This letter addresses the study titled \"Red cell distribution width: A predictor of the severity of hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis\" by Lv et al published in the World Journal of Experimental Medicine. The study offers a valuable analysis of red cell distribution width (RDW) as a predictive marker for persistent organ failure in patients with hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis. The study results suggest that RDW, combined with the Bedside Index for Severity in Acute Pancreatitis score, could enhance the predictive accuracy for severe outcomes. Further investigation into the role of RDW in different severities of acute pancreatitis is recommended. Additionally, the need for large-scale and multicenter prospective studies to validate these findings is emphasized.

This letter to the editor addresses the study titled \"Predictive value of NLR, Fib4, and APRI in the occurrence of liver failure after hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma\" by Kuang et al in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. The study acknowledges the comprehensive patient data analysis while suggesting that there is a need for further discussion on the clinical applicability of these markers across diverse patient populations. This letter recommends prospective studies for validation and considers the influence of confounding factors. This finding underscores the significance of this study in improving hepatocellular carcinoma management.

The diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease only on the basis of laboratory parameter score such as Hepatic Steatosis Index which includes liver enzymes, gender, basal metabolic index, and presence of diabetic mellitus is not sufficient to exclude other causes of deranged liver enzymes especially medications and autoimmune related liver diseases. As the guideline suggests ultrasound is the preferred first-line diagnostic procedure for imaging of NAFLD, as it provides additional diagnostic information and the combination of biomarkers/scores and transient elastography might confer additional diagnostic accuracy and evident from previous similar studies too.

How and why are narratives used for argumentation in contemporary political letters to the editor? In order to find answers to this question, I examine about 50 letters to the editor from Swiss and German daily newspapers, all of which are related to COVID-19. In all letters, the writer presents an argument by telling a story. It turns out that the story usually serves as a premise for an argument from example in an argumentation with an evaluative standpoint. For the writers, unfolding such a premise as a narrative has the advantage that they can successively convey an evaluation together with the exemplary event. A socio-cultural benefit of such narrative arguments from example might be that they can easily connect the social micro-level with the societal macro-level in political debates.

暂无摘要。

The present letter to the editor is related to the review with the title \"Past, present, and future of long-term treatment for hepatitis B virus.\" Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) represents an important and pressing public health concern. Timely identification and effective antiviral therapy hold the potential to reduce liver-related mortality attributable to chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) substantially. However, the current global treatment rates for CHB remain conspicuously low, with the excessively stringent treatment criteria advocated by national CHB guidelines being a contributing factor to these low rates. Nevertheless, recent strides in comprehending this malady and the emergence of novel antiviral agents prompt the imperative re-evaluation of treatment standards to extend the sphere of potential beneficiaries. An impending need arises for a novel paradigm for the classification of patients with CHB, the expansion of antiviral treatment eligibility for HBV-infected individuals, and even the streamlining of the diagnostic process for CHB to amplify cost-effectiveness and augment survival prospects.

暂无摘要。

暂无摘要。

The following letter to the editor highlights the review titled \"Inflammatory bowel disease-related colorectal cancer: Past, present and future perspectives\" in World J Gastrointest Oncol 2022 March 15; 14(3): 547-567. It is necessary to explore the role of inflammation in promoting tumorigenesis and development of gastrointestinal cancers.

Journals exert considerable control over letters, commentaries and online comments that criticize prior research (post-publication critique). We assessed policies (Study One) and practice (Study Two) related to post-publication critique at 15 top-ranked journals in each of 22 scientific disciplines (N = 330 journals). Two-hundred and seven (63%) journals accepted post-publication critique and often imposed limits on length (median 1000, interquartile range (IQR) 500-1200 words) and time-to-submit (median 12, IQR 4-26 weeks). The most restrictive limits were 175 words and two weeks; some policies imposed no limits. Of 2066 randomly sampled research articles published in 2018 by journals accepting post-publication critique, 39 (1.9%, 95% confidence interval [1.4, 2.6]) were linked to at least one post-publication critique (there were 58 post-publication critiques in total). Of the 58 post-publication critiques, 44 received an author reply, of which 41 asserted that original conclusions were unchanged. Clinical Medicine had the most active culture of post-publication critique: all journals accepted post-publication critique and published the most post-publication critique overall, but also imposed the strictest limits on length (median 400, IQR 400-550 words) and time-to-submit (median 4, IQR 4-6 weeks). Our findings suggest that top-ranked academic journals often pose serious barriers to the cultivation, documentation and dissemination of post-publication critique.