Multicenter study evaluating factors for stent patency in patients with malignant biliary strictures: development of a simple score model.

Background: Self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) are known to have a significantly higher patency rate than plastic stents. We aimed to identify prognostic factors, besides stent type, for stent patency and to develop a score model that could further aid in guiding stent choice for the palliation of a malignant biliary stricture.

Methods: A retrospective multicenter study was conducted.

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery is feasible for adenomas throughout the entire rectum: a prospective study.

Introduction: Transanal endoscopic microsurgery for rectal adenomas is safe and has low recurrence rates. However, the feasibility of the procedure for all rectal adenomas is unclear. This issue was investigated prospectively.

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery versus endoscopic mucosal resection for large rectal adenomas (TREND-study).

Background: Recent non-randomized studies suggest that extended endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is equally effective in removing large rectal adenomas as transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM). If equally effective, EMR might be a more cost-effective approach as this strategy does not require expensive equipment, general anesthesia and hospital admission. Furthermore, EMR appears to be associated with fewer complications.

Capsule endoscopy for the detection of oesophageal mucosal disorders: a comparison of two different ingestion protocols.

Objective: To assess the accuracy of a new ingestion protocol for capsule endoscopy (CE) in evaluating patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).

Methods: Oesophago-gastroduodenoscopy (OGD) was performed 1 week prior to CE. The first 28 subjects swallowed the capsule following the original ingestion protocol (OIP) and the subsequent 30 subjects following a simplified ingestion protocol (SIP).

A pro-inflammatory genotype predisposes to Barrett's esophagus.

Introduction: Severity of mucosal inflammation is shown to be associated with Barrett's esophagus (BE) development in animals. It has therefore been postulated that a strong pro-inflammatory host response predisposes to BE.

Aim: To determine the impact of cytokine gene polymorphisms on the development of BE.