Diagnosis and treatment of cystic pancreatic tumors.

Cystic pancreatic tumors (CPTs) have more frequently been identified in the last decade because of increased use of cross-sectional abdominal imaging. Although serous CPTs follow an indolent course and do not necessarily require surgical resection or long-term follow-up, mucinous CPTs (mucinous cystic neoplasms and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms) have a greater risk for malignancy. Although most CPTs are initially detected with imaging modalities such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, these tests alone rarely permit an accurate clinical diagnosis.

Comparing methods for identifying pancreatic cancer patients using electronic data sources.

We sought to determine the accuracy of two electronic methods of identifying pancreatic cancer in a cohort of pancreatic cyst patients, and to examine the reasons for identification failure. We used the International Classification of Diseases, 9(th) Edition (ICD-9) codes and natural language processing (NLP) technology to identify pancreatic cancer in these patients. We compared both methods to a human-validated gold-standard surgical database.

Social pharmacy as a field of study: the needs and challenges in global pharmacy education.

The practice of pharmacy and, consequently, pharmacy curricula have undergone significant changes over the past years in response to a rapidly changing economic, political, and social environment. Within this context, the pharmacist's role had expanded to include more direct interaction with the public in terms of the provision of health information and advice on the safe and rational use of medications. To carry out these roles effectively, pharmacists need to be well prepared on how to deal with patients' behavior and psychology.

Evaluation of the learning curve for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery: bilateral ovariectomy in dogs.

Objective: Study the learning curve for canine Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) ovariectomy by evaluating operative times and complications.

Study Design: Preclinical research study.

Animals: Adult female dogs (n=20).

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided Trucut biopsy of gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumor.

Background: Data on the utility of endoscopic ultrasound-guided Trucut biopsy (EUS-TCB) for suspected gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumor (GIMT) are limited. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic yield and complications from EUS-TCB for GIMT.

Methods: Consecutive patients with suspected upper gastrointestinal or rectal GIMT from the muscularis propria with a maximal diameter of 20 mm or more were enrolled in a prospective, single-center cohort.

Natural language processing for the development of a clinical registry: a validation study in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms.

Background: Medical natural language processing (NLP) systems have been developed to identify, extract and encode information within clinical narrative text. However, the role of NLP in clinical research and patient care remains limited. Pancreatic cysts are common.

Role of EUS for preoperative evaluation of cholangiocarcinoma: a large single-center experience.

Background: Accurate preoperative diagnosis and staging of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) remain difficult.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of EUS in the diagnosis and preoperative evaluation of CCA.

Design: Observational study of prospectively collected data.

EUS-guided FNA of local recurrence of pancreatic cancer after surgical resection.

Background: EUS-guided FNA (EUS-FNA) is a sensitive test for the preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Its use for diagnosing local tumor recurrence after surgical resection has not been described.

Objective: To determine the sensitivity of EUS-FNA for this indication.

Role of endoscopic ultrasound for evaluating gastrointestinal tract disorders in pediatrics: a tertiary care center experience.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) with or without fine needle aspiration (FNA) has a well-established role in the evaluation of various gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders in adults. The clinical impact of EUS on the management of the pediatric population remains less clear. This study evaluates the feasibility, safety, and applications of EUS ± FNA in pediatric GI tract disorders.

Comparison of pain and postoperative stress in dogs undergoing natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, laparoscopic, and open oophorectomy.

Background: Few studies are available to compare the potential benefits of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) approaches to traditional surgery.

Objective: To compare complications, surgical stress, and postoperative pain.

Design: Prospective study in dogs.

Variation in Barrett's esophageal wall thickness: is it associated with histology or segment length?

Goals: To measure esophageal wall thickness (EWT) with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in patients with and without Barrett's esophagus (BE).

Background: Segment length and histology are used to evaluate BE. The development of varying depths of ablation therapy has renewed interest in using EUS for BE.

EUS for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: a single-center, 11-year experience.

Background: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNTs) are rare tumors with malignant potential. EUS and EUS-guided FNA (EUS-FNA) have been shown to be superior to other imaging methods in the preoperative localization and diagnosis of PNTs.

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical presentation, EUS morphology, and sensitivity of EUS-FNA cytology in a large consecutive cohort with histologically and/or cytologically confirmed PNTs.

Therapeutic EUS-assisted endoscopic retrograde pancreatography after failed pancreatic duct cannulation at ERCP.

Background: Cannulation of the pancreatic duct (PD) during endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP) can fail even in experienced hands. A technique for therapeutic EUS-assisted rendezvous ERP has been described in a few case reports.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of therapeutic EUS-assisted ERP.

Multicenter comparison of the interobserver agreement of standard EUS scoring and Rosemont classification scoring for diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis.

Background: EUS has less than optimal interobserver agreement for the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. The newly developed Rosemont consensus scoring system includes weighted criteria and stricter definitions for individual features.

Objective: The primary aim was to compare the interobserver agreement of standard and Rosemont scoring.

Breast cancer in men: the importance of teaching and raising awareness.

Breast cancer is prevalent among women, and although rare, it can develop in men. Society seems unaware that men can develop breast cancer, which contributes in part to late diagnoses in men. Nurses must raise awareness regarding the possible occurrence of breast cancer in men, the associated risk factors, and methods of prevention.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration with or without flow cytometry for the diagnosis of primary pancreatic lymphoma - a case series.

The role of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) with flow cytometry for the diagnosis of primary pancreatic lymphoma (PPL) has not been previously described. Our aims were to describe the EUS features of PPL and the role of EUS-FNA with and without flow cytometry in the diagnosis of 16 patients. When EUS-FNA with flow cytometry was compared with EUS-FNA without flow cytometry, the sensitivities for diagnosing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were 84.

A prospective study comparing rapid assessment of smears and ThinPrep for endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspirates.

Background And Study Aims: ThinPrep is often used for endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) samples but the sensitivity of this method is unknown. The objective of the study was to compare sensitivity and accuracy of ThinPrep versus the smear method in pancreas and lymph node samples obtained by EUS-FNA.

Patients And Methods: Patients with suspected malignancy in the pancreas or lymph node underwent EUS-FNA.

Prepancreatic portal vein in a patient with intestinal nonrotation: report of a case.

Prepancreatic portal vein is an extremely rare congenital anomaly. It is even rarer in the setting of intestinal nonrotation. We report a case of prepancreatic portal vein in a 71-year-old female with nonrotation who presented with a pancreatic adenocarcinoma in the tail of the pancreas who underwent a distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy.

Interventional EUS for the diagnosis and treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) evolved as the diagnostic test of choice evaluating suspected pancreatic tumors. Coupled with fine needle aspiration (FNA), EUS provides high accuracy for the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer. Novel EUS based techniques have emerged as a safe minimally invasive alternative to the surgical or radiological approaches.

Safety and efficacy of cytology brushings versus standard fine-needle aspiration in evaluating cystic pancreatic lesions: a controlled study.

Background And Study Aims: Cystic pancreatic lesions (CPLs) are increasingly detected by various imaging studies. Mucinous CPLs carry a risk of malignant transformation but this is often difficult to diagnose preoperatively. In a previous report of 10 suspected mucinous CPLs, the cellular yield of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS)-guided cytology brushings was found to be superior to the yield from standard fine-needle aspiration (FNA).

Survival in patients with pancreatic cancer after the diagnosis of malignant ascites or liver metastases by EUS-FNA.

Background: The expected survival after the EUS-FNA diagnosis of malignant ascites or liver metastases from pancreatic cancer is not known.

Objective: To report overall and 1-year survival in these patients.

Design: Retrospective cohort series.

Role of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration with flow cytometry to diagnose lymphoma: a single center experience.

Background And Aim: The use of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) +/- flow cytometry (FC) for the diagnosis of suspected lymphoma remains controversial. We report our experience and diagnostic yield for EUS +/- FC for suspected lymphoma.

Methods: Databases were queried for those who underwent EUS-FNA +/- FC for suspected lymphoma.

Use of dextropropoxyphene + acetaminophen fixed-dose combination in psychiatric hospital in Bahrain: is there a cause for concern?

There are concerns about the safety of the dextropropoxyphene and acetaminophen fixed-dose combination, particularly in patients with psychiatric morbidity, which has led to a phased withdrawal of this fixed-dose combination in many countries. A retrospective prescription audit was conducted to evaluate the dextropropoxyphene + acetaminophen fixed-dose combination prescribing pattern in the major psychiatric hospital of Bahrain. The data analysis was performed using SPSS/PC+ version 14.