Transmission of oral microbiota to the biliary tract during endoscopic retrograde cholangiography.

Background: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) possesses a translocation risk of microbes to the biliary system. We studied bile contamination during ERC and its impact on patients' outcome in a real-life-situation.

Methods: Ninety-nine ERCs were analyzed and microbial samples were taken from the throat before and from bile during ERC and from irrigation fluid of the duodenoscope before and after ERC.

Decline in acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding during COVID-19 pandemic after initiation of lockdown in Austria.

Background: COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world. The Austrian government implemented a lockdown on 16 March to contain further spread of the disease. We investigated the effects of lockdown on acute upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in Austria.

Targeting NAD immunometabolism limits severe graft-versus-host disease and has potent antileukemic activity.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) and tumor relapse remain major complications after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Alloreactive T cells and cancer cells share a similar metabolic phenotype to meet the bioenergetic demands necessary for cellular proliferation and effector functions. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is an essential co-factor in energy metabolism and is constantly replenished by nicotinamide phosphoribosyl-transferase (Nampt), the rate-limiting enzyme in the NAD salvage pathway.

Photodynamic therapy with polyhematoporphyrin for malignant biliary obstruction: A nationwide retrospective study of 150 consecutive applications.

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a palliative treatment for malignant biliary obstruction.

Objective: The objective of this article is to assess the feasibility and safety of this technique.

Methods: In this nationwide, retrospective study of prospectively collected clinical data, all patients treated with PDT using polyhematoporphyrin in Austria from March 2004 to May 2013 were included.

CCBE1 mutation causing sclerosing cholangitis: Expanding the spectrum of lymphedema-cholestasis syndrome.

A 52-year old patient presented with lymphedema, protein loosing enteropathy, and sclerosing cholangitis and was diagnosed with lymphedema cholestasis syndrome (LCS). Cholangioscopy revealed dilated lymphatic vessels obstructing the bile duct and compound heterozygosity for collagen and calcium-binding epidermal growth factor domain-containing protein 1 (CCBE1) mutations was identified defining a novel type of LCS. (Hepatology 2017;66:286-288).

Endoscopic radiofrequency ablation for malignant biliary obstruction: a nationwide retrospective study of 84 consecutive applications.

Background: Biliary radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using the Habib™ EndoHBP catheter is a new endoscopic palliation therapy for malignant biliary obstruction. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and safety of this technique.

Methods: In this nationwide retrospective study of prospectively collected clinical data, all patients treated by biliary RFA in Austria between November 2010 and December 2012 were included.

Intramural duodenal hematoma after upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Background: Intramural hematoma of the duodenum is a very rare condition. It is mostly seen after blunt abdominal trauma in children. There are only few cases of intramural duodenal hematoma after upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Bleeding Dieulafoy lesions of the small bowel: a systematic study on the epidemiology and efficacy of enteroscopic treatment.

Background: Dieulafoy lesions consist of aberrant submucosal arteries, which can cause severe GI bleeding. The predominant location of Dieulafoy lesions is the upper GI tract.

Objective: To our best knowledge, this is the first systematic study on the frequency of bleeding from Dieulafoy lesions in the small bowel and the efficacy of enteroscopic therapy regarding primary hemostasis and long-term follow-up.

Bactobilia after liver transplantation: frequency and antibiotic susceptibility.

After liver transplantation (LT), bactobilia occurs frequently in patients, leading in some cases to cholangitis and biliary sepsis. The present study is the first to investigate bactobilia after LT, and it gives an overview of predisposing factors for bactobilia, the microbial spectrum in the bile of LT patients, and the antibiotic susceptibility. A total of 172 endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) procedures were performed in 66 LT patients between 1 month and 5.

Long-term outcome of endoscopic treatment of biliary strictures after liver transplantation.

Biliary strictures are one of the most common complications following liver transplantation (LT), with an incidence of 5.8-34%. Endoscopic techniques have been successfully used to treat biliary complications; however, the long-term efficacy and safety of this treatment option has not yet been fully elucidated.

Treatment of refractory cholestatic pruritus after liver transplantation with albumin dialysis.

Albumin dialysis has been shown to improve the outcome in patients with cholestatic liver failure caused by chronic liver disease. This study reports 7 liver transplant recipients who were treated with albumin dialysis for intractable pruritus of different origin (ductopenic graft rejection, non-anastomotic strictures, and recurrence of hepatitis C). Treatment with histamine (H1) blockers, opioid antagonists, and cholestyramine had not been effective.

Posttraumatic splenic artery aneurysm presenting as occult gastrointestinal bleeding.

A 53-year-old man presented with a 19-month history of gastrointestinal bleeding. Repeated endoscopic investigation of the upper and lower intestine showed no source of bleeding. When the patient collapsed due to massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage he was referred to our center.