodic, and disabling facial pain syndrome. It is a relatively rare disorder. Despite this, because of the intensity of the pain, TN may have a dramatic impact for many patients. Fortunately, most of the patients may obtain a good pain relief simply by taking drugs. Historically, the surgical approaches represent a true treatment paradigm for all the drug-resistant TN. In this context, radiosurgery (RS) is a relatively new treatment modality. The effectiveness and safety of radiosurgery are today widely accepted and the technique can be proposed to many patients which suffer from a drug-resistant TN. This is true especially when the patients are less than ideal candidates for an open surgery, or for elderly ones, when a clear neuro-vascular conflict is not evident. The present review provides a concise analysis of the actual indications for radiosurgery, as well as the most acknowledged prognostic factors. The pathogenesis of TN and the rationale for the RS efficacy are also investigated and described. Some technical aspects including the target selection and the prescription doses, which have widely changed in time, are depicted. In conclusion, the present review supports the idea that TN is a complex disease and radiosurgery represents an effective and relatively new treatment modality, which enriches the treatment armamentarium for these unfortunate patients. To optimize the RS results, a correct patient selection has to be performed.

Background: Local recurrences after breast conserving treatment are mainly close to the original tumor site, and as such shorter fractionation strategies focused on and nearest mammary gland, i.e. accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI), have been developed. Stereotactic APBI has been attempted, although there is little experience using CyberKnife (CK) for early breast cancer. Methods: This pilot study was designed to assess the feasibility of CK-APBI on 20 evaluable patients of 29 eligible, followed for 2 years. The primary endpoint was acute/sub-acute toxicity; secondary endpoints were late toxicity and the cosmetic result. Results: Mean pathological tumor size was 10.5 mm (±4.3, range 3-18), 8 of these patients were classified as LumA-like, 11 as LumB-like, and 1 as LumB-HER2-enriched. Using CK-APBI with Iris, the treatment time was approximately 60 min (range~ 35 to ~ 120). All patients received 30 Gy in five fractions delivered to the PTV. The median number of beams was 180 (IQR 107-213; range:56-325) with a median PTV isodose prescription of 86.0% (IQR 85.0-88.5; range:82-94). The median PTV was 88.1 cm3 (IQR 63.8-108.6; range:32.3-238.8). The median breast V100 and V50 was 0.6 (IQR 0.1-1.5; range:0-13) and 18.6 (IQR 13.1-21.7; range:7.5-37), respectively. The median PTV minimum dose was 26.2 Gy (IQR 24.7-27.6; range 22.3-29.3). Mild side effects were recorded during the period of observation. Cosmetic evaluations were performed by three observers from the start of radiotherapy up to 2 years. Patients' evaluation progressively increase from 60% to 85% of excellent rating; this trend was similar to that of external observer. Conclusions: These preliminary results showed the safe feasibility of CK-APBI in early breast cancer, with mild acute and late toxicity and very good cosmetic results.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects more than 180 million people globally, with increasing incidence, especially in developing countries. HCV infection frequently progresses to liver cirrhosis leading to liver transplantation or death, and HCV recurrence still constitutes a major challenge for the transplant team. Antiviral therapy is the only available instrument to slow down this process, although its actual impact on liver histology, in responders and nonresponders, is still controversial. We are now facing a "new era" of direct antiviral agents that is already changing the approach to HCV burden both in the pre- and in the post-liver transplantation settings. Available data on sofosbuvir/ledipasvir and sofosbuvir/simeprevir in patients with decompensated cirrhosis sustain a SVR12 of 89%, but one-third of patients do not clinically improved. The sofosbuvir/ribavirin treatment in stable cirrhotic patients with HCC before liver transplantation is associated with 2% recurrence rate if liver transplantation is performed at least one month after undetectable HCV-RNA is achieved. The treatment of recurrence with the new antiviral drugs is associated with a SVR that ranges between 60 and 90%. In this review, we have focused on the evolution of antiviral therapy for HCV recurrence from the "old" interferon-based therapy to the "new" interferon-free regimens, highlighting useful information to aid the transplant hepatologist in the clinical practice.