Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder and bile duct drainage with lumen apposing metal stent: A large multicenter cohort (with videos).

Background And Aim: Cholecystectomy and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography are the gold standard for managing acute cholecystitis and malignant biliary obstruction, respectively. Recent advances in therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) have provided alternatives for managing patients in whom these approaches fail, namely, EUS-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GB) and EUS-guided bile duct drainage (EUS-BD). We aimed to assess the technical and clinical success of these techniques in the largest multicenter cohort published to date.

Video consultations during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic are associated with high satisfaction for both doctors and patients.

Background And Aim: Telehealth has become the standard of care during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study aimed to assess doctor and patient satisfaction of endoscopy-related telehealth clinics with video consultations.

Methods: A prospective observational study of patients consecutively booked to attend two endoscopy-related telehealth clinics at an ambulatory tertiary care setting was conducted from July to October 2020.

Outcomes of endoscopic ultrasound as a one-off pancreatic cancer screening tool for 122 high- and moderate-risk patients.

Background And Aim: Pancreatic cancer (PC) carries a poor prognosis and is often detected at later stages. Screening programs for moderate- and high-risk people are still under debate. We present the results from a prospective study on endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) as a one-off screening tool for pancreatic cancer screening.

Benefits of phone consultation for endoscopy-related clinics in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background And Aim: During COVID-19 outbreak, restrictions to in-person consultations were introduced with a rise in telehealth. An indirect benefit of telehealth could be better attendance. This study aimed to assess "failure-to-attend" (FTA) rate and satisfaction for two endoscopy-related compulsory telehealth clinics during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Immunomodulator use does not prevent first loss of response to anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha therapy in inflammatory bowel disease: long-term outcomes in a real-world cohort.

Background: Recent prospective studies suggest combination therapy with immunomodulators improves efficacy, but long-term data is limited.

Aim: To assess whether anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF) monotherapy was associated with earlier loss of response (LOR) than combination therapy in a real-world cohort with long-term follow up.

Methods: A retrospective audit was conducted of inflammatory bowel disease patients receiving anti-TNF therapy in a tertiary centre and specialist private practices.

Long-term efficacy and tolerability of mycophenolate mofetil therapy in diffuse scleroderma skin disease.

Objectives: To assess the long-term efficacy and tolerability of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc).

Methods: Patients enrolled in the Australian Scleroderma Cohort study with dcSSc and baseline modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) ≥ 12 who were treated for a minimum of 12 months with MMF for the primary indication of skin disease were included and their prospectively collected data retrieved. Change in mRSS, the proportion with a clinically significant improvement (reduction in mRSS ≥ 5 from baseline) and adverse effects due to therapy were determined.