Question Prompt List as a Communication Tool for Adults With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Incorporation of Patients' Perspectives.

Background: Question prompt lists (QPLs) are structured sets of disease-specific questions intended for patient use, enhancing the patient-physician communication by encouraging patients to ask relevant questions during a consultation. Recently, a preliminary 78 question gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) specific QPL was created by 12 esophageal experts through a modified Delphi (RAND/University of California, Los Angeles) technique. Patients' perspectives and opinions on each question, however, had not been accounted for in the preliminary expert' version.

Development of a Preliminary Question Prompt List as a Communication Tool for Adults With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: A Modified Delphi Study.

Background: Question prompt lists (QPLs) are structured sets of disease-specific questions intended for patient use, encouraging patients to ask questions to facilitate their consultation with their physician.

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a QPL specific to adults with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), created by esophageal experts.

Methods: The QPL content (78 questions) was derived through a modified Delphi method consisting of 2 rounds.

ACG Institute for Clinical Research and Education: fulfilling the ACG's commitment to advance clinical gastroenterology.

Founded in 1994, the ACG Institute for Clinical Research and Education has assumed an increasingly important role in the life of the American College of Gastroenterology in recent years owing to the strength and relevance of its programs and the notable growth in the funding of clinical gastroenterology research. This report outlines its mission, leadership structure, and recent accomplishments.

Will women ever break the glass ceiling in medicine?

Increased attention is being paid to women's working conditions in medicine. Few data are available regarding gender disparity in gastroenterology. It seems, however, that in general women are paid less than men and that their progress in academic practice tends to be slow.

Does fecal occult blood testing really reduce mortality? A reanalysis of systematic review data.

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common cause of cancer mortality. A variety of CRC screening strategies are being adopted in many developed countries. Fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) is one option for screening that has the most evidence for efficacy and is also the cheapest approach.

Esophageal manometry: assessment of interpreter consistency.

Background And Aims: Manometry is used widely in the evaluation of esophageal disorders. Our aim was to assess the intra- and interobserver reliability of esophageal manometry and identify potential causes for diagnostic variability.

Methods: Seventy-two esophageal manometry tracings were selected randomly from archives.

Colorectal cancer screening in primary care: the long and short of it.

Primary care physicians and physician extenders have been encouraged to perform sigmoidoscopy to improve compliance with screening and address the potential shortage of colonoscopists. A survey of primary care teaching programs reveals that sigmoidoscopy training is inconsistent and lacks minimum standards of competency. It would be helpful to know how many primary caregivers offer sigmoidoscopy in their practice and if they are deterred by insufficient resources and falling reimbursement.

Predictors of outcome of pneumatic dilation in achalasia.

Background & Aims: Graded pneumatic dilation (PD) is a widely accepted treatment for achalasia. We investigated the potential predictors of outcome in a large group of patients with achalasia and tested the hypothesis that graded PD may not be appropriate for all patients.

Methods: Patients undergoing PD from 1992 to 2002 were evaluated retrospectively.

The pathogenesis of pseudoachalasia: a clinicopathologic study of 13 cases of a rare entity.

Pseudoachalasia is an esophageal motor disorder usually associated with malignancy that has clinical, radiographic, and manometric findings that are often indistinguishable from primary achalasia. There are few reports examining the histologic features of the associated neoplasms and their relationship with the esophageal myenteric plexus. We studied the clinical and pathologic features of 13 cases of pseudoachalasia seen at our institution between 1979 and 1999.