Flexible endoscopy assisted by Ligasure™ for treatment of Zenker's diverticulum: an effective and safe procedure.

Background: Flexible endoscopy allows use of the vessel-tissue sealer Ligasure™ (Covidien, Massachusetts, USA) to perform diverticulotomy. Few studies have used this endoscopic approach in the uncommon disorder Zenker's diverticulum. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of flexible endoscopy treatment assisted by Ligasure™.

Short- and long-term clinical outcomes of self-expandable metal stents inserted for colorectal obstruction and efficacy of different insertion techniques.

Objectives: (1) To evaluate the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of patients after colorectal stent placement and (2) to assess the safety and efficacy of the stents for the resolution of colorectal obstruction according to the insertion technique.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study which included 177 patients with colonic obstruction who underwent insertion of a stent.

Results: A total of 196 stents were implanted in 177 patients.

Accuracy of the Ultra-Rapid Urease Test for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection.

Background: Rapid Urease Test (RUT) is a simple, cheap and relatively fast method for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection. It is therefore the preferred method used for patients undergoing gastroscopy. Most kits require 24h to give results.

Randomised clinical trial comparing sequential and concomitant therapies for Helicobacter pylori eradication in routine clinical practice.

Objectives: No trial has compared non-bismuth quadruple 'sequential' and 'concomitant' regimens in settings with increasing clarithromycin rates. The study aims to compare the effectiveness and safety of these therapies for Helicobacter pylori treatment.

Design: Prospective randomised clinical trial in 11 Spanish hospitals.

Use of self-expanding metal stents to treat malignant colorectal obstruction in general endoscopic practice (with videos).

Background: Self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) are being increasingly used to solve malignant colorectal obstruction (MCRO). Patients can then either undergo scheduled surgery or have the stent left in place as a definitive palliative treatment. The majority of reports on the use of SEMS in MCRO come from single centers; therefore, its use in general endoscopic practice is not clearly known.

Third-line rescue therapy with levofloxacin after two H. pylori treatment failures.

Aim: Eradication therapy with proton pump inhibitor, clarithromycin and amoxicillin fails in a considerable number of cases. A rescue therapy still fails in more than 20% of the cases. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of a third-line levofloxacin-based regimen in patients with two consecutive Helicobacter pylori eradication failures.

Seven versus ten days of rabeprazole triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication: a multicenter randomized trial.

Background: Ten-day triple therapy is somewhat more effective than 7-day treatment for curing Helicobacter pylori infection. Recent studies have suggested that rabeprazole-a proton pump inhibitor with fast onset of acid inhibition-could raise the efficacy of 7-day therapies to the levels obtained with 10-day treatment.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of 7- and 10-day rabeprazole-based triple therapy for H.

Comparison of two management strategies for Helicobacter pylori treatment: clinical study and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background: First-line proton pump inhibitor-based triple and quadruple therapies for Helicobacter pylori eradication present similar levels of efficacy. Cross-over treatment (quadruple following triple failure, and triple following quadruple failure) seems the most sensible approach to treatment failures, but the two strategies -'quadruple first' versus 'triple first'- have not been previously compared. The aims of our study were to assess the usefulness and the cost-effectiveness of the two treatment strategies.

[Helicobacter pylori resistance to metronidazole and clarythromicin: descriptive analysis 1997-2000].

Background And Objective: We aimed to assess the resistance of H. pylori to clarithromycin and metronidazole, in patients with and without previous eradication treatment, in a geographic area from the north of Spain. We also analyzed the evolution of resistance rates and its relationships with annual antibiotic consumption.

Breath test is very reliable for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in real clinical practice.

Aims: To determine the accuracy of the most common available tests for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in an unselected and untreated population of patients.

Patients And Methods: Prospective study including 314 unselected patients from a population of 814 patients referred for upper endoscopy at one hospital. H.

Validation of the 13c-urea breath test for the initial diagnosis of helicobacter pylori infection and to confirm eradication after treatment.

Objectives: the breath test with 13C-urea (UBT) is a method widely used in Spain, but its diagnostic accuracy has not been evaluated in a clinical trial until now. Our objective was to validate the UBT (TAU-KIT) both as an initial diagnostic method for the detection of H. pylori infection and as a method to confirm eradication.

One-week triple vs. quadruple therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection - a randomized trial.

Background: Seven-day triple therapy including omeprazole, clarithromycin and amoxicillin has become the treatment of choice for Helicobacter pylori infection. However, 7 days of classical quadruple therapy combining omeprazole, tetracycline, metronidazole and bismuth may be an alternative to triple therapy.

Aim: To compare triple vs.

[Helicobacter pylori eradication in patients with peptic ulcer after two treatment failures: a prospective culture-guided study].

Aim: To determine the effectiveness of a third, culture-guided, treatment of H. pylori infection after two unsuccessful attempts.

Patients And Methods: Forty-two consecutive patients with a diagnosis of peptic ulcer were included in an open prospective and multicenter study.

Factors affecting the variation in antibiotic resistance of Helicobacter pylori over a 3-year period.

Strains of Helicobacter pylori, isolated from 300 patients between 1996 and 2000 were tested for their sensitivity to clarithromycin, metronidazole and amoxycillin. Primary resistances (95% CI) were 9. 7% for clarithromycin and 21.

Third line treatment for Helicobacter pylori: a prospective, culture-guided study in peptic ulcer patients.

Background: A third line treatment is needed in roughly 5% of patients infected with Helicobacter pylori. Few data have been reported on efficacy of treatment regimens in these patients.

Methods: A prospective trial was designed to study the effectiveness of third line treatment of H.

Is 1-week treatment for peptic ulcer healing sufficient and safe?

Objective: To confirm whether 1-week anti-Helicobacter therapy to achieve ulcer healing is sufficient and safe.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with peptic ulcer who were infected with Helicobacter pylori and treated with 3 different 7-day regimens, according to predefined protocols in 3 different centers in the same geographical area (Aragón, Spain). Three combinations commonly described in the literature were used: a) omeprazole (40 mg/24 h), tetracycline hydrochloride (2 g/24 h), colloidal bismuth subcitrate (480 mg/24 h) and metronidazole (750 mg/24 h) (OBTM, n = 105); b) omeprazole (40 mg/24 h), clarithromycin (1.

[Does eliminating Helicobacter pylori mean the healing of the duodenal ulcer? The results of a prospective study in Spain].

Aim: To evaluate the predictive value of Helicobacter pylori eradication in the healing of duodenal ulcer.

Methods: A prospective study of 92 duodenal ulcer patients (diagnosed by endoscopy) with H. pylori infection demonstrated by rapid urease test, positive histology and culture.

Quadruple therapy is effective for eradicating Helicobacter pylori after failure of triple proton-pump inhibitor-based therapy: a detailed, prospective analysis of 21 consecutive cases.

Background: Data regarding the effectiveness of second-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection are limited, especially if microbiological studies are considered.

Methods And Patients: We conducted a prospective, uncontrolled study of a consecutive series of 21 peptic ulcer patients with failure of 1-week lansoprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin. H.

Impact of clarithromycin resistance on the effectiveness of a regimen for Helicobacter pylori: a prospective study of 1-week lansoprazole, amoxycillin and clarithromycin in active peptic ulcer.

Background: Clarithromycin is a key antimicrobial in the combinations used to cure Helicobacter pylori infections, so there is a need to define the impact of in vitro resistance on in vivo results.

Methods: A prospective trial was designed to study the effectiveness of the 1-week combination of lansoprazole, clarithromycin and amoxycillin in 102 consecutive patients with active peptic ulcer. The pre-treatment and post-treatment sensitivity to amoxycillin, metronidazole and clarithromycin were studied by E-test, and H.

The ideal therapy must be defined in each geographical area: experience with a quadruple therapy in Spain.

Background: Multiple therapeutic combinations have been tested to determine the optimal regimen(s) for Helicobacter pylori eradication, leading to very different results depending on the geographical area. Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of a "quadruple" therapy with omeprazole, tetracycline, bismuth and metronidazole in our area.

Materials And Methods: We investigate 106 consecutive patients with active peptic ulcer disease (duodenal, gastric or both) and Helicobacter pylori infection.

[Gammagraphy with sucralfate labelled with technetium in esophagitis].

In previous studies it has been reported that, after being labeled with technetium, sucralfate, an useful drug in peptic diseases, can be used to detect peptic lesions of the digestive tract. In this work we report our experience with this technique in the diagnosis of esophagitis. 25 studies (11 controls and 14 patients) were undertaken.

[Gammagraphy with labeled leukocytes as an activity and extension index of Crohn disease].

The knowledge of the location and extent of bowel involment and disease activity can be an important aspect on the evaluation of inflammatory bowel disease. Thirty five patients of Crohn's disease (CD) have been studied in this sense. We performed a total of 44 scintigraphic examinations using 99mTc-HMPAO labeled leukocytes and the results were compared with several clinical-biological indexes and with radiology and endoscopy.