Retinol-binding protein-4 expression marks the short-term mortality of critically ill patients with underlying liver disease: Lipid, but not glucose, matters.

The implications of retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP4) expression in critically ill patients with underlying liver diseases remain unclear. A prospective cohort study involving 200 liver intensive care unit (ICU) patients was conducted, with 274 blood donors as controls. Patient outcomes were assessed using Cox and Kaplan-Meier analyses.

Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of Superficial Esophageal Neoplasms Is Feasible and Not Riskier for Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.

Background: Esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has rarely been reported for the treatment of cirrhotic patients.

Aim: To report the results of ESD treatment of superficial esophageal neoplasms (SENs) for cirrhotic patients.

Methods: Forty patients with 50 consecutive SENs undergoing 46 sessions of ESD were retrospectively reviewed.

Double-balloon enteroscopy-assisted endoscopic retrograde cholangiography for Roux-en-Y reconstruction patients with papilla of Vater or bilioenteric anastomosis.

Objective: Roux-en-Y reconstructions can be divided into intact papilla of Vater and bilioenteric anastomosis (BEA) with respect to endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC). Double-balloon enteroscopy-assisted ERC (DBE-ERC) may produce different results between the two populations but lacks studies.

Material And Methods: Forty-seven patients with Roux-en-Y anastomosis undergoing 73 procedures of DBE-ERC were enrolled between July 2007 and August 2013.

Comparison of Rockall and Blatchford scores to assess outcome of patients with bleeding peptic ulcers after endoscopic therapy.

Background/aims: To determine the accuracy of Rockall and Blatchford scores for predicting outcome after endoscopic treatment in two groups of patients with bleeding peptic ulcers: those who initially presented with upper gastrointestinal (UGI) bleeding (Group A) and those who developed UGI bleeding during hospital treatment for another condition (Group B).

Methodology: A total of 593 patients who had had endoscopic treatment for bleeding peptic ulcers from January 2009 to July 2010 were divided into Groups A and B. Endoscopic therapy including monotherapy (thermal therapy or hemoclipping) and combination therapy was applied.

Residual common bile duct stones on direct peroral cholangioscopy using ultraslim endoscope.

Aim: To detect and manage residual common bile duct (CBD) stones using ultraslim endoscopic peroral cholangioscopy (POC) after a negative balloon-occluded cholangiography.

Methods: From March 2011 to December 2011, a cohort of 22 patients with CBD stones who underwent both endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) and direct POC were prospectively enrolled in this study. Those patients who were younger than 20 years of age, pregnant, critically ill, or unable to provide informed consent for direct POC, as well as those with concomitant gallbladder stones or CBD with diameters less than 10 mm were excluded.

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy with conscious sedation does not interfere with catheter-based 24-h pH monitoring.

Aim: To investigate the impact of esophagogastroduodenoscopy with conscious sedation on the subsequent 24-h catheter-based pH monitoring.

Methods: Fifty patients with extra-esophageal symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease undergoing ambulatory dual-probe 24-h pH monitoring were enrolled from March 2010 to August 2011. All of the data were collected prospectively and analyzed retrospectively.

Histological examination of ulcer margin for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with gastric ulcers.

Biopsy of ulcer margin is routinely performed to exclude malignancy in patients with gastric ulcers, but its utility in diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection has not yet been fully studied. A cohort of 50 patients with gastric ulcer was prospectively examined. Three tests including histology, rapid urease test, and urea breath test were performed in all patients for diagnosing H pylori infection.

Clinical utility of histological examination of gastric ulcer margin to diagnose Helicobacter pylori infection.

Background: To investigate the effectiveness of histological examination of ulcer margins (HEUM) in detecting Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in patients with non-bleeding gastric ulcers (GUs).

Methods: A retrospective study included 284 patients with GU undergoing concomitant HEUM and rapid urease test (RUT) to detect H.