Chest CT Image based Lung Disease Classification - A Review.

Computed tomography (CT) scans are widely used to diagnose lung conditions due to their ability to provide a detailed overview of the body's respiratory system. Despite its popularity, visual examination of CT scan images can lead to misinterpretations that impede a timely diagnosis. Utilizing technology to evaluate images for disease detection is also a challenge.

Efficacy of Endoscopic Dilation of Gastroduodenal Crohn's Disease Strictures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Individual Patient Data.

Background & Aims: Little is known about the effects of endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) for strictures of the upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). We performed a pooled analysis of the efficacy and safety of EBD for UGI CD-associated strictures.

Methods: We searched Embase, Medline, and the Cochrane library, as well as bibliographies of relevant articles, for cohort studies of adults with CD and strictures of the stomach or duodenum (up to the ligament of Treitz) who underwent EBD through December 2016.

Prognosis prediction with two calculations of Palliative Prognostic Index: further prospective validation in hospice cancer patients with multicentre study.

Objectives: In palliative care settings, predicting prognosis is important for patients and clinicians. The Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI), a prognostic tool calculated using clinical indices alone has been validated within cancer population. This study was to further test the discriminatory ability of the PPI (ie, its ability to determine whether a subject will live more or less than a certain amount of time) in a larger sample but with a palliative care context and to compare predictions at two different points in time.

Simultaneous endoscopic full-thickness resection of two synchronous colonic granular cell tumours.

Granular cell tumours (GCTs) are rare soft tissue tumours originating from Schwann cells. Due to potential malignant transformation, complete endoscopic resection should be aimed for. We report on a 49-year-old patient with two synchronous GCTs found in the caecum and the ascending colon, respectively.

Excellent outcome of direct antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C in Switzerland.

Background: The introduction of direct acting antivirals (DAAs) for the therapy of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) has revolutionised treatment and marks a paradigm shift in the approach to this disease, rendering interferon-based therapies obsolete.

Aims Of The Study: We retrospectively and prospectively evaluated treatment results after the introduction of DAA in Switzerland in a cohort of patients with CHC.

Methods: We examined 565 patients who received DAA treatment for CHC between November 2013 and June 2016 with regard to HCV genotype, fibrosis stadium, treatment and outcome.