LecT-hepa, a glyco-marker derived from multiple lectins, as a predictor of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients

Assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is critical for predicting disease progression and determining future antiviral therapy. LecT-Hepa, a new glyco-marker derived from fibrosis-related glyco-alteration of serum alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, was used to differentiate cirrhosis from chronic hepatitis in a single-center study. Herein, we aimed to validate this new glyco-marker for estimating liver fibrosis in a multicenter study. Overall, 183 CHC patients were recruited from 5 liver centers. The parameters Aspergillus oryzae lectin (AOL) / Dature stramonium lectin (DSA) and Maackia amurensis lectin (MAL)/DSA were measured using a bedside clinical chemistry analyzer in order to calculate LecT-Hepa levels. The data were compared with those of seven other noninvasive biochemical markers and tests (hyaluronic acid, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteases-1, platelet count, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index [APRI], Forns index, Fib-4 index, and Zeng's score) for assessing liver fibrosis using the receiver-operating characteristic curve. LecT-Hepa correlated well with the fibrosis stage as determined by liver biopsy. The area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity of LecT-Hepa were 0.802, 59.6%, and 89.9%, respectively, for significant fibrosis; 0.882, 83.3%, and 80.0%, respectively, for severe fibrosis; and 0.929, 84.6%, and 88.5%, respectively, for cirrhosis. AUC scores of LecT-Hepa at each fibrosis stage were greater than those of the seven aforementioned noninvasive tests and markers. Conclusion: The efficacy of LecT-Hepa, a glyco-marker developed using glycoproteomics, for estimating liver fibrosis was demonstrated in a multicenter study. LecT-Hepa given by a combination of the two glyco-parameters is a reliable method for determining the fibrosis stage and is a potential substitute for liver biopsy. (HEPATOLOGY 2012).     

One-step reconstruction of the right inferior hepatic veins using auto-venous grafts in living donor liver transplantation

Purposes

Reconstruction of the right inferior hepatic vein (RIHV) presents a major technical challenge in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using right lobe grafts.

Methods

We studied 47 right lobe LDLT grafts with RIHV revascularization, comparing one-step reconstruction, performed post-May 2007 (n = 16), with direct anastomosis, performed pre-May 2007 (n = 31).

Results

In the one-step reconstruction technique, the internal jugular vein (n = 6), explanted portal vein (n = 5), inferior vena cava (n = 3), and shunt vessels (n = 2) were used as venous patch grafts for unifying the right hepatic vein, RIHVs, and middle hepatic vein tributaries. By 6 months after LDLT, there was no case of occlusion of the reconstructed RIHVs in the one-step reconstruction group, but a cumulative occlusion rate of 18.2 % in the direct anastomosis group. One-step reconstruction required a longer cold ischemic time (182 ± 40 vs. 115 ± 63, p < 0.001) and these patients had higher alanine transaminase values (142 ± 79 vs. 96 ± 46 IU/L, p = 0.024) on postoperative day POD 7. However, the 6-month short-term graft survival rates were 100 % with one-step reconstruction and 83.9 % with direct anastomosis, respectively.

Conclusion

One-step reconstruction of the RIHVs using auto-venous grafts is an easy and feasible technique promoting successful right lobe LDLT.     

Tube cavoplasty using autologous vein grafts for resected inferior vena cava reconstruction

Reconstruction of inferior vena cava (IVC) defects after surgical resection of the IVC is associated with significant complications, such as venous thrombosis and graft infection. We herein report a new technique called “tube cavoplasty” that uses only autologous venous grafts to reconstruct IVC defects after resection of leiomyosarcomas of the IVC. The patient’s own left internal jugular and left external iliac veins are procured independently and incised along their axes to create an independent venous patch that is approximated together to make a wider “tube” graft. The size and length of the “tube” graft perfectly matches the IVC defect. In this study, no complications associated with this new procedure were observed except for transient mild edema of the left leg. This new technique could be a valuable tool to reconstruct IVC defects, such as those that occur after resection of IVC tumors or IVC stenosis for Budd–Chiari syndrome.     

Cervical Lymph Node Dissection for Clinically Submucosal Carcinoma of the Thoracic Esophagus

Background

The purposes of this study were to clarify the risk factors for supraclavicular lymph node (SCLN) metastasis and the survival benefit from cervical lymph node (LN) dissections in patients with clinically submucosal (cT1b) carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus.

Methods

A total of 86 patients with this disease who underwent esophagectomy with 3-field lymph node dissection were retrospectively reviewed. Multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard model were used to identify the independent risk factors for SCLN metastasis and prognostic factors, respectively. An index calculated by multiplying the frequency of metastasis at nodal basin and the 5-year overall survival rate of patients with metastasis at that basin were used to assess the therapeutic outcomes.

Results

A total of 40 patients (47 %) were found to have pathological LN metastasis. Also, 13 patients (15 %) had cervical LN metastasis: 6 and 7 with carcinoma of the upper and mid-thoracic esophagus, respectively. SCLN metastasis was found in 6 patients (7 %); however, there was no independent risk factor for SCLN metastasis. The 5-year overall survival rate was 72.5 %. Cervical LN metastasis was an independent prognostic factor (p = .04; odds ratio 2.55; 95 % confidence interval 1.03–6.31); however, there was no significant difference in survival between patients with SCLN metastasis and those without (p = .06). The calculated index of estimated benefit from cervical LN dissections was 6.9, following upper mediastinal LN of 15.6 and perigastric LN of 8.3.

Conclusions

We could not identify risk factors to predict SCLN metastasis. Cervical LN dissection should not be omitted in patients with cT1b carcinoma, especially of the upper and mid-thoracic esophagus.     

Drug-induced kidney disease: a study of the Japan Renal Biopsy Registry from 2007 to 2015

Introduction

The Japan Renal Biopsy Registry (J-RBR) was started in 2007 by the Committee for the Standardization of Renal Pathological Diagnosis and the Committee for the Kidney Disease Registry of the Japanese Society of Nephrology. The purpose of this report is to clarify drug-induced kidney disease (DIKD) of renal biopsied cases in Japan.

Subjects and methods

We analyzed the data of 26,535 cases that were registered in the J-RBR from 2007 to 2015.

Results

Based on clinical and pathological diagnoses, 328 cases (176 males and 152 females) of renal biopsy-proven DIKD were registered in the J-RBR from 2007 to 2015 (1.24 % of all cases). The frequency of DIKD increased with age. The number of cases peaked in the 6th–8th decade in all pathological categories, except for the number of chronic tubulointerstitial lesions (CTIL), which peaked in the 4th–5th decade. Overall, the frequency of DIKD was 3 times higher in the 7th decade than in the 2nd decade (1.86 vs. 0.62 %). The main clinical diagnoses were DIKD in 150 cases (45.7 %), nephrotic syndrome in 66 cases (20.1 %), chronic nephritic syndrome in 55 cases (16.8 %), and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis in 30 cases (9.1 %). DIKD was registered as a secondary diagnosis in 136 cases (41.5 %). The pathological findings of these cases were glomerular lesions in 105 cases (32.0 %), acute tubulointerstitial lesions (ATIL) in 87 cases (26.5 %), CTIL in 72 cases (22.0 %), and sclerotic glomerular lesions and/or nephrosclerosis in 18 cases (5.5 %). ATIL and CTIL were mainly found in cases in which DIKD was diagnosed on the basis of the patient’s clinical findings. In addition, nephrotic syndrome-related membranous nephropathy (MN) was the major cause of renal damage in 59.4 % of the cases involving glomerular injuries. According to the CGA risk classification, high-risk (red zone) cases accounted for 56.1 % of all cases of DIKD and 75.9, 64.9, and 33.3 % of the cases involving ATIL, CTIL, and glomerular injuries, respectively. The causative drugs were identified in 102 cases, including bucillamine in 38 cases of MN, gemcitabine in 3 cases of thrombotic microangiopathy, and other anticancer drugs in 14 cases (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs in 3 cases and propyl thiouracil in 3 cases of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-related nephritis).

Conclusion

Our analysis of the J-RBR revealed that DIKD mainly affects elderly people in Japan. ATIL or CTIL were found in approximately half of the biopsied cases of DIKD, and one-third involved glomerular lesions, mainly MN or clinical nephrotic syndrome.

     

Death and kidney allograft dysfunction after bacteremia

Background

Some studies have reported causal associations between bacteremia and mortality or allograft loss in kidney transplant recipients (KTR). However, few studies have assessed the clinical course of kidney function and the risk of acute allograft rejection after bacteremia.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 902 kidney transplants performed at Nagoya Daini Red Cross Hospital between January 1, 2002 and March 31, 2014. Forty-five living donor kidney transplant recipients with single bacteremia were included. We analyzed death, change in kidney function, and development of acute allograft rejection 12 months after bacteremia according to the following groups: primary source of bacteremia (urinary tract or other sources), site of acquisition (community acquired or nosocomial), severity (not meeting the systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria and sepsis or severe sepsis and septic shock), empiric antibiotic use (appropriate or inappropriate), and baseline kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤44.7 or ≥44.8 ml/min).

Results

Urinary tract infection (UTI) was the leading cause of bacteremia (68.9 %), and Escherichia coli was the most common pathogen. Three cases (6.7 %) died of infection that caused bacteremia within 12 months. Pneumonia accounted for two-thirds. Kidney function declined 1 week after bacteremia (P < 0.05), particularly in severe cases. Thereafter, kidney function was comparable to baseline level in each group (P ≥ 0.05). Severe UTI was associated with subsequent acute allograft rejection (P = 0.03).

Conclusions

Pneumonia in KTR should be managed with caution. Kidney function generally returned to baseline level after bacteremia. However, severe UTI may be associated with subsequent acute allograft rejection.