Value of multidetector computed tomography angiography in severe non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a retrospective study in a referral bleeding unit.

Background: Non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a common gastroenterological emergency associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is currently recommended as the gold standard modality for both diagnosis and treatment. As historically played a limited role in the diagnosis of acute non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding, multidetector-row computed tomography angiography is emerging as a promising tool in the diagnosis of non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding, especially for severe cases.

High-risk Brugada syndrome: factors associated with arrhythmia recurrence and benefits of epicardial ablation in addition to implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation.

Aims: This study aims to evaluate the prognostic impact of the arrhythmogenic substrate size in symptomatic Brugada syndrome (BrS) as well as to validate the long-term safety and effectiveness of epicardial radiofrequency ablation (RFA) compared with no-RFA group.

Methods And Results: In this prospective investigational long-term registry study, 257 selected symptomatic BrS patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation were included. Among them, 206 patients underwent epicardial RFA and were monitored for over 5 years post-ablation (RFA group), while 51 patients received only ICD implantation declining RFA.

Effectiveness and safety of vedolizumab in a matched cohort of elderly and nonelderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease: the IG-IBD LIVE study.

Background: Vedolizumab registration trials were the first to include elderly patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD), but few real-life data have been reported in this population.

Aims: We investigated the effectiveness and safety of vedolizumab in matched cohorts of elderly and nonelderly UC and CD patients.

Methods: The Long-term Italian Vedolizumab Effectiveness (LIVE) study is a retrospective-prospective study including UC and CD patients who started vedolizumab from April 2016 to June 2017.

Efficacy of ustekinumab in the treatment of patients with Crohn's disease with failure to previous conventional or biologic therapy: a prospective observational real-life study.

Ustekinumab (UST), a human anti-IL12/23p40 monoclonal antibody, was approved by FDA and EMA for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD). Whether UST is effective in inducing deep remission, including mucosal healing and transmural healing, in patients with CD in a real life setting is not completely clear. This study was performed on 92 subjects with confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe Crohn's disease and no neoplasia.

Brugada Syndrome: New Insights From Cardiac Magnetic Resonance and Electroanatomical Imaging.

Background: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is considered a purely electrical disease with variable electrical substrates. Variable rates of mechanical abnormalities have been also reported. Whether exists a link between electrical and mechanical abnormalities has never been previously explored.

Assessment of surgeon communication skills from the patient perspective: A national evaluation using the Communication Assessment Tool.

Objective: The Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) has previously been translated and adapted to the Italian context. This national study aimed to validate the CAT and evaluate communication skills of practicing surgeons from the patient perspective.

Methods: CAT consists of 14 items associated with a 5-point scale (5 = excellent); results are reported as the percent of ''excellent'' scores.

New electromechanical substrate abnormalities in high-risk patients with Brugada syndrome.

Background: The relationship between the typical electrocardiographic pattern and electromechanical abnormalities has never been systematically explored in Brugada syndrome (BrS).

Objectives: The aims of this study were to characterize the electromechanical substrate in patients with BrS and to evaluate the relationship between electrical and mechanical abnormalities.

Methods: We enrolled 50 consecutive high-risk patients with BrS (mean age 42 ± 7.

Late-onset Crohn's disease: a comparison of disease behaviour and therapy with younger adult patients: the Italian Group for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease 'AGED' study.

Background: Disease phenotype and outcome of late-onset Crohn's disease are still poorly defined.

Methods: In this Italian nationwide multicentre retrospective study, patients diagnosed ≥65 years (late-onset) were compared with young adult-onset with 16-39 years and adult-onset Crohn's disease 40-64 years. Data were collected for 3 years following diagnosis.

Management of ulcerative colitis in a real-life setting: An Italian multicenter, prospective, observational AIGO study.

Background: No data are available on the variability in the clinical management of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients by Italian gastroenterologists. Therefore, improving the standards of UC care as provided by the National Welfare Clinical Path (PDTA), in accordance with the European Crohn's and Colitis Organization (ECCO) guidelines for UC, is not easy.

Aims: To assess the management of UC by Italian gastroenterologists in a real-life setting taking into account its variability.

Assessing the Malignant Ventricular Arrhythmic Substrate in Patients With Brugada Syndrome.

Background: Guidelines recommend the use of implanted cardioverter-defibrillators in patients with Brugada syndrome and induced ventricular tachyarrhythmias, but there is no evidence supporting it.

Objectives: This prospective registry study was designed to explore clinical and electrophysiological predictors of malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmia inducibility in Brugada syndrome.

Methods: A total of 191 consecutive selected patients with (group 1; n = 88) and without (group 2; n = 103) Brugada syndrome-related symptoms were prospectively enrolled in the registry.

Corrigendum: The Conversion of Planned Colonoscopy to Sigmoidoscopy and the Effect of this Practice on the Measurement of Quality Indicators.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ajg.2017.

The Conversion of Planned Colonoscopy to Sigmoidoscopy and the Effect of this Practice on the Measurement of Quality Indicators.

Objectives: A cecal intubation rate (CIR) of >90% is a well-accepted quality indicator of colonoscopy and is consequently monitored within endoscopy units. Endoscopists' desire to meet this target may mean that incomplete colonoscopies are recorded as flexible sigmoidoscopies. The aim of this study was to examine whether the conversion of requested colonoscopies is a clinically significant phenomenon and whether this impacts upon the measurement of quality indicators.

Electrical Substrate Elimination in 135 Consecutive Patients With Brugada Syndrome.

Background: There is emerging evidence that localization and elimination of abnormal electric activity in the epicardial right ventricular outflow tract may be beneficial in patients with Brugada syndrome.

Methods And Results: A total of 135 symptomatic Brugada syndrome patients having implantable cardiac defibrillator were enrolled: 63 (group 1) having documented ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF) and Brugada syndrome-related symptoms, and 72 (group 2) having inducible VT/VF without ECG documentation at the time of symptoms. About 27 patients of group 1 experienced multiple implantable cardiac defibrillator shocks for recurrent VT/VF episodes.

Clinical utility of the SMSA grading tool for the management of colonic neoplastic lesions.

Background: Whilst polyp size has been traditionally used as a predictor of the complexity of endoscopic resection, the influence of other factors is increasingly recognised. The SMSA grading system takes into account polyp Site, Morphology, Size and Access, with higher scores correlating with increased technical difficulty.

Aims: To evaluate whether the SMSA grading tool correlates with endoscopic and clinical outcomes.

Efficacy and Safety of Oral Beclomethasone Dipropionate in Ulcerative Colitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Aim: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of all the available evidence comparing efficacy and safety of oral prolonged released beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) to active oral controls in patients with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (UC). A subgroup-analysis compared the effectiveness of BDP and 5-ASA.

Methods: Literature research was performed in different databases, as well as manual search to identify abstracts from international meetings with data not included in extensive publications.

Disease patterns in late-onset ulcerative colitis: Results from the IG-IBD "AGED study".

Background: Late-onset UC represents an important issue for the near future, but its outcomes and relative therapeutic strategies are yet poorly studied.

Aim: To better define the natural history of late-onset ulcerative colitis.

Methods: In a multicenter retrospective study, we investigated the disease presentation and course in the first 3 years in 1091 UC patients divided into 3 age-groups: diagnosis ≥65years, 40-64 years, and <40years.

Italian translation and cultural adaptation of the communication assessment tool in an outpatient surgical clinic.

Background: The aim of the study is to translate and cross-culturally adapt, for use in the Italian context, the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) developed by Makoul and colleagues.

Methods: The study was performed in the out-patient clinic of the Surgical Department of Cardarelli Hospital in Naples, Italy. It involved a systematic, standardized, multi-step process adhering to internationally accepted and recommended guidelines.

Dactylitis in enteropathic spondyloarthritis.

Objectives: Dactylitis has long been recognised as one of the significant features of spondyloarthropathies. In the literature, the prevalence of dactylitis in enteropathic spondyloarthritis (EASpA) ranges between 2% and 4%. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of dactylitis in EASpA patients and to investigate its association with clinical subset and with articular and bowel disease activity.

Risk of gastrointestinal complications associated to NSAIDs, low-dose aspirin and their combinations: Results of a pharmacovigilance reporting system.

Gastrointestinal (GI) complications are one of the most limiting cause of use of NSAIDs. Beyond others well defined factors, history of peptic ulcer, older age, Helicobacter pylori infection and use of gastrotoxic drugs may affect their GI safety profile. In particular, the risk of GI complications associated to the use of antiplatelet drugs, especially low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (LDA) should deserve much attention.