Mushroom poisoning: a personal vignette.

An inquisitive physician explores the effects of a poisonous mushroom first-hand.

Resumption of oral intake following percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.

Background And Aims: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) provides enteral nutrition to patients who cannot swallow. Few studies have prospectively evaluated its long-term outcomes or eventual resumption of oral intake.

Methods: Consecutive PEG patients were prospectively recruited from a tertiary hospital over 12 months and followed until all had met the primary endpoints of death or resumption of oral diet with PEG extubation.

Screening for coeliac disease using anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody assays, and prevalence of the disease in an Australian community.

Objectives: To determine (i) the prevalence of positive results of anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) antibody assays and coeliac disease (CD) in a rural Australian community; and (ii) whether confirmatory testing of a positive assay result with an alternative anti-tTG assay improved the positive predictive value of the test in population screening for CD.

Design: Retrospective analysis in December 2004 of stored serum samples taken in 1994-1995 from 3011 subjects in the Busselton Health Study follow-up. Assays for IgA and IgG anti-tTG antibodies were performed, and positive or equivocal samples were retested with a different commercial anti-tTG assay.

Evaluation of a new formulation CLOtest.

Background And Aims: The CLOtest and other rapid urease detection kits are widely used in the endoscopic diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori. A new formulation CLOtest has been developed with the goal of obtaining a positive result more rapidly. The aims of this study were to validate the sensitivity and specificity of the new test and compare the time taken for a positive result to be visible in both the new and standard CLOtest.