, gastric microbiota and gastric cancer relationship: Unrolling the tangle.

infection (I) represents a typical microbial agent intervening in the complex mechanisms of gastric homeostasis by disturbing the balance between the host gastric microbiota and mucosa-related factors, leading to inflammatory changes, dysbiosis and eventually gastric cancer. The normal gastric microbiota shows diversity, with [ () belongs to this family], , , and being the most abundant phyla. Most studies indicate that has inhibitory effects on the colonization of other bacteria, harboring a lower diversity of them in the stomach.

Performance Assessment of Subjects With Nursing Education Trained in Sigmoidoscopy by Means of a Simulator.

Reports evaluating simulation-based sigmoidoscopy training among nurses are scarce. The aim of this prospective nonrandomized study was to assess the performance of nurses in simulated sigmoidoscopy training and the potential impact on their performance of endoscopy unit experience, general professional experience, and skills in manual activities requiring coordinated maneuvers. Forty-four subjects were included: 12 nurses with (Group A) and 14 nurses without endoscopy unit experience (Group B) as well as 18 senior nursing students (Group C).

Evaluation of the Direct Economic Cost per Eradication Treatment Regimen against Infection in Greece: Do National Health Policy-Makers Need to Care?

() management has undoubtedly resulted in a notable economic burden on healthcare systems globally, including Greece. Its cost has never been estimated so far, especially during the recent 10-year unprecedented financial crisis. Direct medical and procedural costs for one attempt "outpatient" eradication treatment were estimated as the following: (I) first-line regimens: 10 and 14 days standard triple, 10 and 14 days sequential, 10 and 14 days concomitant non-bismuth quadruple, 14 days hybrid, (II) second-line salvage regimens: 10 and 14 days levofloxacin-containing triple regimens.

Presepsin levels in cirrhotic patients with bacterial infections and/or portal hypertension-related bleeding, presenting with or without acute kidney injury.

Background: Bacterial infections in cirrhotic patients remain a challenge. Presepsin has been proposed as a valuable sepsis biomarker. We aimed to assess plasma presepsin levels in uncomplicated cirrhotic patients and to correlate them with liver disease severity and complicating events, defined as documented bacterial infection with or without concomitant portal hypertension-related bleeding, or bleeding without documented bacterial infection, with or without acute kidney injury.

Methadone Gastrobezoar in a Psychiatric Patient Presented in Coma.

A 43-year-old psychiatric patient was transferred in coma and hypercapnic respiratory failure at the emergency department. He was intubated for airway protection and transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Abdominal X-ray revealed a radiopaque mass; a pharmacobezoar was suspected and confirmed by gastroscopy; one large in the stomach fundus and a smaller one in the pylorus.

Evaluation of four time-saving methods of reading capsule endoscopy videos.

Objective: Review of wireless capsule endoscopy recordings is time consuming. The aim of this study was to evaluate four time-saving methods offered with Rapid Software.

Methods: A total of 100 wireless capsule endoscopy videos with abnormal findings were evaluated using five different ways of viewing: (a) manual mode at a speed of 10 frames per second (fps), (b) manual mode at a speed of 20 fps, (c) manual mode with a simultaneous display of two images at a speed of 20 fps, (d) automatic mode at a speed of 10 fps, and (e) quickview mode at a speed of 3 fps.

Capsule endoscopy image analysis using texture information from various colour models.

Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) is a novel imaging technique that is gradually gaining ground as it enables the non-invasive and efficacious visualization of the digestive track, and especially the entire small bowel including its middle part. However, the task of reviewing the vast amount of images produced by a WCE examination is a burden for the physicians. To tackle this major drawback, an innovative scheme for discriminating endoscopic images related to one of the most common intestinal diseases, ulceration, is presented here.

A study comparing an endoscopy nurse and an endoscopy physician in capsule endoscopy interpretation.

Objective: Complete review of wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) recordings by a physician is time-consuming and laborious and may be perceived as a limitation to perform WCE. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a nurse in interpreting WCE.

Methods: A total of 102 WCE videos were evaluated by a single gastroenterologist and a nurse experienced as an assistant in diagnostic and interventional endoscopy and trained in WCE.

Abnormal pattern detection in Wireless Capsule Endoscopy images using nonlinear analysis in RGB color space.

In recent years, an innovative method has been developed for the non-invasive observation of the gastrointestinal tract (GT), namely Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE). WCE especially enables a detailed inspection of the entire small bowel and identification of its clinical lesions. However, the foremost disadvantage of this technological breakthrough is the time consuming task of reviewing the vast amount of images produced.

Comparison of two schemes of small bowel preparation for capsule endoscopy with polyethylene glycol: a prospective, randomized single-blind study.

Objective: Small bowel preparation for capsule endoscopy remains controversial. This study was conducted to compare the efficacy of 2 and 4 l of polyethylene glycol.

Methods: One hundred and one patients (group A) received 2 l and 100 (group B) received 4 l in a prospective, randomized single-blind trial.

Capsule retention: a feared complication of wireless capsule endoscopy.

Wireless capsule endoscopy is a simple, non-invasive technique for the visualization of the entire small bowel. It was introduced in clinical praxis in 2001 and has already become the method of choice for the investigation of small-bowel pathology. Capsule retention is a major complication, with an overall incidence of 1-2%, although reported rates vary widely from 0% to 21%, depending on the indication for the examination.

Acute pancreatitis associated with herpes simplex virus infection: report of a case and review of the literature.

Although a wide variety of infectious agents have been implicated in the aetiology of acute pancreatitis, their true incidence is unknown because they coexist quite often with other noninfectious causes. Acute herpes simplex viral pancreatitis is a rarely encountered entity in the literature. We report a patient who developed acute pancreatitis and hepatitis in association with herpes simplex virus infection as well as cholestatic syndrome because of compression of the intrapancreatic part of the common bile duct by the oedematous pancreatic head.

Capsule endoscopy in the investigation of patients with portal hypertension and anemia.

Introduction: Data on small bowel abnormalities in patients with portal hypertension (PHT) are limited. Bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract and anemia are common complications in these patients. Capsule endoscopy (CE) was used to evaluate small bowel (SB) pathology in patients with PHT and anemia, and possible associations with various parameters were examined.

Late onset autoimmune thrombocytopenia associated with pegylated interferon-alpha-2b plus ribavirin treatment for chronic hepatitis C.

Interferon-induced, immune-mediated, thrombocytopenia is a rare event. In this report the case is described of development of severe, reversible, autoimmune thrombocytopenia in a patient with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, 6 months after the discontinuation of pegylated interferon-alpha-2b plus ribavirin treatment. Physicians must be aware that autoimmune thrombocytopenia can occur even after the end of treatment, as a late onset complication, especially when using the pegylated forms of interferons, which have longer half-lives and prolonged activity.

Biliary stenting alone versus biliary stenting plus sphincterotomy for the treatment of post-laparoscopic cholecystectomy biliary leaks: a prospective randomized study.

Objective: Although various endoscopic techniques have been proved effective in treating post-cholecystectomy biliary leaks, the choice of the best method remains controversial. The aim of this prospective study was to compare the efficacy and safety of biliary stenting alone with biliary stenting plus sphincterotomy for the treatment of post-cholecystectomy biliary leaks.

Methods: Patients with post-laparoscopic cholecystectomy leaks were randomized into two groups.

Endoscopic variceal ligation vs. propranolol for prevention of first variceal bleeding: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Data in the literature regarding the role of endoscopic variceal ligation for the prevention of first variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients are controversial. To further explore this issue we have compared ligation and propranolol treatment in a prospective randomized study.

Methods: Sixty patients with cirrhosis and oesophageal varices with no history but at high risk of bleeding were randomized to ligation treatment (30 patients) or propranolol (30 patients).