Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in distal pancreatectomy: incidence and risk factors.

Background: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is a known consequence of pancreatic resection; however, its incidence following distal pancreatectomy is not well defined. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of EPI in patients undergoing distal pancreatectomy and moreover identify risk factors for developing de-novo EPI after distal pancreatectomy.

Methods: A prospectively maintained institutional pancreatic resection database was interrogated to identify patients who underwent distal pancreatectomy from 2005 to 2015.

Early experience with cap-assisted endoscopic pancreatic necrosectomy: A technique to enhance safe tissue extraction and decrease interventions.

 Endoscopic treatment of walled-off pancreatic necrosis (WOPN) has been established as an alternative to operative intervention for well selected patients for many years.  A retrospective database of patients who underwent cap-assisted endoscopic necrosectomy of symptomatic or infected WOPN using the assistance of a sterilized banding cap was constructed. All procedures were performed at a single center between January 2017 and June 2018.

The Value of Quick Sepsis-Related Organ Failure Assessment Scores in Patients With Acute Pancreatitis Who Present to Emergency Departments: A Three-Year Cohort Study.

Background: Distinguishing sepsis from other inflammatory syndromes continues to be a clinical challenge. The goal of risk stratification tools is to differentiate sepsis from other conditions. We compare the ability of quick sepsis-related organ failure assessment (qSOFA) and systemic inflammatory responses syndrome (SIRS) scores to predict prolonged length of stay (LOS) among patients who presented to the emergency department and hospital ward with acute pancreatitis (AP).

Economical effect of lumen apposing metal stents for treating benign foregut strictures.

Aim: To evaluate the clinical and economical efficacy of lumen apposing metal stent (LAMS) in the treatment of benign foregut strictures.

Methods: A single center retrospective database of patients who underwent endoscopic treatment of benign foregut strictures between January 2014 and May 2017 was analyzed. A control group of non-stented patients who underwent three endoscopic dilations was compared to patients who underwent LAMS placement.

Sigmoid volvulus in a patient with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS): a rare occurrence.

Mitochondrial diseases are rare and devastating, with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and systemic symptoms. The majority of the published literature focuses on the neuromuscular manifestations and genetic components of this mitochondrial cytopathy, however, cardiac, renal, endocrine and gastrointestinal manifestations may also be present. The authors report a case detailing a 56-year-old woman's final hospitalisation from the gastrointestinal sequelae of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) (Co Q10 deficiency variant).

Nonspecific Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Bacteremia in a Patient with Subclinical Alcoholic Liver Disease.

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a pleomorphic gram-positive bacillus, is found widely in nature or as a commensal pathogen. It infects domestic animals such as swine, which may be the major reservoir of the organism. E.