Current Approach to Dysphagia: A Review Focusing on Esophageal Motility Disorders and Their Treatment.

Background: Dysphagia is a prevalent condition which may severely impact the patient's quality of life. However, there are still lacking standardized therapeutic options for esophageal motility disorders.

Summary: Dysphagia is defined as a subjective sensation of difficulty swallowing which can result from oropharyngeal or esophageal etiologies.

Unusual Life-Threatening Complication of a Substernal Goiter: A Case of an Upper Gastrointestinal Bleed.

Substernal goiter represents a common and challenging clinical scenario in medical practice. Symptoms often include dysphagia, dyspnea, and hoarseness, deeming the vascular compressive symptoms an unusual finding. In extraordinarily rare cases, its slow and gradual growth determines the emergence of severe superior vena cava syndrome, with consequent development of upper esophageal downhill varices.

Critical Analysis of the Applicability of Small Bowel Capsule Endoscopy Performance Measures among 2 Portuguese Centers with Different Capsule Endoscopy Platforms.

Introduction: The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) identified the need to benchmark the quality of small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) and produced a set of performance measures (PM). The aim of this study is to critically evaluate the accordance of the PM for SBCE in two Portuguese centers with different SBCE platforms.

Methods: The authors conducted a cross-sectional analysis of consecutive SBCE performed in an 18-month period in 2 Portuguese centers that used two different SBCE platforms Mirocam® (IntroMedic, Seoul, South Korea) and PillCam® (Medtronic, Yokneam, Israel).

[Teleconsultation in the Portuguese National Health Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Physicians' Views and Future Implications].

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the reorganization of healthcare services and teleconsultation emerged as a solution to facilitate patient appointments. The aim of this study was to characterize, from a physician perspective, the teleconsultations carried out in the Portuguese National Health Service (SNS) during the first phase of the pandemic and to identify factors that influence the experience of the teleconsultation.

Material And Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted based on an online survey, between July-September 2020, aimed at SNS doctors.

Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy for Esophageal Achalasia in Portugal: Outcomes of the First Prospective Series.

Background: Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is an innovative achalasia treatment procedure that involves myotomy of the lower esophageal sphincter through a submucosal tunneling approach, combining the efficacy of surgical myotomy with the benefit of being a less invasive treatment. At this time, no data are available of POEM in Portugal. This study aimed to examine the safety and short-term outcomes of POEM in a Portuguese center.