A water-soluble alternative to simethicone for gastrointestinal endoscopy: Results of a clinical trial.

During endoscopy, simethicone defoaming agents are commonly used to improve visualization, but they leave residues and impact drying. This clinical trial involved patients undergoing colonoscopy procedures with substantial bubbles that impeded mucosal wall visibility. As an alternative to simethicone, investigators evaluated a water-soluble, ginger-based gastrointestinal supplement (GI-Ease) that did not contain sugars, thickeners, or binding agents.

Role of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography in the Diagnosis and Management of Cholestatic Liver Diseases.

Cholestatic liver diseases (CLDs) occur as a result of bile duct injury, emanating into duct obstruction and bile stasis. Advances in radiological imaging in the last decade has replaced endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) as the first diagnostic tool, except in certain groups of patients, such as those with ischemic cholangiopathy (IsC) or early stages of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). ERCP provides an opportunity for targeted tissue acquisition for histopathological evaluation and carries a diverse therapeutic profile to restore bile flow.

Semiautomated Glasgow-Blatchford Bleeding Score helps direct bed placement for patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Objective: The Glasgow-Blatchford Bleeding Score (GBS) was designed to identify patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) who do not require hospitalisation. It may also help stratify patients unlikely to benefit from intensive care.

Design: We reviewed patients assigned a GBS in the emergency room (ER) via a semiautomated calculator.

A randomized trial of single versus double high-level disinfection of duodenoscopes and linear echoendoscopes using standard automated reprocessing.

Background And Aims: In a pilot study, we demonstrated that current guidelines for duodenoscope and linear echoendoscope (DLE) reprocessing using a single cycle of high-level disinfection (HLD) in an automated reprocessor may be inadequate. In August 2015, the U.S.

Surveillance of guideline practices for duodenoscope and linear echoendoscope reprocessing in a large healthcare system.

Background And Aims: To assess the adequacy of currently recommended duodenoscope and linear echoendoscope (DLE) automatic endoscope reprocessing (AER) and high-level disinfection (HLD), we collected daily post-reprocessing surveillance cultures of 106 DLEs in 21 Providence and Affiliate Hospitals.

Methods: Daily qualitative surveillance of dried, post-HLD DLEs was conducted for a minimum of 30 days at each facility. Positivity rates for any microbial growth and growth of high-concern pathogens were reported.