Duodenal eosinophilia and early satiety in functional dyspepsia: confirmation of a positive association in an Australian cohort.

Background And Aim: Functional dyspepsia (FD), defined by unexplained pain or discomfort centered in the upper abdomen, is common. Diagnosis and treatment of FD based on the symptom-based Rome criteria remains challenging. Recently, eosinophilia in the duodenum has been implicated in the pathophysiology of FD in adults, specifically increased eosinophils in early satiety and postprandial distress, but the association remains controversial.

The impact of laxative use upon symptoms in patients with proven slow transit constipation.

Background: Constipation severity is often defined by symptoms including feelings of complete evacuation, straining, stool frequency and consistency. These descriptors are mostly obtained in the absence of laxative use. For many constipated patients laxative usage is ubiquitous and long standing.

Gastrointestinal Mantle Cell Lymphoma-A Tale of Two Endoscopies.

Introduction: A 52-year-old male with a 2-year history of typical gastroesophageal reflux symptoms and concomitant weight loss despite good appetite is presented in this paper. Endoscopy showed hypertrophic gastric folds and multiple antral ulcers which were considered benign both histologically and macroscopically. The diagnosis at the time of presentation was moderate chronic gastritis.

Working overseas, weakness, anaemia, and nematodes.

We report the case of a 51-year-old female who went overseas for six-months to teach English and upon her return to Australia developed severe anaemia and weakness. She was admitted to hospital, and had subsequent blood transfusions and a colonoscopy which revealed nematodes. She was treated and made a full recovery.

Granulation and fibrotic esophagus.

There is very little information in the medical literature on fibrotic esophageal lesions. These lesions do not appear to be malignant, but are recalcitrant to different treatments including removal, and the use of esophageal stents does not discourage the lesion from continuing to grow. The cause of these lesions remains unknown and the reasons for overgrowth in stents are poorly understood.

Prevalence of faecal incontinence and associated risk factors; an underdiagnosed problem in the Australian community?

Objective: To determine the prevalence of faecal incontinence in the community and evaluate identifiable risk factors.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional survey using a validated questionnaire. A short version of the questionnaire was sent to 220 subjects and a long version to 770 subjects, randomly selected from western Sydney, Australia.