Endoscopic treatment of periampullary duodenal duplication cysts in children: Four case reports and review of the literature.

Background: Duodenal duplications are rare congenital anomalies of the gastrointestinal tract. As the periampullary variant is much rarer, literature is scant and only few authors have reported their experience in diagnosis and treatment, particularly with operative endoscopy.

Case Sumary: To report our experience with the endoscopic treatment in a series of children with periampullary duodenal duplication cysts, focusing on the importance of obtaining an accurate preoperative anatomic assessment of the malformations.

Infection Control Practices and Outcomes of Endoscopy Units in the Lombardy Region of Italy: A Survey From the Italian Society of Digestive Endoscopy During COVID-19 Spread.

Goals: The present survey from the Italian Society of Digestive Endoscopy (SIED-Società Italiana di Endoscopia Digestiva) was aimed at reporting infection control practice and outcomes at Digestive Endoscopy Units in a high-incidence area.

Background: Lombardy was the Italian region with the highest coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) prevalence, at the end of March 2020 accounting for 20% of all worldwide deaths. Joint Gastro-Intestinal societies released recommendations for Endoscopy Units to reduce the risk of the contagion.

Amoxicillin-Clavulanate-Induced Ischaemic Colitis.

Ischaemic colitis (IC) is the most frequent form of ischaemia of the digestive tract. Due to the worldwide increasing use of medications, there is a growing interest in drug-induced IC. This study reports a rare case of IC directly due to amoxicillin-clavulanate intake.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection: Italian national survey on current practices, training and outcomes.

Background And Aims: Most of the evidence supporting endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) comes from Asia. European data are primarily reported by specialized referral centers and thus may not be representative of common European ESD practice. The aim of this study is to understand the current state of ESD practice across Italian endoscopy centers.

Lack of interference between small bowel capsule endoscopy and implantable cardiac defibrillators: an 'in vivo' electrophysiological study.

Background: Capsule endoscopy is a widely performed procedure for small bowel investigation. Once swallowed by the patient, the capsule transmits images to an external recorder over a digital radiofrequency communication channel. Potential electromagnetic interferences with implantable cardiac devices have been postulated.

CT colonography for the detection of nonpolypoid colorectal lesions A prospective series.

Aim: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of CT-colonography (CTC) for colorectal nonpolypoid lesions.

Materials And Methods: In the period 2010-2011, 51 out of 454 patients undergoing CTC received also optical colonoscopy (OC). Three human readers with high, intermediate and low expertise interpreted the images.

Intestinal metaplasia in Barrett's oesophagus: An essential factor to predict the risk of dysplasia and cancer development.

Background: To date, there is still uncertainty on the role of specialized intestinal metaplasia in the carcinogenic process of Barrett's oesophagus (BE); this fact seems of importance for planning adequate surveillance programs.

Aims: To predict the risk of progression towards dysplasia/cancer based on typical morphological features by evaluating the importance of intestinal metaplasia in BE patients.

Methods: 647 cases with a histological diagnosis of BE, referred to the Endoscopy Unit of a tertiary centre between 2000 and 2012 were retrospectively identified, and divided into two groups according to the presence/absence of intestinal metaplasia.

Whipple's disease concomitant with candida esophagitis and subsequent Giardia lamblia coinfection.

Whipple's disease is a rare systemic condition resulting from a chronic infection by Tropheryma whipplei. Clinical presentation can be widely heterogeneous, often leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, little is known about the underlying pathogenic mechanisms, although several abnormalities in immune cell function have been observed.

Antioxidant supplement and long-term reduction of recurrent adenomas of the large bowel. A double-blind randomized trial.

Background: Patients who undergo polypectomy are at increased risk of adenoma recurrence. The preventive potential of vitamins (A, C and E) and selenium supplementation represent an interesting opportunity for colorectal cancer prevention.

Methods: To assess the efficacy of a combination of these micronutrients in reducing the incidence of recurrent adenomas in subjects on post-polypectomy endoscopic follow-up, a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial was started in Italy in 1988.

[GerdQ: tool for the diagnosis and management of gastroesophageal reflux disease in primary care].

Diagnosis and effective management of gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) need a new approach. The 2009 Montreal Consensus recommended that the clinical diagnosis of GERD should be made on the presence of troublesome symptoms. GerdQ, a patient centered-self assessment questionnaire, is made to assist health care professionals.

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas (IPMN): clinico-pathological correlations and surgical indications.

Background: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are increasingly recognized entities, whose management remains sometimes controversial, due to the high rate of benign lesions and on the other side to the good survival after resection of malignant ones.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected Western series of IPMN.

Results: Forty cases of IPMN were analysed (1992-2007).

HER-2 overexpression/amplification in Barrett's oesophagus predicts early transition from dysplasia to adenocarcinoma: a clinico-pathologic study.

Barrett's oesophagus (BO) is the primary precursor lesion for oesophageal adenocarcinoma (ADC). The natural history of metaplasia-dysplasia-carcinoma sequence remains largely unknown. HER2/neu oncogene results overexpressed/amplified in preneoplastic lesions and in ADC of the oesophagus and it has been associated with poor prognosis.

Immunocytochemical assessment of p53 protein to detect malignancy in increased cell-yield brush cytology from the biliopancreatic tree.

Background: Malignancies arising from the biliopancreatic tree are often diagnostic challenges for the gastroenterologist and the pathologist, especially when strictures without masses are present.

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic yield of p53 immunocytology for the detection of malignancies in material obtained by biliopancreatic tree brushing by means of an increased cell-yield procedure.

Patients And Methods: Cytologic specimens obtained from biliary and pancreatic tree brushing in 24 patients with biliary strictures suspected for malignancy were assessed by conventional Papanicolau staining and p53 immunocytochemistry.

The pathology of gastric cardia: a prospective, endoscopic, and morphologic study.

"Carditis" (inflammation of the gastric cardiac mucosa) may be associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), whereas other studies argue that Helicobacter pylori could play a significant role in the chronic cardiac damage. We examined prospectively histologic features of gastric cardia, esophagitis, and H. pylori status in 204 consecutive subjects with GERD symptoms (57.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization to evaluate dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus: a pilot study.

Background: Histological disagreement is frequent in the diagnosis and grading of dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus (BE).

Aims: To identify selective markers for dysplasia in BE and to improve the differentiation between low-grade dysplasia (LGD) and high-grade dysplasia (HGD).

Methods: Eight BE esophageal mucosectomies (7 males) were analyzed by conventional histology and immunohistochemistry for p53 and Fluorescence In situ Hybridization (FISH) for chromosomes X, Y, 4, 8, 17, 18.

Her-2/neu in barrett esophagus: a comparative study between histology, immunohistochemistry, and fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Her-2/neu is a protooncogene frequently overexpressed in breast cancer, recently found to be also overexpressed in carcinoma arising on Barrett esophagus (BE). Immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) are conventionally used for Her-2 testing in carcinomas, but a single assay is not yet accepted as a "gold standard" in BE. To evaluate the correlation between histopathology variables and gene expression/amplification in the sequence BE-low grade dysplasia-high grade dysplasia-adenocarcinoma, fifty esophageal specimens from patients with a diagnosis of BE (21 BE, 4 low-grade dysplasia, 12 high-grade dysplasia, and 13 adenocarcinomas) were evaluated.

Endoscopic mucosal resection for high-grade dysplasia and intramucosal carcinoma in Barrett's esophagus: an Italian experience.

Aim: To evaluate endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) in patients with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and/or intramucosal cancer (IMC) in Barrett's esophagus (BE).

Methods: Between June 2000 and December 2003, 39 consecutive patients with HGD (35) and/or IMC (4) underwent EMR. BE >30 mm was present in 27 patients.

Oesophageal manometry in early and definite systemic sclerosis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the oesophageal dysfunction in patients with "early" systemic sclerosis (SSc), as defined by LeRoy and Medsger, to compare it with that of patients with definite SSc, and to correlate it with other features of the disease. Oesophageal manometry results were retrospectively evaluated in 181 patients classified by the 2001 LeRoy and Medsger criteria and the 1980 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria: group 1: limited SSc: Raynaud's phenomenon plus specific nailfold capillaroscopy abnormalities and/or autoantibodies; group 2: limited cutaneous SSc not satisfying the ACR criteria (lcSSc ACR-); group 3: lcSSc ACR+; group 4: diffuse cutaneous SSc. Peristaltic abnormalities in the oesophageal body were present in 73 of 125 patients with SSc ACR+ (groups 3 and 4) compared with 13 of 56 with SSc ACR- (groups 1 and 2) (p < 0.

Is esophageal pH monitoring used appropriately in an open-access system? A prospective multicenter study.

Objectives: To evaluate the referral patterns and indications for esophageal pH monitoring in an open-access system and to determine whether these indications conform to practice guidelines of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).

Methods: A total of 851 consecutive patients referred for ambulatory pH monitoring to nine open-access gastrointestinal units over a 12-month period received a structured interview. The indication for the examination was decided by the physician performing the procedure, on the basis of the patient's clinical history and main complaint.

Long-term endoscopic surveillance of patients with Barrett's esophagus. Incidence of dysplasia and adenocarcinoma: a prospective study.

Objective: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a premalignant condition for which regular endoscopic follow-up is usually advised. We evaluated the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (AC) in patients with BE and the impact of endoscopic surveillance on mortality from AC.

Methods: A cohort of newly diagnosed BE patients was studied prospectively.