The utility of capsule endoscopy small bowel surveillance in patients with polyposis.

Background: Small intestinal (SI) surveillance is recommended for polyposis patients. The utility and safety of capsule endoscopy (CE) for surveillance of SI neoplasia in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is unknown.

Methods: CE was offered to consecutive FAP and PJS patients due for routine upper endoscopic surveillance.

Pegylated interferon alpha-2b, ribavirin and amantadine for chronic hepatitis C.

In an attempt to improve the efficacy of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C, a three-drug combination of pegylated interferon alpha-2b, ribavirin, and amantadine has been suggested. Despite the initial enthusiasm, the role of amantadine in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C remains controversial. In a multi-center, open-label clinical trial, the potential efficacy and safety of this triple combination regimen were assessed.

Predicting outcome after cardiac surgery in patients with cirrhosis: a comparison of Child-Pugh and MELD scores.

Background & Aims: This study aims to quantify the risk of cardiac surgery in patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: Records of all adult patients with cirrhosis undergoing cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH) from January 1992 to June 2002 were analyzed for any relationship of Child-Pugh class and/or score and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score with outcome measures of hepatic decompensation and death during the first 3 months after surgery.

Results: Forty-four patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (16 patients), valve surgery (16 patients), a combination of the 2 procedures (10 patients), or pericardiectomy (2 patients).

The accuracy of an endoscopy nurse in interpreting capsule endoscopy.

Objective: The average physician time required to view a wireless capsule endoscopy study at our institution is 50 min. It is unknown whether a nurse could preview the capsule endoscopy video and accurately detect all significant lesions. If so, it may allow the physician to review only the predetected abnormalities and thereby greatly reduce physician reading time.