@article{GrafMondorfKnopetal.2019, author = {Graf, Christiana and Mondorf, Antonia and Knop, Viola and Peiffer, Kai-Henrik and Dietz, Julia and Friess, Julia and Wedemeyer, Heiner and Buggisch, Peter and Mauss, Stefan and Berg, Thomas and Rausch, Michael and Sprinzl, Martin and Klinker, Hartwig and Hinrichsen, Holger and Bronowicki, Jean-Pierre and Haag, Sebastian and H{\"u}ppe, Dietrich and Lutz, Thomas and Poynard, Thierry and Zeuzem, Stefan and Friedrich-Rust, Mireen and Sarrazin, Christoph and Vermehren, Johannes}, title = {Evaluation of point shear wave elastography using acoustic radiation force impulse imaging for longitudinal fibrosis assessment in patients with HBeAg-Negative HBV infection}, series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, volume = {8}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, number = {12}, issn = {2077-0383}, doi = {10.3390/jcm8122101}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-193916}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Background: Accurate assessment of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic HBeAg-negative Hepatitis B is of crucial importance not only to predict the long-term clinical course, but also to evaluate antiviral therapy indication. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the utility of point shear wave elastography (pSWE) for longitudinal non-invasive fibrosis assessment in a large cohort of untreated patients with chronic HBeAg-negative hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods: 407 consecutive patients with HBeAg-negative HBV infection who underwent pSWE, transient elastography (TE) as well as laboratory fibrosis markers, including fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4), aspartate to platelet ratio index (APRI) and FibroTest, on the same day were prospectively followed up for six years. Patients were classified into one of the three groups: inactive carriers (IC; HBV-DNA <2000 IU/mL and ALT <40 U/L); grey zone group 1 (GZ-1; HBV DNA <2000 IU/mL and ALT >40 U/L); grey zone group 2 (GZ-2; HBV-DNA >2000 IU/mL and ALT <40 U/L). Results: pSWE results were significantly correlated with TE (r = 0.29, p < 0.001) and APRI (r = 0.17; p = 0.005). Median pSWE values did not differ between IC, GZ-1 and GZ-2 patients (p = 0.82, p = 0.17, p = 0.34). During six years of follow-up, median pSWE and TE values did not differ significantly over time (TE: p = 0.27; pSWE: p = 0.05). Conclusion: Our data indicate that pSWE could be useful for non-invasive fibrosis assessment and follow-up in patients with HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection.}, language = {en} } @article{SchlevogtBoekerMaussetal.2021, author = {Schlevogt, Bernhard and Boeker, Klaus H. W. and Mauss, Stefan and Klinker, Hartwig and Heyne, Renate and Link, Ralph and Simon, Karl-Georg and Sarrazin, Christoph and Serfert, Yvonne and Manns, Michael P. and Wedemeyer, Heiner}, title = {Weight gain after interferon-free treatment of chronic hepatitis C — results from the German Hepatitis C-Registry (DHC-R)}, series = {Biomedicines}, volume = {9}, journal = {Biomedicines}, number = {10}, issn = {2227-9059}, doi = {10.3390/biomedicines9101495}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-248476}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Chronic hepatitis C can be treated very effectively with direct-acting antivirals (DAA) with only minor side effects compared to an interferon-containing treatment regimen. The significance of metabolic comorbidities after HCV cure is not well defined. This study aims to investigate short- and long-term weight change of patients receiving interferon-free antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C. The German Hepatitis C-registry (DHC-R) is a national multicenter real-world cohort. A total of 5111 patients were followed prospectively after DAA treatment for up to 3 years. Weight change compared to baseline was analyzed at end of treatment and at years 1, 2, and 3 after completion of antiviral therapy. Regression analysis was performed to identify baseline predictors for weight change. While there was no relevant mean weight change (-0.2 kg, SD 4.3 kg) at the end of antiviral treatment, weight started to increase during long-term follow-up reaching +1.7 kg (SD 8.0 kg, p < 0.001) compared to baseline at 3 years (follow-up year 3, FU3) after completion of antiviral therapy. 48\%, 31\%, and 22\% of patients had a weight gain greater than 1, 3, and 5 kg at FU3, respectively. During follow-up, a body mass index (BMI) <30 proved to be the only consistent predictor for weight gain. DAA treatment is followed by a substantial weight gain (+3 kg or more) in one-third of the patients during long-term follow-up. Non-obese patients seemed to be most vulnerable to weight gain. The body compartment involved in weight gain as well as the mechanism of weight gain remain to be elucidated.}, language = {en} } @article{RauBuggischMaussetal.2022, author = {Rau, Monika and Buggisch, Peter and Mauss, Stefan and Boeker, Klaus H. W. and Klinker, Hartwig and M{\"u}ller, Tobias and Stoehr, Albrecht and Schattenberg, J{\"o}rn M. and Geier, Andreas}, title = {Prognostic impact of steatosis in the clinical course of chronic HCV infection-Results from the German Hepatitis C-Registry}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {17}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0264741}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300549}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Liver steatosis is often observed in chronic HCV infection and associated to genotype or comorbidities. NAFLD is an important risk factor for end-stage liver disease. We aimed to analyse the course of NAFLD as a concomitant disease in a cohort of HCV patients. Methods The German Hepatitis C-Registry is a national multicenter real-world cohort. In the current analysis, 8789 HCV patients were included and separated based on the presence of steatosis on ultrasound and/or histology. Fibrosis progression was assessed by transient elastography (TE), ultrasound or non-invasive surrogate scores. Results At the time of study inclusion 12.3\% (n = 962) of HCV patients presented with steatosis (+S) (higher rate in GT-3). Diabetes mellitus was more frequent in GT-1 patients. HCV patients without steatosis (-S) had a slightly higher rate of fibrosis progression (FP) over time (30.3\%) in contrast to HCV patients +S (26\%). This effect was mainly observed in GT-3 patients (34.4\% vs. 20.6\%). A larger decrease of ALT, AST and GGT from baseline to FU-1 (4-24 weeks after EOT) was found in HCV patients (without FP) +S compared to -S. HCV patients -S and with FP presented more often metabolic comorbidities with a significantly higher BMI (+0.58kg/m\(^{2}\)) compared to patients -S without FP. This was particularly pronounced in patients with abnormal ALT. Conclusion Clinically diagnosed steatosis in HCV patients does not seem to contribute to significant FP in this unique cohort. The low prevalence of steatosis could reflect a lower awareness of fatty liver in HCV patients, as patients -S and with FP presented more metabolic risk factors.}, language = {en} }