Does prophylactic stent insertion to the common bile duct during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) before cholecystectomy have any impact on the rate of biliary complications?

Background: Patients with choledochocystolithiasis generally undergo endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) followed by elective cholecystectomy. They can experience the development of recurrent biliary events while waiting for their scheduled surgery.

Aim: This study investigated whether stent insertion before cholecystectomy influences the rate of complications.

Ensure preparation and capsule endoscopy: a two-center prospective study.

Aim: To compare small bowel (SB) cleanliness and capsule endoscopy (CE) image quality following Ensure(®), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and standard preparations.

Methods: A preparation protocol for CE that is both efficacious and acceptable to patients remains elusive. Considering the physiological function of the SB as a site for the digestion and absorption of food and not as a stool reservoir, preparation consisting of a liquid, fiber-free formula ingested one day before a CE study might have an advantage over other kinds of preparations.

Vitamin D supplementation improves sustained virologic response in chronic hepatitis C (genotype 1)-naïve patients.

Aim: To determine whether adding vitamin D, a potent immunomodulator, improves the hepatitis C virus (HCV) response to antiviral therapy.

Methods: Seventy-two consecutive patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 were randomized into two groups: the treatment group (n = 36, 50% male, mean age 47 ± 11 years) received Peg-α-2b interferon (1.5 μg/kg per week) plus ribavirin (1000-1200 mg/d) together with vitamin D3 (2000 IU/d, target serum level > 32 ng/mL), and the control group (n = 36, 60% male, mean age 49 ± 7 years) received identical therapy without vitamin D.

Validation of the Capsule Endoscopy Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CECDAI or Niv score): a multicenter prospective study.

Background And Study Aims: The Capsule Endoscopy Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CECDAI or Niv score) was devised to measure mucosal disease activity using video capsule endoscopy (VCE). The aim of the current study was to prospectively validate the use of the scoring system in daily practice.

Methods: This was a multicenter, double-blind, prospective, controlled study of VCE videos from 62 consecutive patients with isolated small-bowel Crohn's disease.

Capsule endoscopy: Future horizons.

Capsule endoscopy (CE) was launched at the beginning of this millennium and has since become a well established methodology for evaluating the entire small bowel for manifold pathologies. CE far exceeded early expectations by providing a tool for establishing the correct diagnosis for elusive gastrointestinal (GI) conditions such as obscure GI bleeding, Crohn's disease, polyposis syndrome and others. Contemporary CE, like radiology, gives results that can only be read, unlike conventional endoscopic procedures which enable concomitant biopsy when indicated.

Value of EUS-FNA cytological preparations compared with cell block sections in the diagnosis of pancreatic solid tumours.

Objective: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is performed in order to achieve a definite tissue diagnosis of pancreatic lesions. This in turn is a guide to the appropriate treatment for the patient. Tissue samples collected by the same needle for cytological preparations and cell block histological sections (often referred to as FNA-cytology and FNA-biopsy, respectively) are handled differently.

Prospective multicenter performance evaluation of the second-generation colon capsule compared with colonoscopy.

Background And Study Aims: A second-generation capsule endoscopy system, using the PillCam Colon 2, was developed to increase sensitivity for colorectal polyp detection compared with the first-generation system. The performance of this new system is reported.

Patients And Methods: In a five-center feasibility study, second-generation capsule endoscopy was prospectively compared with conventional colonoscopy as gold standard for the detection of colorectal polyps and other colonic disease, in a cohort of patients scheduled for colonoscopy and having known or suspected colonic disease.

Post-pyloric feeding.

Postpyloric feeding is an important and promising alternative to parenteral nutrition. The indications for this kind of feeding are increasing and include a variety of clinical conditions, such as gastroparesis, acute pancreatitis, gastric outlet stenosis, hyperemesis (including gravida), recurrent aspiration, tracheoesophageal fistula and stenosis in gastroenterostomy. This review discusses the differences between pre- and postpyloric feeding, indications and contraindications, advantages and disadvantages, and provides an overview of the techniques of placement of various postpyloric devices.

Induced sputum eosinophilia in ulcerative colitis patients: the lung as a mirror image of intestine?

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a systemic disease of unknown etiology with extra-intestinal manifestation. Induced sputum (IS) non-invasively assesses extrapulmonary involvement in Crohn's disease. We sought to determine whether there is a cellular marker of lung injury in UC patients detectable by IS.

Microsatellite instability, MLH1 promoter methylation, and BRAF mutation analysis in sporadic colorectal cancers of different ethnic groups in Israel.

Background: The molecular mechanisms that underlie colorectal cancer (CRC) include microsatellite instability (MSI), chromosomal instability, and the CpG island methylator phenotype. There is evidence to suggest that CRC incidence varies among different ethnic populations worldwide. The authors of this report hypothesized that environmental factors and lifestyle differences among various ethnic groups may differentially influence the epigenetic regulation of tumor suppressor genes in CRC.

Small bowel capsule endoscopy: have we conquered the last frontier?

Capsule endoscopy was launched at the beginning of this millennium and has since become a well-established tool for evaluating the entire small bowel for manifold pathologies. CE far exceeded our early expectations by providing us with a tool to establish the correct diagnosis for such elusive gastrointestinal conditions as obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, Crohn's disease, polyposis syndrome and others. Recent evidence has shown CE to be superior to other imaging modalities - such as small bowel follow-through X-ray, colonoscopy with ileoscopy, computerized tomographic enterography, magnetic resonance enteroclysis and push enteroscopy--for diagnosing small bowel pathologies.

Sightline ColonoSight system for a disposable, power-assisted, non-fiber-optic colonoscopy (with video).

Background: The Sightline ColonoSight (CS) colonoscopy system presents 3 technologic advances: (1) disposable components protect the reusable parts from contact with colonic contents, eliminating the need for disinfection between procedures, (2) an air-pressure-powered engine assists in colonoscope advancement, (3) light emitting diode (LED) illumination eliminates the need for fiber optics and an external light source.

Objectives: To study the operation, performance, and safety of the Sightline CS colonoscopy system.

Design: The system was tested during colonoscopy in animals and in human pilot studies.

Effect of erythromycin on image quality and transit time of capsule endoscopy: a two-center study.

Aim: To compare the effect of oral erythromycin vs no preparation with prokinetics on the transit time and the image quality of capsule endoscopy (CE) in evaluating small bowel (SB) pathology.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, blinded (to the type of preparation) review of 100 CE studies, 50 with no preparation with prokinetics from one medical center (Group A) and 50 from another center with administration of a single dose of 200 mg oral erythromycin 1 h prior to CE (Group B). Gastric, SB and total transit times were calculated, the presence of bile in the duodenum was scored, as was cleanliness within the proximal, middle and distal intestine.

Macroamylasemia as the first manifestation of celiac disease.

Macroamylasemia is a biochemical disorder characterized by an elevated serum amylase activity resulting from the circulation of a macromolecular complex of amylase with a serum component, often an immunoglobulin. The increased molecular weight of this complex prevents the normal renal excretion of the enzyme. A few cases of celiac patients with macroamylasemia have been published in whom the biochemical disorder disappeared after treatment with a gluten-free diet.

The colon - the latest terrain for capsule endoscopy.

Colonoscopy is the gold standard for evaluating pathologies of the large bowel, including screening for colorectal cancer. The technological features of current colonoscopes have not progressed much in recent years except for improved image and video display. The technique requires intubation and insufflation of the colon which are operator-dependent and involve a learning curve.

New frontiers in capsule endoscopy.

Capsule endoscopy (CE) was launched at the beginning of this millennium and has since become a well-established tool for evaluating the entire small bowel for manifold pathologies. CE far exceeded our early expectations by providing us with a tool to establish the correct diagnosis for elusive gastrointestinal (GI) conditions such as obscure GI bleeding, Crohn's disease, polyposis syndrome, and others. Recent evidence has shown CE to be superior to other imaging modalities, such as small bowel follow-through X-ray, colonoscopy with ileoscopy, computerized tomographic enterography, magnetic resonance enteroclysis, and push enteroscopy, for diagnosing small bowel pathologies.

Age and indication for referral to capsule endoscopy significantly affect small bowel transit times: the given database.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of age and selected indications for capsule endoscopy on small bowel transit times. Data on 67 clinical studies (790 subjects with different gastrointestinal pathologies [49.5% males; mean age, 51.

Hydrogen peroxide in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) vs eosinophil count in induced sputum (IS) in parenchymal vs airways lung diseases.

We compared exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and induced sputum (IS) for assessing inflammation in pulmonary diseases in patients with obstructive lung disease (n = 20), persistent cough >6 months (n = 20), interstitial lung disease (n = 25) and controls (n = 10). EBC was collected by suspending a Teflon perfluoroalkoxy tube installed in an ice-filled container and connected to a polypropylene test tube. IS was recovered after 20' inhalation of 3% saline with an ultrasonic nebulizer, and 300 cells were differentially counted in cytospin Giemsa-stained slides.

Evaluation of the PillCam Colon capsule in the detection of colonic pathology: results of the first multicenter, prospective, comparative study.

Background And Study Aims: Population-based screening for colorectal cancer is widely recommended, with conventional colonoscopy considered to be the preferred diagnostic modality. However, compliance with screening colonoscopy is low and manpower capacity is limited. Capsule endoscopy might therefore represent a desirable alternative strategy.

Biopsy forceps: reusable or disposable?

Reusable and disposable biopsy forceps are both widely available for use in gastrointestinal endoscopy units. Biopsy forceps have design and material features that may interfere with cleaning, and reusable devices must be designed to function safely and effectively following sterilization in a healthcare setting. During the last decade, endoscopic accessories have evolved from reusable to disposable in many parts of the world.

The role of endoscopy in the evaluation of iron deficiency anemia in premenopausal women.

Background: Men and postmenopausal women with iron deficiency anemia are routinely evaluated to exclude a gastrointestinal source of suspected internal bleeding. Iron deficiency anemia in premenopausal women is often treated with simple iron replacement under the assumption that the condition is due to excessive menstrual blood loss.

Objectives: To determine the yield of endoscopy evaluations in premenopausal women with iron deficiency anemia.