Overweight is a risk factor for both erosive and non-erosive reflux disease.

Introduction: Studies have reported that the association between overweight and erosive oesophagitis is very strong, whilst seeming less consistent with non-erosive reflux disease.

Aim: We have hypothesized that this difference may be due to the heterogeneity of endoscopy-negative population.

Methods: We studied 81 patients with erosive oesophagitis, 48 controls and 295 endoscopy-negative patients classified by impedance-pH-testing as: (1) pH-POS (abnormal acid exposure); (2) hypersensitive oesophagus (normal acid exposure/SAP+); (3) functional heartburn (normal acid exposure/SAP-).

Use of the platelet count/spleen diameter ratio for the noninvasive diagnosis of esophageal varices in patients with schistosomiasis.

Background/aim: In patients with liver cirrhosis, the platelet count/spleen diameter ratio has been validated as a parameter for the noninvasive diagnosis of esophageal varices. Schistosoma infection is a frequent cause of portal hypertension in Middle Eastern countries, and is associated with the development of esophageal varices. In this study we aimed to evaluate the platelet count/spleen diameter ratio as a noninvasive tool for the prediction of the presence of esophageal varices in patients with schistosoma-related chronic liver disease.

Efficacy of 48-hour post-operative antibiotics prophylaxis for patients undergoing percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube in preventing site infection.

Background: Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) is an endoscopic procedure for placing a feeding tube into the stomach through the skin, primarily to avoid malnutrition. Malnutrition can increase the risk of wound infection, whose incidence can be decreased by using antibiotic prophylaxis.

Aim: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of a new antibiotic regimen in preventing acute post-PEG procedure complications.