Ruy M. Ribeiro, Jennifer Layden‐Almer, Kimberly A. Powers, Thomas J. Layden, Alan S. Perelson – 30 December 2003 – Studies of the kinetics of hepatitis C virus (HCV) decline during interferon (IFN)‐based therapy have led to insights into treatment efficacy. However, the kinetics of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), an enzyme used as a surrogate of liver damage, have not been closely monitored, and it is not known if they correlate with those of HCV RNA. Here we describe the associations between ALT and HCV dynamics.

Ting Zhang, Yuan Li, Jian‐Ping Lai, Steven D. Douglas, David S. Metzger, Charles P. O'Brien, Wen‐Zhe Ho – 30 December 2003 – Alcohol consumption accelerates liver damage and diminishes the anti‐hepatitis C virus (HCV) effect of interferon alfa (IFN‐α) in patients with HCV infection. It is unknown, however, whether alcohol enhances HCV replication and promotes HCV disease progression. The availability of the HCV replicon containing hepatic cells has provided a unique opportunity to investigate the interaction between alcohol and HCV replicon expression.

Ariel E. Feldstein, Jean Perrault, Mounif El‐Youssif, Keith D. Lindor, Deborah K. Freese, Paul Angulo – 30 December 2003 – Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is increasingly diagnosed in children and adolescents, but its long‐term prognosis remains uncertain. The aim of this longitudinal, cohort study was to determine the long‐term outcome of children with PSC. Fifty‐two children with cholangiography‐proven PSC (34 boys and 18 girls; mean age 13.8 ± 4.2 years; range, 1.5‐19.6 years) who were seen at our institution over a 20‐year period were followed‐up for up to 16.7 years.

Andrew Klein – 30 December 2003 – Tacrolimus is an effective immunosuppressant in the rescue of liver allograft patients in whom conventional immunosuppression failed. Efficacy and safety were examined in a multicenter trial of liver transplant recipients converted to tacrolimus because of rejection despite cyclosporine (CyA) therapy or intolerance to CyA. Six hundred seventy‐seven patients were enrolled onto the study; 475 patients for rejection, 197 patients for intolerance, and 5 patients treated compassionately.

Francis Y. Yao, Robert W. Osorio, John P. Roberts, Fred F. Poordad, Marjorie N. Briceno, Richard Garcia‐Kennedy, Robert R. Gish – 30 December 2003 – Immunoprophylaxis using intravenous (IV) hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) decreases the recurrence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). However, IV HBIG is expensive, has significant side effects, and is inconvenient to administer. An alternative approach for prophylaxis using intramuscular (IM) HBIG and oral lamivudine was prospectively evaluated in this study.

Thomas E. Trouillot, Roshan Shrestha, Igal Kam, Michael Wachs, Gregory T. Everson – 30 December 2003 – Corticosteroid withdrawal after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) represents an attractive therapeutic option for ameliorating post‐OLT metabolic complications, although several reports suggest patients who undergo transplantation for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) may have a greater incidence of acute and chronic rejection when withdrawn from corticosteroid therapy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the success of corticosteroid withdrawal in patients with AIH after OLT.

Eishi Totsuka, Forrest Dodson, Atsushi Urakami, Natalia Moras, Tomohiro Ishii, Ming‐Che Lee, Jorge Gutierrez, Mauricio Gerardo, Ernesto Molmenti, John J. Fung – 30 December 2003 – Donor hypernatremia was reported to cause postoperative graft dysfunction in human orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). However, the effects of the correction of donor hypernatremia before organ procurement have not been confirmed.

Charles J. Hearn, Nicholas G. Smedira – 30 December 2003 – Infective endocarditis is a rare complication affecting solid‐organ transplant recipients. Isolated pulmonic valve endocarditis is also rare. A case of persistent bacteremia secondary to an isolated pulmonic valve vegetation occurred in a woman 10 days after liver transplantation. A pulmonary vegetectomy was performed as an alternative to valve replacement in addition to long‐term antibiotic therapy.

Michael J. Krowka, Gregory A. Wiseman, Jeffery L. Steers, Russell H. Wiesner – 30 December 2003 – Recurrence of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in an adult has never been reported. We describe a 23‐year‐old woman who initially underwent OLT because of debilitating and severe HPS associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Although the clinical resolution of HPS was well documented day 117 post‐OLT, the reappearance of NASH was documented by liver biopsy.

David J. Plevak – 30 December 2003