Epidemiological assessment of liver disease in northeastern Brazil by means of a standardized liver biopsy protocol



Document title: Epidemiological assessment of liver disease in northeastern Brazil by means of a standardized liver biopsy protocol
Journal: Annals of hepatology
Database: PERIÓDICA
System number: 000416312
ISSN: 1665-2681
Authors:

1
1
1
2
3
4
Institutions: 1Departamento de Saude do Estado da Bahia, Salvador, Bahia. Brasil
2Ministerio de Saude, Programa Nacional de Hepatitis Viral, Brasilia, Distrito Federal. Brasil
3Fundacao Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Centro de Pesquisa Goncalo Moniz, Salvador, Bahia. Brasil
4Universidade Federal da Bahia, Hospital Universitario Prof. Edgard Santos, Salvador, Bahia. Brasil
Year:
Season: Ene-Mar
Volumen: 10
Number: 1
Pages: 43-49
Country: México
Language: Inglés
Document type: Artículo
Approach: Analítico, descriptivo
English abstract The main objective of this study was to describe the profile of patients who were benefitted in a collective effort to perform liver biopsies in Bahia, Brazil. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample composed of all the patients who were submitted to liver biopsy during a collective effort carried out in Bahia between July 2007 and November 2009. At the time of the procedure, data on the age and gender of patients and the reason for performing the biopsy were recorded. Data on the degree of fibrosis and the presence of co-morbidities. Following statistical analysis, the frequency of the liver diseases that led to the biopsy procedure was described, and the profile of the patients was stratified into groups according to the most prevalent etiologies. Results. Of the 550 patients evaluated, 55.3% were men and 44.7% women. Mean age was 46.63 ± 11.59 years and there was no statistically significant difference in age between males and females. Of the 550 patients, 72% had hepatitis C and the mean age of these patients was 48.49 ± 10.1 years, significantly higher than the mean age of the patients with hepatitis B (40.41 ± 12.43 years). Furthermore, 70.7% of the patients with hepatitis C were between 41 and 60 years of age. The most frequent fibrosis grade was F2 (44%) and the prevalence of advanced fibrosis was 27.7%. Overall, 85 patients, most of them men, had some degree of iron overload. With respect to the safety of the biopsy procedure, severe complications occurred in only two patients. Conclusion. Hepatitis C is the predominant liver disease that demanded liver biopsy. The profile of the patients who benefitted from this collective effort is similar to that of patients in the rest of the country. Moreover, non-Ultrasonography guided liver biopsy is safe and the collective effort to carry out liver biopsies in Bahia was found to be a viable venture
Disciplines: Medicina
Keyword: Gastroenterología,
Salud pública,
Hepatitis,
Epidemiología,
Perfil clínico,
Biopsia hepática
Keyword: Gastroenterology,
Public health,
Hepatitis,
Epidemiology,
Clinical profile,
Liver biopsy
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