Occult hepatitis C virus infection among haemodialysis patients

Background and study aims

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a severe problem among patients on maintenance haemodialysis who are at particular risk for blood-borne infections because of prolonged vascular access and potential for exposure to contaminated equipment. Occult hepatitis C virus infection (OCI) is defined as the presence of HCV RNA in liver or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the absence of detectable HCV antibody or HCV RNA in the serum. In this study, we aimed to investigate the existence of occult hepatitis C virus infection in PBMCs of haemodialysis (HD) patients in one center. Moreover, we tried to link the condition to risk factors associated with HCV infection in those patients.

Systemic lupus erythematosus with acute pancreatitis and vasculitic rash following COVID-19 vaccine: a case report and literature review

Clinical Rheumatology - Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic that is caused by COVID-19 virus, which was initially identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Vaccination is one...     

Incidence,efficacy and safety of YAG laser goniopuncture following nonpenetrating deep sclerectomy at a university hospital in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia

Purpose

Assessing the frequency and evaluating the efficacy and safety of Neodymium:Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) Laser goniopuncture (LGP) following nonpenetrating deep sclerectomy (NPDS).

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Patients and methods

We retrospectively reviewed the outcome of 197 eyes of 153 patients with open angle glaucoma who underwent either NPDS or NPDS combined with cataract extraction between January 2005 and September 2010 at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH). Both demographic and clinical data were retrieved and analysed.

Results

Goniopuncture (GP) was needed in 48 (24.4%) of the eyes which had NPDS or NPDS with cataract extraction after a mean post operative interval of 9.78 (±11.16) months. The mean IOP had significantly decreased from 23.3 (±5.9) mmHg prior to Nd:YAG LGP procedure to 14.6 (±4.4) mmHg at the last post-procedure assessment. At the last follow-up; Nd:YAG LGP was successful in controlling IOP in 27 eyes (56.3%). Mean Nd:YAG LGP failure time was 6.04 (±5.80) months. Young age (<50 years) (p = 0.001); type of glaucoma (secondary versus primary open angle, p = 0.0258) and the use of drainage implant (p = 0.038) were the identified predicting factors for the need of Nd:YAG LGP. Complications following Nd:YAG LGP occurred in 5 eyes (iris touch to TDM (4.2%), Hyphema (2.1%), hypotony maculopathy (2.1%) and choroidal detachment (2.1%).

Conclusions

LGP is an efficient IOP lowering procedure after NPDS, when it is indicated. It is a simple and noninvasive procedure. However, certain precautions should be taken to avoid complications.     

A study on the removal of propyl,butyl, and benzyl parabens via newly synthesised ionic liquid loaded magnetically confined polymeric mesoporous adsorbent

This study investigated the effectiveness of ionic liquids (ILs) loaded onto the surface of a polymeric adsorbent (βCD-TDI) grafted with modified magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) via an analysis of water treatment, which resulted in high removal of selected endocrine-disrupting chemicals (parabens). The syntheses of MNPs, MNP-βCD-TDI, and IL-MNP-βCD-TDI were characterised and compared using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, carbon–hydrogen–nitrogen (CHN) analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results of SEM and TEM indicated that the pore size distribution exhibited mesoporous characteristics with a small surface area (BET analysis: 42.95 m² g⁻¹). Furthermore, a preliminary sorption experiment demonstrated the ability of IL-MNP-βCD-TDI to enhance not only the sorption capacity, but also the removal of propyl paraben (PP), butyl paraben (BP), and benzyl paraben (ArP). The adsorption process appeared to be pH-dependent, and hence the optimum pH of 6 was selected for a subsequent batch adsorption study of all the studied parabens with an equilibrium time of 80 min. Next, in an attempt to investigate the interactions that occur between the adsorbent and the adsorbates, adsorption kinetics and isotherm studies were performed. All the studied parabens were found to best fit pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Freundlich isotherm with R² > 0.98 at room temperature (298 K). The interaction of the host–guest inclusion complex and the π–π interaction between βCD and a selected paraben compound (ArP) were identified by performing ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), together with ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopic analysis. Finally, the adsorption efficiency of the developed material was practically tested on tap water, drain water, and industrial wastewater, which revealed a significant removal of parabens of up to 60–90% in comparison with a prior analysis.

The main interaction between the synthesized material and the targeted paraben compounds.     

Accessibility to biologics and its impact on disease activity and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Kuwait

Clinical Rheumatology - Biologics are indicated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in case of persistent high disease activity despite conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (cDMARDs) or...     

The role of bile leak testing in liver resection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Bile leak following liver resection can be associated with significant morbidity. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effect of intraoperative bile leak testing on postoperative bile leak rate and other complications after liver resection without biliary reconstruction for any cause.