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The field of hepatology has evolved significantly over the last two decades. Hepatology practice in Saudi Arabia (SA) was dominated by hepatitis B and C viruses but is now being overtaken by patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These patients require greater medical attention as their care is more complex compared to patients with viral hepatitis. In addition, liver transplantation (LT) has expanded significantly in SA over the last three decades. There is a necessity to increase the hepatology workforce to meet the demand in SA. The time has come to reinforce the transplant hepatology fellowship program, that was launched recently, and to develop a nurse practitioner practice model to meet these demands. In addition, SA is going through a health care reform to enhance health care delivery which may affect the financial compensation polices of various specialties including gastroenterology and hepatology. Therefore, the Saudi Association for the Study of Liver diseases and Transplantation (SASLT) established a task force to discuss the current and future demands in the hepatology workforce in SA, as well as to discuss different avenues of financial compensation for transplant hepatologists in LT centers.

[1],[2] Several published guidelines on the management of HCC have indicated that liver transplantation, surgical resection (SR), and local regional therapy such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are the treatment options for early stage HCC. [5] SR has the advantage over RFA by tumor removal with clean resection margin. [...]it would be expected that HCC recurrence would be lower in the SR group compared to the RFA group. Despite the study limitations which include study design, missing data such as the Child-Pugh score, performance status, patients' comorbidities, tumor characteristics, and location, it has a reasonable sample size and is consistent with what has been published in the literature regarding the safety and efficacy of RFA and SR group in elderly HCC patients.

The field of hepatology has evolved significantly over the last two decades. Hepatology practice in Saudi Arabia (SA) was dominated by hepatitis B and C viruses but is now being overtaken by patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These patients require greater medical attention as their care is more complex compared to patients with viral hepatitis. In addition, liver transplantation (LT) has expanded significantly in SA over the last three decades. There is a necessity to increase the hepatology workforce to meet the demand in SA. The time has come to reinforce the transplant hepatology fellowship program, that was launched recently, and to develop a nurse practitioner practice model to meet these demands. In addition, SA is going through a health care reform to enhance health care delivery which may affect the financial compensation polices of various specialties including gastroenterology and hepatology. Therefore, the Saudi Association for the Study of Liver diseases and Transplantation (SASLT) established a task force to discuss the current and future demands in the hepatology workforce in SA, as well as to discuss different avenues of financial compensation for transplant hepatologists in LT centers.

Background: The outcome of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) after liver transplantation can be affected by recurrent PSC (rPSC) and subsequent graft failure. IgG4-related sclerosing disease is a recently described entity that has a similar morphological appearance to PSC, making the distinction difficult. However, IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis has an excellent prognosis since it is steroid sensitive, but the impact of IgG4 on rPSC after liver transplant is still unknown. Objectives: To determine the association between IgG4 positive immunochemical staining in liver explants and recurrence of primary sclerosing cholangitis post-liver transplantation. Methods: Clinical information on all adult patients who underwent liver transplantation for PSC from 1990 to 2014 at our institution was obtained. IgG4 immunochemical staining was performed on the porta-hepatis region of these patient’s explanted livers. Immunochemical staining was considered to be positive if the score was > 5 cells/high power field (HPF). Results: Eighty patients met inclusion criteria. IgG4 staining was positive in 21 subjects. Median time for follow-up in the IgG4 positive group was 99.6 months compared to 152.6 months in the IgG4 negative. There were more instances of rPSC in the IgG4 negative group compared to the IgG4 positive group (26% vs. 5%, P < 0.009), and rPSC occurred earlier in the IgG4 negative group (P = 0.016). The frequency of graft failure, however was not significantly different among the two groups. Conclusions: The presence of IgG4 positive cells in liver explants of patient’s transplanted for PSC is associated with fewer episodes of and longer time to recurrent PSC. In addition, IgG4 status of the liver explants does not affect graft survival. Presence of IgG4 positive cells may suggest protective effect against recurrence of PSC.

Purpose Biliary complications following liver transplantation are a significant source of morbidity, potentially leading to graft failure necessitating retransplantation. We sought to evaluate smoking as an independent risk factor for post-transplant biliary complications. Methods The clinical course of all adult primary deceased donor liver transplants at our center from 1992 to 2012 was reviewed. Eligible patients were assigned to cohorts based on their lifetime tobacco exposure: never smokers indicating 0 pack-year exposure and all others were ever smokers. Biliary complications were defined as strictures, leaks, or bilomas requiring intervention. Complication rates were analyzed using univariate regression models correlated with donor and recipient characteristics. Associations found during univariate analysis were included in the final multivariate Cox model. Results Eight hundred sixty-five subjects were followed for a median of 65 months; 482 (55.7%) of patients had a positive smoking history at the time of transplant. In univariate analysis, positive tobacco smoking history (HR = 1.36; p  = 0.037) and increased time from quit date to transplantation (HR = 0.998; p  = 0.011) were positive and negative predictors of biliary complication, respectively. Lifetime tobacco exposure remained a significant predictor of biliary complication on multivariate analysis (HR = 1.408; p  = 0.023). Conclusions Smoking status is an independent predictor of post-transplant biliary complications, and the data presented reinforces the importance of early smoking cessation in the pre-transplantation period.

Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection. There are 14 recognized hrHPV genotypes (HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, and 68), and hrHPV genotypes 16 and 18 comprise approximately 66% of all cases worldwide. An additional 15% of cervical cancers are caused by hrHPV genotypes 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58. Screening patients for hrHPV as a mechanism for implementation of early treatment is a proven strategy for decreasing the incidence of HPV-related neoplasia, cervical cancer in particular. Here, we present population data from an HPV screening initiative in Kosovo designed to better understand the prevalence of the country’s HPV burden and local incidence of cervical cancer by hrHPV genotype. Nearly 2000 women were screened for hrHPV using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) assay followed by melt curve analysis to establish the prevalence of hrHPV in Kosovo. Additionally, DNA was extracted from 200 formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded cervical tumors and tested for hrHPV using the same method. Cervical screening samples revealed a high prevalence of hrHPV genotypes 16 and 51, while cervical cancer specimens predominantly harbored genotypes 16, 18, and 45. This is the first comprehensive screening study for evaluating the prevalence of hrHPV genotypes in Kosovo on screening cervical brush samples and cervical neoplasms. Given the geographic distribution of hrHPV genotypes and the WHO’s global initiative to eliminate cervical cancer, this study can support and direct vaccination efforts to cover highly prevalent hrHPV genotypes in Kosovo’s at-risk population.