Hepatitis B virus;

Should I consider acute acalculous cholecystitis in my elderly ambulatory patient admitted with right upper quadrant pain?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Short answer: Yes! Although we usually associate acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) with critically ill patients (eg, with sepsis, trauma, shock, major burns) in ICUs, AAC is not as rare as we might think in ambulatory patients. In fact, a 7 year study of AAC involving multiple centers reported that AAC among outpatients was increasing in prevalence and accounted for 77% of all cases (1)!

 
Although the pathophysiology of ACC is not fully understood, bile stasis and ischemia of the gallbladder either due to microvascular or macrovascular pathology have been implicated as potential causes (2). One study found that 72% of outpatients who developed ACC had atherosclerotic disease associated with hypertension, coronary, peripheral or cerebral vascular disease, diabetes or congestive heart failure (1). Interestingly, in contrast to calculous cholecystitis, “multiple arterial occlusions” have been observed on pathological examination of the gallbladder in at least some patients with ACC and accordingly a name change to “acute ischemic cholecystitis” has been proposed (3).

 
AAC can also complicate acute mesenteric ischemia and may herald critical ischemia and mesenteric infarction (3). The fact that cystic artery is a terminal branch artery probably doesn’t help and leaves the gallbladder more vulnerable to ischemia when arterial blood flow is compromised irrespective of the cause (4).

 
Of course, besides vascular ischemia there are numerous other causes of ACC, including infectious (eg, viral hepatitis, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Salmonella, brucellosis, malaria, Rickettsia and enteroviruses), as well as many non-infectious causes such as vasculitides and, more recently, check-point inhibitor toxicity (1,5-8).

 
Bonus Pearl: Did you know that in contrast to cholecystitis associated with gallstones (where females and 4th and 5th decade age groups predominate), ACC in ambulatory patients is generally more common among males and older age groups (mean age 65 y) (1)?

 

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References
1. Savoca PE, Longo WE, Zucker KA, et al. The increasing prevalence of acalculous cholecystitis in outpatients: Result of a 7-year study. Ann Surg 1990;211: 433-37. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1358029/pdf/annsurg00170-0061.pdf
2. Huffman JL, Schenker S. Acute acalculous cholecystitis: A review. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2010;8:15-22. https://www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(09)00880-5/pdf
3. Hakala T, Nuutinene PJO, Ruokonen ET, et al. Microangiopathy in acute acalculous cholecystitis Br J Surg 1997;84:1249-52. https://bjssjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1365-2168.1997.02775.x?sid=nlm%3Apubmed
4. Melo R, Pedro LM, Silvestre L, et al. Acute acalculous cholecystitis as a rare manifestation of chronic mesenteric ischemia. A case report. Int J Surg Case Rep 2016;25:207-11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4941110/
5. Aguilera-Alonso D, Median EVL, Del Rosal T, et al. Acalculous cholecystitis in a pediatric patient with Plasmodium falciparum infection: A case report and literature review. Ped Infect Dis J 2018;37: e43-e45. https://journals.lww.com/pidj/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2018&issue=02000&article=00020&type=Fulltext  
6. Kaya S, Eskazan AE, Ay N, et al. Acute acalculous cholecystitis due to viral hepatitis A. Case Rep Infect Dis 2013;Article ID 407182. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3784234/pdf/CRIM.ID2013-407182.pdf
7. Simoes AS, Marinhas A, Coelho P, et al. Acalculous acute cholecystitis during the course of an enteroviral infection. BMJ Case Rep 2013;12. https://casereports.bmj.com/content/12/4/e228306
8. Abu-Sbeih H, Tran CN, Ge PS, et al. Case series of cancer patients who developed cholecystitis related to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. J ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2019;7:118. https://jitc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40425-019-0604-2

 

 

Should I consider acute acalculous cholecystitis in my elderly ambulatory patient admitted with right upper quadrant pain?

Does my patient about to undergo immunosuppressive therapy need antiviral prophylaxis even if she tests positive for hepatitis B surface antibody?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

The presence of hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsab) in patients who also test positive for core antibody does not necessarily confer full protection against hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation during immunosuppression (incidence 4.3%). 1 This is because despite having HBsab and no HB surface antigen,  a small portion of patients continue to have detectable HBV DNA in the serum and are therefore at risk of reactivation during severe immunosuppression. 2

In fact, the American Gastroenterological Association recommends against using anti-HBs status to guide antiviral prophylaxis in anti-HBc-positive patients. 1

Overall, antiviral prophylaxis may reduce the risk of HBV reactivation by 87% (C.I. 70%-94%). Antiviral drugs with a high barrier to resistance (eg, entecavir) are preferred over lamivudine.

Immunosuppressants often requiring HBV prophylaxis include: 1-3

  • B cell-depleting agents (eg, rituximab, ofatumumab)
  • Anthracycline derivatives (eg, doxorubicin, epirubicin)
  • Prednisone (4 weeks or more)
  • Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (eg, etanercept, adalimumab, certolizumab, infliximab)
  • Other cytokine or integrin inhibitors (eg, abatacept, ustekinumab, natalizumab, vedolizumab)

Traditional immunosuppressive agents such as azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate are often considered “low-risk” and do not generally require prophylaxis. 1

Fun Fact: Did you know that hepatitis B virus is very old and probably originated in birds when dinosaurs roamed the earth? 4

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References

  1. Reddy KR, Beavers KL, Hammond SP, et al. American Gastroenterological Association Institute Guideline on the prevention and treatment of hepatitis B virus reactivation during immunosuppressive drug therapy. Gastroenterology 2015;148:215-19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25447850
  2. Gigi E, Georgiou T, Mougiou D, et al. Hepatitis B reactivation in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis with antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen treated with rituximab. HIPPOKATRIA 2013;17:91-93. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738290/
  3. Kim EB, Kim DS, Park SJ, et al. Hepatitis B virus reactivation in a surface antigen-negative and antibody-positive patient after rituximab plus CHOP chemotherapy. Cancer Res Treat 2008;40:36-38. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699087/
  4. Suh A, Brosius J, Schmitz J, et al. The genome of a Mesozoic paleovirus reveals the evolution of hepatitis B virus. Nature Communications 2013; Article no. 1791. http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2798

 

Disclosures: The listed questions and answers are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of Mercy Hospital-St. Louis or its affiliate healthcare centers, Mass General Hospital, Harvard Medical School or its affiliated institutions. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate information, the author is far from being perfect. The reader is urged to verify the content of the material with other sources as deemed appropriate and exercise clinical judgment in the interpretation and application of the information provided herein. No responsibility for an adverse outcome or guarantees for a favorable clinical result is assumed by the author. Thank you!

Does my patient about to undergo immunosuppressive therapy need antiviral prophylaxis even if she tests positive for hepatitis B surface antibody?