Premedication with simethicone for improving the quality of gastric mucosal visualization: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Saliva, bubbles, or mucus can limit gastric mucosal visualization (GMV), increasing the risk of missed lesions such as gastric cancer. Several studies using endoscopy photodocumentation-based scores have reported increased quality of GMV when mucolytic and/or defoaming agents are administered. This single-center, prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial aimed to evaluate whether simethicone administration could improve GMV.

Multiple stents are not superior to single stent insertion for pain relief in patients with chronic pancreatitis: a retrospective comparative study.

Patients with painful chronic pancreatitis (CP) and distal main pancreatic duct (MPD) stricture are considered candidates for treatment using a single plastic stent insertion. Multiple side-by-side stents have been proposed as an alternative treatment but comparative studies are lacking. The aim of this retrospective study is to assess differences in characteristics and treatment outcomes in patients with CP and MPD strictures treated with a different number of stents during the stenting period.

Non-occlusive Mesenteric Ischemia as a Fatal Complication in Acute Pancreatitis: A Case Series.

Background: Vascular complications of severe acute pancreatitis are well known and largely described unlike non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia, which is a rare and potentially fatal complication. Non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia is an acute mesenteric ischemia without thrombotic occlusion of blood vessels, poorly described as a complication of acute pancreatitis.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a prospectively maintained registry of all pancreatic diseases referred to our center from 2013 to 2018, in order to determine the causes of early death.

The Belgian national registry on chronic pancreatitis: A prospective multi-centre study covering more than 800 patients in one year.

Background/objectives: The epidemiology, natural history, complications, and therapeutic management of chronic pancreatitis (CP) are not well described at the national level. This multi-centre prospective observational study involving eight Belgian hospitals aimed to improve the understanding of these aspects of CP in Belgium.

Methods: All patients with a diagnosis of CP based on imaging were eligible for this study.

The use of enteral access for continuous delivery of levodopa-carbidopa in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.

Background: Continuous delivery to the jejunum of levodopa-carbidopa is a promising therapy in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease, as it reduces motor fluctuation. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and jejunal tube (PEG-J) placement is a suitable option for this. However, studies focused in PEG-J management are lacking.