Publications by authors named "James Lau"

Background: Vonoprazan and amoxicillin (VA) dual therapy as a mainstream Helicobacter pylori regimen has gained momentum worldwide, but the optimum dosages remain unclear. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of VA dual therapy with 2 g amoxicillin or 3 g amoxicillin, and to assess the short-term effects of therapy on the gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome.

Methods: We conducted an open-label, non-inferiority randomised controlled trial at 12 centres in China.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: People with disabilities face significant healthcare disparities due to barriers to accessing care, negative attitudes of providers, and lack of education on disabilities for healthcare professionals. Physicians report discomfort when interacting with patients with disabilities, adding to the disparity, warranting research on medical school education.

Objective: Two educational interventions were structured: (1) a brief 2-h intervention in the mandatory curriculum and (2) a 9-week elective course which included interactions with individuals with disabilities through workshops and partner programs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy (PTCS) is a management option for patients in whom peroral cholangioscopy or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) fail. We conducted a case series on the efficacy and safety of PTCS using a cholangiopancreatoscope cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2020. Fifty adult patients scheduled for PTCS or other cholangioscopic procedure were enrolled at seven academic medical centers and followed for 30 days after the index procedure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has demonstrated robust efficacy against hematological malignancies, but there are still some challenges regarding treating solid tumors, including tumor heterogeneity, antigen escape, and an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Here, we found that SNU398, a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line, exhibited high expression levels of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) and Glypican 3 (GPC3), which were negatively correlated with patient prognosis. The HepG2 HCC cell line highly expressed GPC3, while the SNU387 cell line exhibited high expression of FAP.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: While UV radiation displays may be used for recreational purposes at outdoor events, unprotected eyes have been reported to have symptoms consistent with photokeratitis. Such symptoms warrant documentation and evaluation in ophthalmic peer reviewed literature.

Objective: To describe a case series of photokeratitis associated with a single ultraviolet radiation display at an outdoor event.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Simulation is an instructional modality that offers opportunities for assessment across many domains. The American College of Surgeons created the Accredited Education Institutes (AEIs) to build a community of high-quality simulation centers focused around improving surgical education and training. The goals of this project were to identify assessment methods used by AEIs, discuss how these methods align with established assessment frameworks, identify best practices, and provide guidance on best practice implementation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Endocuff Vision (Olympus Europe, Hamburg, Germany) has been designed to enhance mucosal visualization, thereby improving detection of (pre-)malignant colorectal lesions. This multicenter, international, back-to-back, randomized colonoscopy trial compared the adenoma detection rate (ADR) and adenoma miss rate (AMR) between Endocuff Vision-assisted colonoscopy (EVC) and conventional colonoscopy (CC).

Methods: Patients aged 40 to 75 years referred for non-immunochemical fecal occult blood test-based screening, surveillance, or diagnostic colonoscopy were included at 10 hospitals and randomized into 4 groups: group 1, 2 × CC; group 2, CC followed by EVC; group 3, EVC followed by CC; and group 4, 2 × EVC.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nanomedicines for treating chronic kidney disease (CKD) are on the horizon, yet their delivery to renal tubules where tubulointerstitial fibrosis occurs remains inefficient. We report a folic acid-conjugated gold nanoparticle that can transport into renal tubules and treat tubulointerstitial fibrosis in mice with unilateral ureteral obstruction. The 3-nm gold core allows for the dissection of bio-nano interactions in the fibrotic kidney, ensures the overall nanoparticle (~7 nm) to be small enough for glomerular filtration, and naturally inhibits the p38α mitogen-activated protein kinase in the absence of chemical or biological drugs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The latest magnet-controlled capsule endoscopy (MCCE) system can examine the water-distended stomach, duodenum, and the small bowel. We assessed the use of MCCE as the first diagnostic tool in patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB).

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study that enrolled patients admitted with AUGIB from two teaching hospitals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The first single-use duodenoscope was approved for use in the US in December 2019, and doctors needed more information on how well it worked in different situations.
  • A study involved 61 doctors from 22 hospitals in 11 countries who performed a procedure called ERCP on adult patients, checking how many were successful and if there were any problems.
  • Out of 551 patients treated, most (96%) had successful procedures using the single-use duodenoscope, with doctors expressing high satisfaction with its performance, despite some patients experiencing complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A multicenter randomized controlled trial compared the effectiveness of over-the-scope clips (OTSCs) and standard endoscopic treatments for controlling acute nonvariceal bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract, involving 190 adult patients.
  • Results showed that the 30-day probability of further bleeding was significantly lower in the OTSC group (3.2%) compared to the standard treatment group (14.6%), indicating that OTSCs may be more effective.
  • Additionally, OTSCs led to fewer failures in controlling bleeding, lower rates of recurrent bleeding, and reduced needs for further interventions, suggesting they could be a beneficial first-line treatment option.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Many patients experiencing acute gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) require iron supplementation to treat subsequent iron deficiency (ID) or iron-deficiency anemia (IDA). Guidelines regarding management of these patients are lacking. We aimed to identify areas of unmet need in patients with ID/IDA following acute GIB in terms of patient management and physician guidance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients respond differently to treatments and are sub-classified by different approaches. We evaluated a deep learning model, which adopted endoscopic knowledge learnt from AI-doscopist, to characterise CRC patients by histopathological features. Data of 461 patients were collected from TCGA-COAD database.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted colonoscopy improves polyp detection and characterization in colonoscopy. However, data from large-scale multicenter randomized controlled trials (RCT) in an asymptomatic population are lacking.

Methods: This multicenter RCT aimed to compare AI-assisted colonoscopy with conventional colonoscopy for adenoma detection in an asymptomatic population.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Adequate bowel preparation is an important colonoscopy quality indicator. Reinforced education is effective in improving bowel preparation quality of colonoscopy with mixed indications. However, it remains unclear whether such improvement can be consistently observed in pre- and post-irrigation during colonoscopy in screening population.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The recommendation of second look endoscopy (SLOGD) in selected patients at high risk for rebleeding has been inconclusive. This study aimed to evaluate the benefit of SLOGD in selected patients predicted at high risk of recurrent bleeding.

Methods: From a cohort of 939 patients with bleeding peptic ulcers who underwent endoscopic hemostasis, we derived a 9-point risk score (age > 60, Male, ulcer ≥ 2 cm in size, posterior bulbar or lesser curve gastric ulcer, Forrest I bleeding, haemoglobin < 8 g/dl) to predict recurrent bleeding.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the predominant subtype of liver cancer with an extraordinary high mortality. Resistance to systemic therapy is a major cause of inferior clinical outcome in most patients with HCC. CD44 is a transmembrane cell-surface glycoprotein that is characterized by its variants displaying differential overexpression in human cancers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the hemostatic powder TC-325 compared to standard endoscopic treatments for acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding in 224 adult patients.
  • The results showed that TC-325 had a higher initial control of bleeding (90.1%) compared to standard treatments (81.4%), with fewer failures during the first treatment session.
  • However, both groups had similar rates of recurrent bleeding, need for further interventions, and mortality, indicating that while TC-325 may be more effective initially, overall outcomes after 30 days were comparable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

For decades, timing of endoscopy has been a controversy in the management of patients who present with upper gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB). The advent of endoscopic hemostatic therapy led to reduced further bleeding, surgery and mortality. Observational studies suggest that in patients at low risk of further bleeding, early endoscopy establishes diagnosis and allows their prompt hospital discharge.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF