Endoscopic treatment of biliary complications in donors after living donor liver transplantation in a high volume transplant center.

Background/aims: Although living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has been accepted as a primary treatment for adults with end-stage liver disease, concerns about donor health have been emerged. As LDLT is technically complex, it creates perioperative morbidity and mortality risk in donors. Biliary complications such as stricture and leakage are seen most frequently in donors after liver transplantation.

A mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy with intestinal pseudo-obstruction resulted from a novel splice site mutation.

Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalopathy (MNGIE) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by gastrointestinal dysmotility, cachexia, ptosis, peripheral neuropathy and leukoencephalopathy. The diagnosis is often not made until 5-10 years after the onset of symptoms. MNGIE is caused by mutations in thymidine phosphorylase gene TYMP.

Alterations in the pulmonary function tests of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Background/aims: We aimed to determine the changes in the pulmonary function tests of the patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Methods: Forty inflammatory bowel dieases patients; 30 ulcerative colitis and 10 Crohn's disease, and ageand sex-matched control group, consisting of 30 healthy persons, were included in the study. Disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis was assessed by Truelove and Witts Criteria and in Crohn's disease patients by Chron's Disease Activity Index.

Hypovolemia-related gastric tissue damage in the setting of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Background/aims: Much is known about the gastric tissue damage that is associated with hypovolemic stress, but gastrointestinal bleeding due to gastric injury and further gastric injury due to hypovolemia have not been evaluated in previous research. The aim of this study was to assess oxidative gastric tissue damage specifically linked to hypovolemia in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Methods: The study included 30 patients who presented with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding and 30 controls.

Prevalence of gallstones in patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia.

Objective: The aim of the present case-control study was to determine whether or not the prevalence of gallbladder stones (GBS) was increased in patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) and to investigate clinical and laboratory characteristics of CML patients with GBS.

Subjects And Methods: This study included 56 patients with CML and 55 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. All participants underwent abdominal ultrasonography and the main clinical and laboratory characteristics were recorded.

The relationship between severity of liver cirrhosis and pulmonary function tests.

Pulmonary complications, mainly hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), are frequently observed in liver cirrhosis. In this study, the aim was to investigate the frequency of hypoxemia and impairment of pulmonary function tests (PFT) in patients with liver cirrhosis and to examine the relationships of these impairments with liver failure. A total of 39 patients with cirrhosis, 24 males and 15 females, were included in our study.

Pancreatic pseudocyst development due to organophosphate poisoning.

Background/aims: Acute pancreatitis is a serious complication of organophosphate poisoning. There is no report in the literature dealing with the development of a pancreatic pseudocyst after complication of organophosphate-induced acute pancreatitis. Therefore, we present a case who developed pancreatic pseudocyst after complication of organophosphate-induced acute pancreatitis.

QT interval analysis in patients with chronic liver disease: a prospective study.

In previous studies, it has been shown that QT interval prolongation is related to an increased mortality rate in chronic liver disease (CLD). But QT dispersion (QTd) and its clinical significance in CLD has not been well studied. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relation between QTd and severity of the disease and determine its prognostic value in cirrhotic patients.

Gastric tissue oxidative changes in portal hypertension and cirrhosis.

Gastric mucosal lesions are very common in portal hypertension and cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to assess for oxidative gastric tissue damage in cirrhosis and evaluate relations with portal hypertension and cirrhosis parameters. The study included 30 patients with cirrhosis and 30 controls.

Scalp ulcer as first sign of cholangiocarcinoma.

Metastases from distant primary tumors are rarely the first indicators of cancer. However, cutaneous metastases are not uncommon in cases of internal malignancy. This article describes the case of a 65-year-old man with cutaneous metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma who presented with a scalp ulcer as the only initial sign.

The effects of Gingko biloba extract on acetic acid-induced colitis in rats.

Background/aims: Gingko biloba is an antioxidant substance which has antagonistic activity on platelet-activating factor. We aimed to investigate the antioxidant effect and the histopathologic changes caused by Gingko biloba on acetic acid-induced colitis.

Methods: Totally 22 rats were divided into three groups.

The relationship of heart rate variability with severity and prognosis of cirrhosis.

Many studies have demonstrated that cirrhosis is frequently associated with autonomic dysfunction. The aim of this study was to test autonomic dysfunction in cirrhotic patients by analyzing heart rate variability (HRV), to determine whether or not the degree of autonomic dysfunction is correlated with the severity of disease, and, also, to compare the changes of HRV between survivor and nonsurvivor groups after 2-year follow-up periods. HRV was analyzed using 24-hr ECG recording in 30 cirrhotic patients and 28 normal controls.

Clinical significance of pulmonary function tests in patients with acute pancreatitis.

The aim of the present study was to investigate changes in pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP), to compare them with those changes in healthy controls, and to analyze the relationship between these parameters and computed tomography severity index (CTSI) and Ranson's criteria scores as markers of disease severity. This study included 40 patients with AP without a diagnosis of any pulmonary disease and 40 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. All participants were evaluated with simple PFTs and single-breath carbon monoxide (CO) diffusion tests.

Brain natriuretic peptide and severity of disease in non-alcoholic cirrhotic patients.

Background: Cirrhotic patients have a hyperdynamic systemic circulation. They have insidious cardiac problems besides well-known complications. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) relaxes vascular smooth muscle and has a portal hypotensive action.

Memory impairment in patients with cirrhosis.

Background And Aim: Subclinical hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in cirrhotic patients is usually characterized by memory impairment and psychomotor slowing. Our aim was to investigate memory status in cirrhotic patients with and without clinically overt HE.

Material And Methods: Thirty-two cirrhotic patients (10 female and 22 male) aged 49 +/- 17 years and 20 healthy subjects (six female and 14 male) aged 46 +/- 12 years were included in the study.

Two findings of portal hypertension: evaluation of correlation between serum-ascites albumin gradient and esophageal varices in non-alcoholic cirrhosis.

Background/aims: Esophageal varices and serum-ascites albumin gradient (SAAG) are two major findings of portal hypertension. Recently, correlation between these two findings in patients with cirrhosis due to alcohol has been attracted attention. We aimed at evaluating whether a correlation exists between these parameters in the patients with non-alcoholic cirrhosis.

Association of peripapillary fistula with common bile duct stones and cholangitis.

Background: Peripapillary choledochoduodenal fistula (PCDF) is occasionally detected during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Cholelithiasis and biliary bougienage are two suspected causes of PCDF.

Methods: The medical records for 841 patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography between 1993 and 2002 were reviewed for evaluation of PCDF.

Acute pancreatitis: an obscure complication of organophosphate intoxication.

Acute pancreatitis secondary to organophosphate intoxication is a rare and generally well-course condition, but it is important to be aware of this complication for appropriate clinical management. There are a few reports about this subject in the literature, but it is believed that there are more cases than are reported for this condition. Because symptoms of toxicity can mask this severe complication, we report two cases of acute pancreatitis due to organophosphate intoxication for alerting this condition.

Association of CagA and VacA presence with ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia in a Turkish population.

Aim: The mostly known genotypic virulence features of H. pylori are cytotoxin associated gene A (cagA) and Vacuoliting cytotoxin gene A (VacA). We investigated the association of these major virulence factors with ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia in our region.

Upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopical investigation in elderly patients with iron deficiency anaemia.

Iron deficiency anaemia is frequently observed in male adults and postmenopausal women due to chronic occult bleeding, usually from the gastrointestinal tract. Practically, as endoscopical investigation of the gastrointestinal system is an invasive procedure, iron replacement treatment was generally started without investigation of the underlying aetiology even in first-line health institutions. This study evaluates the role of endoscopy in the investigation of the aetiology of anaemia in 95 patients (51 males, 44 females), aged 64.