Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the most common liver infections, with a decrement in HRQoL of HCV patients. This study aims to assess Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Chinese patients with chronic HCV infection, and to identify significant predictors of the HRQoL in these patients of China. In this cross-sectional observational study, treatment-naïve Han ethnic adults with chronic HCV infection were enrolled. Adopting European Quality of Life scale (EQ-5D) and EuroQOL visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) were used to qualify HRQoL. Results were reported in descriptive analyses to describe sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to investigate the associations of these variables with HRQoL. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify associations of these variables with HRQoL by dimensions of EQ-5D. Nine hundred ninety-seven patients were enrolled in the study [median age 46.0 (37.0, 56.0) years; male 54.8%]. Mean EQ-5D index and EQ-VAS score were 0.780 ± 0.083 and 77.2 ± 14.8. Multiple Linear regression analysis showed that income (< 2000 RMB, β = − 0.134; 2000–4999 RMB, β = − 0.085), moderate or severe symptoms of discomfort (more than one symptoms, β = − 0.090), disease profile (cirrhosis, β = − 0.114), hyperlipidemia (β = − 0.065) and depression (β = − 0.065) were independently associated with EQ-5D index. Residence (the west, β = 0.087), income (< 2000 RMB, β = − 0.129; 2000–4999 RMB, β = − 0.052), moderate or severe symptoms of discomfort (more than one symptoms, β = − 0.091), disease profile and depression (β = − 0.316) were the influencing factors on EQ-VAS. Binary logistic regression indicated that disease profile and clinical depression were the major influencing factors on all five dimensions of EQ-5D. In this cross-sectional assessment of HCV patients in China, we indicated HRQoL of Chinese HCV patients. Significant negative associations between HRQoL and sociodemographic and clinical factors such as moderate or severe symptoms of discomfort, disease profile and depression emerged. We have to focus on optimally managing care of HCV patients and improving their HRQoL. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01293279. Date of registration: February 10, 2011.

Introduction: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a significant complication of cirrhosis, known to be associated with hospital readmission. However, few new serological indicators associated with readmission in HE patients have been identified and reported. The objective of our study was to identify simple and effective predictors reated to readmission in HE patients.Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective study at a single center on adult patients admitted with HE from January 2018 to December 2022. The primary endpoint was the first liver-related readmission within 30, 90, and 180 days, and we collected electronic medical records from our hospital for sociodemographic, clinical, and hospitalization characteristics. We utilized logistic regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis to determine the predictors that were associated with the readmission rate and the length of the first hospitalization.Results: A total of 424 patients were included in the study, among whom 24 (5.7%), 63 (14.8%), and 92 (21.7%) were readmitted within 30, 90, and 180 days, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed that insurance status, alcoholic liver disease (ALD), ascites, the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were significantly associated with 30-, 90-, and 180-day readmissions. Age and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were predictors of 90- and 180-day readmissions. ALD was identified as a unique predictor of readmission in men, while hypertension was a predictor of 180-day readmission in women. Variceal bleeding, chronic kidney disease, and MELD score were associated with the length of the first hospitalization.Conclusions: NLR at discharge was identified as a significant predictor of 30-, 90- and 180-day readmissions in patients with HE. Our findings suggest that incorporating NLR into routine clinical assessments could improve the evaluation of the prognosis of liver cirrhosis.

This study aimed to understand the dynamic changes in fibrosis and its relationship with the evaluation of post-treatment viral hepatitis using qFibrosis. A total of 158 paired pre- and post-treatment liver samples from patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB; n = 100) and C (CHC; n = 58) were examined. qFibrosis was employed with artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the fibrosis dynamics in the portal tract (PT), periportal (PP), midzonal, pericentral, and central vein (CV) regions. All patients with CHB achieved a virological response after 78 weeks of treatment, whereas patients with CHC achieved a sustained viral response after 24 weeks. For patients initially staged as F5/6 (Ishak system) at baseline, the post-treatment cases exhibited a significant reduction in the collagen proportionate area (CPA) (25–69%) and number of collagen strings (#string) (9–72%) across all regions. In contrast, those initially staged as F3/4 at baseline showed a similar CPA and #string trend at 24 weeks. For regression patients, 27 parameters (25 in the CV region) in patients staged as F3/4 and 15 parameters (three in the PT and 12 in the PP regions) in those staged as F5/6 showed significant differences between the CHB and CHC groups at baseline. Following successful antiviral treatment, the pre- and post-treatment liver samples provided quantitative evidence of the heterogeneity of fibrotic features. qFibrosis has the potential to provide new insights into the characteristics of fibrosis regression in both patients with CHB and CHC as early as 24 weeks after antiviral therapy.