Endoscopic management of pancreaticopleural fistula after recurrent acute pancreatitis.

Pancreaticopleural fistula is an extremely rare complication of pancreatitis. We present a case of pancreaticopleural fistula in a patient with recurrent acute pancreatitis who presented with right-sided symptomatic pleural effusion. Pancreatic sphincterotomy and pancreatic duct stenting led to resolution of pleural effusion and withdrawal of the chest tube within 3 weeks.

Keep an Eye Out for Crohn's Disease: Orbital Myositis as the Initial Sign before Gastrointestinal Manifestations.

Unlabelled: Extraintestinal manifestations of Crohn's disease sometimes occur and can present prior to intestinal symptoms. Ocular manifestations of Crohn's disease are considered rare, with orbital myositis an even rarer manifestation with only a handful of cases reported in the literature. We present the case of a young woman who was diagnosed with orbital myositis, which was initially attributed to pseudotumor cerebri after an extensive negative work-up.

Quadruple therapy for gastric high-grade B-cell lymphoma.

Most low-grade gastric lymphomas arising from the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) are directly related to infection. Most cases of MALT lymphoma limited to the stomach can be cured with eradication and remain in remission for years. In contrast, high-grade lymphomas of the stomach, although potentially related to , do not usually respond to eradication.

Myxedema ascites complicated by ischemic colitis.

Myxedema Ascites is a rare finding of primary hypothyroidism, thereby leading to delayed diagnosis. However, prompt treatment with levothyroxine leads to complete resolution of the condition. We present a rare case of myxedema ascites in an elderly female and highlight the importance of early diagnosis and management.

Self-Expanding Metal Stenting in the Management of a Benign Colonic Stricture.

Colonic postanastomotic strictures occur in 1.5-8% of patients following colorectal surgery. Traditionally, colonic strictures were treated by multiple modalities including endoscopic dilatation.

Multispectral scanning during endoscopy guides biopsy of dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus.

Esophageal cancer is increasing in frequency in the United States faster than any other cancer. Barrett's esophagus, an otherwise benign complication of esophageal reflux, affects approximately three million Americans and precedes almost all cases of esophageal cancer. If detected as high-grade dysplasia (HGD), most esophageal cancers can be prevented.

Periductal hypoechoic sign: an endosonographic finding associated with pancreatic malignancy.

Background: Despite advances in imaging, differentiating benign from malignant causes of pancreatic duct dilation is difficult.

Objective: The aim of our study was to assess the accuracy of the periductal hypoechoic sign (PHS), defined as patchy hypoechoic areas adjacent to a dilated pancreatic duct, for the diagnosis of pancreatic malignancy.

Design: Single-center, retrospective analysis.

Mesenteric ischemia in the elderly.

Intestinal ischemia is a relatively common disorder in the elderly and, if not treated promptly, still carries a high morbidity and mortality rate. High degree of clinical suspicion is of paramount importance in diagnosis, because there is no specific laboratory test available and physical examination findings may be subtle. Once the diagnosis is made, management relies on early resuscitation, identification, and treatment of the predisposing conditions, along with careful planning of the therapeutic invasive interventions, which altogether may help reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with this condition.

Hepatitis C and alcohol.

Patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) who drink heavily are likely to suffer more severe liver injury, promoting disease progression to cirrhosis and increasing their risk for liver cancer. Some research, although not conclusive, suggests that even moderate drinking may spur liver damage in HCV-infected patients. Research areas that have the greatest potential for developing more effective treatment options include HCV virology, immunology, animal models, and the mechanisms of liver injury.

Increased cumulative incidence of prostate malignancies in colorectal cancer patients.

Background: Identifying subjects at an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) is of considerable importance in designing effective screening strategies. Malignancies that cosegregate with CRC provide important markers for higher-risk patients. CRC and prostate cancer share many similarities with regard to etiological factors.

Midazolam-induced sedation for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: assessment of endoscopist and patient satisfaction.

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy can be performed without intravenous sedation but the evidence suggests most patients and endoscopists prefer some form of premedication. Intravenous diazepam or midazolam are used by the majority of endoscopists in the United States, though it is not common practice in Turkey where this study was conducted. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of midazolam in performing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Long-term outcomes of thymosin-alpha 1 and interferon alpha-2b combination therapy in patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) negative chronic hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B e antibody (HbeAb) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA positive chronic hepatitis is a clinical entity, distinct from classical hepatitis B e antigen (HbeAg) positive chronic hepatitis B. Our aim was to evaluate the long-term therapeutic efficacy of the combination of interferon alpha-2b and thymosin-alpha1 compared with lamivudine plus interferon alpha-2b and interferon alpha-2b alone. Fifty-two patients with HbeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B were assigned to three different groups in a nonrandomized manner.

Gallbladder ejection fraction and symptom outcome in patients with acalculous biliary-like pain.

Patients with acalculous biliary-like pain present a difficult clinical challenge. Our aim was to evaluate the outcome of patients with recurrent biliary-like pain without gallstones who underwent testing of gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF) by cholecystokinin-cholescintigraphy (CCK-CS) in order to determine clinical factors that may predict symptom resolution. We reviewed the records of patients with recurrent acalculous biliary-like pain who underwent CCK-CS from January 1995 to December 1999.

The effect of perendoscopic sclerosing agent injection in Forrest's II ulcers -- a pilot study from Turkey.

Background: We aimed to clarify the outcome of perendoscopic prophylactic injection of sclerosing agent in Forrest's II ulcers.

Material/methods: Patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding in last 6 hours were performed emergency endoscopy and were enrolled. The patients in group-1 were performed prophylactic injection therapy with 1% aethoxysclerol and then given medical treatment with intravenous 40 mg omeprazole twice a day and somatostatin infusion at the dose of 6 mg/day during 3 days.