Publications by authors named "Olivia Geraci"

Introduction: Patients with cirrhosis awaiting liver transplantation (LT) are often frail, and malnourished. The period of time on the waitlist provides an opportunity to improve their physical fitness. Prehabilitation appears to improve the physical fitness of patients before major surgery.

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Article Synopsis
  • Frailty, malnutrition, and sarcopenia significantly increase health risks for patients before and after liver transplantation (LT), leading researchers to explore the potential benefits of prehabilitation (exercise training) for these individuals.* -
  • The scoping review examined various studies (from 1946 to November 2023) focusing on the feasibility and safety of prehabilitation for LT candidates, ultimately including six heterogeneous studies with small sample sizes and varying outcomes.* -
  • Results indicated that prehabilitation is generally safe and feasible, with most studies reporting improvements in physical fitness metrics; however, further high-quality research is essential to better understand its impact on patients undergoing liver transplantation.*
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Background And Aims: Stent dysfunction is common after ERCP with self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) insertion for malignant distal biliary obstruction (MDBO). Chronic aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid; ASA) exposure has been previously shown to potentially decrease this risk. We aim to further ascertain the protective effect of ASA and to identify other predictors of stent dysfunction.

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Article Synopsis
  • EUS-CDS (endoscopic ultrasound-guided choledochoduodenostomy) was compared to ERCP-M (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with metal stenting) for treating malignant distal biliary obstruction in a randomized controlled trial involving patients with specific cancer types.
  • The study found that EUS-CDS had a shorter procedure time and a high technical success rate (90.4%), comparable to ERCP-M (83.1%), with similar rates of stent dysfunction (9.6% vs 9.9%).
  • The results suggest that while EUS-CDS is not superior, it is a safe and efficient alternative to ERCP-M, advocating for its broader use in clinical settings.
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In the context of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 pandemic, we have developed a novel negative pressure aerosol protector for upper endoscopy (TRACEY). TRACEY is the first endoscopic enclosure to have passed stringent testing for aerosol protection. The following describes its clinical use in a single-center prospective case series.

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Vasopressins are evolutionarily conserved peptide hormones. Mammalian vasopressin functions systemically as an antidiuretic and regulator of blood and cardiac flow essential for adapting to terrestrial environments. Moreover, vasopressin acts centrally as a neurohormone involved in social and parental behavior and stress response.

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