Topical Lidocaine or Lidocaine/Diltiazem Ointment Following Rubber Band Ligation of Hemorrhoids: A Prospective 3-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Rubber band ligation of hemorrhoids causes less pain than excisional hemorrhoidectomy, but many patients still experience significant postprocedure discomfort.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether topical lidocaine, with or without diltiazem, is more effective than placebo for analgesia after hemorrhoid banding.

Design: This is a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.

Life-threatening gastrointestinal haemorrhage requiring surgical resection caused by SARS-CoV-2 induced ANCA associated vasculitis: A case report.

Introduction And Importance: SARS-CoV-2 infection has been linked to the diagnosis of various autoimmune conditions as well as flares in pre-existing disease. With such high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the community, it is important to consider rare manifestations of autoimmune conditions when patients present with severe symptoms. Multi-specialty care is required to ensure optimal outcomes and prompt diagnosis.

Tranexamic Acid for Lower GI Hemorrhage: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Background: Lower GI hemorrhage is a common source of morbidity and mortality. Tranexamic acid is an antifibrinolytic that has been shown to reduce blood loss in a variety of clinical conditions. Information regarding the use of tranexamic acid in treating lower GI hemorrhage is lacking.

Biomarkers and anastomotic leakage in colorectal surgery: C-reactive protein trajectory is the gold standard.

Background: Anastomotic leakage is a feared complication following colorectal surgery. Early prediction results in improved clinical outcome, but accurate predictive factors remain elusive. Many biomarkers have been studied with respect to diagnosis of anastomotic leakage but the concept of trajectory testing, using biomarkers, has not been assessed with regards to early diagnosis of anastomotic leak.

Blood-based detection of RAS mutations to guide anti-EGFR therapy in colorectal cancer patients: concordance of results from circulating tumor DNA and tissue-based RAS testing.

An accurate blood-based RAS mutation assay to determine eligibility of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients for anti-EGFR therapy would benefit clinical practice by better informing decisions to administer treatment independent of tissue availability. The objective of this study was to determine the level of concordance between plasma and tissue RAS mutation status in patients with mCRC to gauge whether blood-based RAS mutation testing is a viable alternative to standard-of-care RAS tumor testing. RAS testing was performed on plasma samples from newly diagnosed metastatic patients, or from recurrent mCRC patients using the highly sensitive digital PCR technology, BEAMing (beads, emulsions, amplification, and magnetics), and compared with DNA sequencing data of respective FFPE (formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded) tumor samples.

Transversus abdominis plane blockade in laparoscopic colorectal surgery: a double-blind randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: Adequate postoperative analgesia is essential for recovery following colorectal surgery. Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks have been found to be beneficial in improving pain following a variety of abdominal operations. The objective of this study was to determine if TAP blocks are useful in improving postoperative recovery following laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

Sham feeding with chewing gum after elective colorectal resectional surgery: a randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To determine whether sham feeding with chewing gum improved gastrointestinal recovery after colorectal resection surgery, in the presence of routine postoperative feeding.

Background: Sham feeding with chewing gum has been shown to accelerate the return of gut function after colorectal surgery. This study sought to determine whether sham feeding with gum, after colorectal resection, accelerates return of gastrointestinal function in patients on a rapid feeding enhanced recovery program.

Barrier wound protection decreases surgical site infection in open elective colorectal surgery: a randomized clinical trial.

Purpose: Surgical site infection following colorectal surgery is a frequent and costly problem. Barrier protection at the time of this form of surgery has been used with varying results. The aim of this randomized study was to examine the efficacy of barrier retractional wound protection in the prevention of surgical site infections in open, elective colorectal surgery.

Integrin expression in colon cancer cells is regulated by the cytoplasmic domain of the beta6 integrin subunit.

We have previously reported that the alphavbeta6 integrin upregulates its own expression in a protein kinase C-dependent manner with increasing cell density. The wild-type beta6 integrin subunit has also been shown to promote tumour growth in vivo and its growth-enhancing effect is regulated by both a MAP kinase binding motif on beta6 and the 11 amino acid C-terminal cytoplasmic extension unique to the beta6 subunit. Herein, we show that the 11 amino acid cytoplasmic extension is essential for the cell density-dependent increase in beta6 expression and that the 11 amino acid tail exerts a dominant negative effect on cell density- and PKC-mediated beta5 expression in alphavbeta6-expressing colon cancer cells.