Proton Pump Inhibitor-Induced Gut Dysbiosis Increases Mortality Rates for Patients with Clostridioides difficile Infection.

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is associated with high mortality rates among patients with chronic illnesses. We aimed to identify avoidable risk factors to reduce the mortality rate in CDI patients. A total of 306 patients with diarrhea and clinical suspicion of CDI were enrolled, and fecal samples were gathered from 145 patients.

Evaluation of a Diagnostic and Management Algorithm for Adult Caustic Ingestion: New Concept of Severity Stratification and Patient Categorization.

Background: Caustic ingestion has gained increasing attention worldwide. However, the insight into whether to use esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) or computed tomography (CT) for first-line investigation remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate a diagnostic and management algorithm that combines EGD and CT for rapid triage.

Gut microbiome profiles and associated metabolic pathways in patients of adult-onset immunodeficiency with anti-interferon-gamma autoantibodies.

Autoantibodies against interferon-gamma (AutoAbs-IFN-γ) can cause the immunodeficiency condition following various opportunistic infections. Gut microbiota can affect the human immune system in many ways. Many studies have shown that gut dysbiosis was associated with some immune diseases, such as autoimmune diseases and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, while its relationship at anti-IFN-γ AAbs remains unknown.

Optimal Perioperative Nutrition Therapy for Patients Undergoing Pancreaticoduodenectomy: A Systematic Review with a Component Network Meta-Analysis.

Numerous strategies for perioperative nutrition therapy for patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) have been proposed. This systematic review aimed to summarize the current relevant published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating different nutritional interventions via a traditional network meta-analysis (NMA) and component network meta-analysis (cNMA). EMBASE, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.

Profiling of inflammatory cytokines in patients with caustic gastrointestinal tract injury.

Introduction: Study of inflammatory cytokines in patients with caustic gastrointestinal tract injury is sketchy. This study investigated the cytokine profiling of patients with caustic substance ingestion, and analyzed the differences between patients with severe and mild injury.

Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional study enrolled 22 patients admitted to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between March and October 2018.

The optimal timing of interval laparoscopic cholecystectomy following percutaneous cholecystostomy based on pathological findings and the incidence of biliary events.

Background: The incidence of biliary events (BE) following percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) in acute cholecystitis (AC) patients is high. Therefore, definitive laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is recommended. We aimed to investigate the optimal timing of LC following PC with regard to the clinical course and pathological findings.

Management of Patients With Acute Cholecystitis After Percutaneous Cholecystostomy: From the Acute Stage to Definitive Surgical Treatment.

Percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) has become an important procedure for the treatment of acute cholecystitis (AC). PC is currently applied for patients who cannot undergo immediate laparoscopic cholecystectomy. However, the management following PC has not been well-reviewed.

The rectal mucosal but not fecal microbiota detects subclinical ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis (UC), a subtype of inflammatory bowel disease, is characterized by repetitive remission and relapse. Gut microbiome is critically involved in pathogenesis of UC. The shifts in microbiome profile during disease remission remain under-investigated.

Serum metabolites may be useful markers to assess vascular invasion and identify normal alpha-fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing liver resection: a pilot study.

Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver with a dismal prognosis. Vascular invasion, among others, is the most robust indicator of postoperative recurrence and overall survival after liver resection for HCC. Few studies to date have attempted to search for effective markers to predict vascular invasion before the operation.

Predicting Clinical Outcomes of Cirrhosis Patients With Hepatic Encephalopathy From the Fecal Microbiome.

Background & Aims: Gut dysbiosis plays a role in hepatic encephalopathy (HE), while its relationship at the acute episode of overt HE (AHE), the disease progression and clinical outcomes remains unclear. We aimed to identify AHE-specific microbiome and its association to patients' outcomes.

Methods: We profiled fecal microbiome changes for a cohort of 62 patients with cirrhosis and AHE i) before treatment, ii) 2-3 days after medication and iii) 2-3 months after recovery, and three control cohorts i) healthy individuals, patients with ii) compensated or iii) decompensated cirrhosis.

Cadherin 17 is related to recurrence and poor prognosis of cytokeratin 19-positive hepatocellular carcinoma.

A previous study demonstrated that cytokeratin 19 (CK19) expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an indicator of HCC invasiveness, including lymph node metastasis (LNM), tumor infiltration/non-encapsulation and poor prognosis. The exact mechanism by which CK19 expression results in poor prognosis remains unclear. Through the use of an Affymetrix U133A oligonucleotide microarray [20 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-HCC], it was demonstrated that cadherin 17 (CDH17) significantly correlated with CK19 expression (R, 0.

RAM score is an effective predictor for early mortality and recurrence after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Liver resection had been regarded as a standard treatment for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, early mortality and recurrence after surgery were still of major concern. RAM (Risk Assessment for early Mortality) scoring system is a newly developed tool for assessing early mortality after hepatectomy for HCC.

Risk factors for early mortality after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Despite advances in surgical technique and medical care, liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a high-risk major operation. The present study evaluated the risk factors for early mortality after hepatectomy.We retrospectively reviewed records of patients undergoing liver resection for HCC between 1983 and 2015.

Optimizing Human Bile Preparation for Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis.

Aims: Bile is an important body fluid which assists in the digestion of fat and excretion of endogenous and exogenous compounds. In the present study, an improved sample preparation for human bile was established.

Methods And Material: The method involved acetone precipitation followed by protein extraction using commercially available 2D Clean-Up kit.

Distinct patterns of the lipid alterations between genotype 1 and 2 chronic hepatitis C patients after viral clearance.

Background: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype-specific impacts on the host metabolic alterations remained inconclusive.

Methods: A prospective study including 229 (118 genotype 1 (G1) and 111 G2) consecutive chronic HCV patients who had completed a course of anti-HCV treatment and underwent pre- and 24 weeks post-treatment surveys of metabolic profiles was conducted. Patients were stratified according to the therapeutic response, viral genotype and baseline insulin resistance (IR: homeostasis model assessments of IR (HOMA-IR) ≥ 2.

HCV core-induced nonobese hepatic steatosis is associated with hypoadiponectinemia and is ameliorated by adiponectin administration.

Obesity-related hepatic steatosis is commonly associated with central fat accumulation and alterations in adipocytokine secretion; however, the connection between nonobese hepatic steatosis and adipocytokines remains unclear. We aim to investigate this connection using an animal model of conditional hepatitis C virus (HCV) core-transgenic mice. Double transgenic mice (DTM) with doxycycline (dox)-regulated hepatic overexpression of the HCV core protein were fed standard rodent chow ad libitum following 1 month of a dox-rich diet.

Hydrodynamics-based transfection of the combination of betacellulin and neurogenic differentiation 1 DNA ameliorates hyperglycemia in mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

Background: The biohazards caused by the viral delivery of pancreatic transcription factors, including neurogenic differentiation 1 (Neurod1) and Betacellulin (Btc), to the murine liver limit application of this procedure in reversing diabetes. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of hydrodynamics-based transfection (HBT) with Neurod1 and Btc in improving hyperglycemia.

Methods: Murine hepatocellular carcinoma (Hepa1-6) cells were transfected with the combination of Neurod1-expressing plasmid, pcDNA3.

Predictive factors for lymph node metastasis in early gastric cancer.

Aim: To analyze the predictive factors for lymph node metastasis (LNM) in early gastric cancer (EGC).

Methods: Data from patients surgically treated for gastric cancers between January 1994 and December 2007 were retrospectively collected. Clinicopathological factors were analyzed to identify predictive factors for LNM.