Publications by authors named "Slivka A"

Article Synopsis
  • Molecular studies indicate that ALT is a crucial prognostic marker for shorter relapse-free survival (RFS) in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) and other neoplasms.
  • The development of a new chromogenic ALT assay (ALT-CISH) was initiated to address clinical limitations of the traditional fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method, showing a 100% agreement with FISH results in validating that ALT is present in 31% of primary PanNETs.
  • The study demonstrated that ALT status is significantly associated with poorer RFS in both PanNET and leiomyosarcoma (LMS) patients, with ALT being an independent prognostic factor
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  • Difficult biliary cannulation (DBC) significantly raises the risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP), especially when combined with high pre-procedure risk factors.
  • In a study with 1,601 participants, those undergoing DBC faced a PEP rate of 20.7% when they also had high pre-procedure risk, compared to lower rates for non-DBC groups.
  • Prophylactic measures, such as combining rectal indomethacin with pancreatic duct stenting, were found to effectively reduce the risk of PEP, even with an increasing number of PD wire passages during DBC.
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Objective: Sphincter of Oddi disorders (SOD) are contentious conditions in patients whose abdominal pain, idiopathic acute pancreatitis (iAP) might arise from pressurisation at the sphincter of Oddi. The present study aimed to measure the benefit of sphincterotomy for suspected SOD.

Design: Prospective cohort conducted at 14 US centres with 12 months follow-up.

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Hepaticojejunostomy anastomotic stricture is a relatively uncommon postoperative complication after a Whipple procedure. However, they are increasingly being observed because of advancements in operative mortality rates and the widening of operative indications to include benign diseases such as chronic pancreatitis and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm. In this article, we describe a patient diagnosed with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm and another with pancreatic cancer, both of whom developed jaundice after undergoing the Whipple procedure.

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Introduction: Prophylactic pancreatic stent placement (PSP) is effective for preventing pancreatitis after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in high-risk cases, but the optimal technical approach to this intervention remains uncertain.

Methods: In this secondary analysis of 787 clinical trial patients who underwent successful stent placement, we studied the impact of (i) whether pancreatic wire access was achieved for the sole purpose of PSP or naturally during the conduct of the case, (ii) the amount of effort expended on PSP, (iii) stent length, (iv) stent diameter, and (v) guidewire caliber. We used logistic regression models to examine the adjusted association between each technical factor and post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP).

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Article Synopsis
  • Spontaneous pancreatic portal vein fistula (PPVF) is a rare complication of pancreatic inflammation, often leading to bleeding and mortality; a systematic review analyzed the outcomes of this condition based on 52 relevant studies.
  • The study included 74 patients (average age 53.5) with a significant history of alcohol use and chronic pancreatitis, highlighting abdominal pain as the most common symptom and computed tomography as the preferred diagnostic tool.
  • While the overall rates of bleeding complications (17.6%) and mortality (16.2%) were relatively low, younger age was linked to a higher risk of bleeding, and older age along with polyarthritis were associated with increased mortality.
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Distal cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) can pose diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, often leading to a poor prognosis. While curative resection is viable for a minority in the early stage, we report a case of successful endoscopic therapy. A 79-year-old patient, diagnosed with early-stage extrahepatic CCA, opted out of surgery and chemotherapy.

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Objective: Sphincter of Oddi Disorders (SOD) are contentious conditions in patients whose abdominal pain, idiopathic acute pancreatitis (iAP) might arise from pressurization at the sphincter of Oddi. The present study aimed to measure the benefit of sphincterotomy for suspected SOD.

Design: Prospective cohort conducted at 14 U.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pancreatic intraductal oncocytic papillary neoplasms (IOPNs) are rare precursors to pancreatic cancer, often identified through imaging techniques like CT and MRI.
  • A study involving 14 patients revealed that most were middle-aged men with average lesion sizes of 5.4 cm, commonly exhibiting enhancing mural nodules and thick internal septations.
  • Histological analysis showed that 57% had high-grade dysplasia without invasive cancer, while 43% did have invasive carcinoma, with those cases generally being larger in size.
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Introduction: Treatment for abdominal pain in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) remains challenging in the setting of central nervous system sensitisation, a phenomenon of remodelling and neuronal hyperexcitability resulting from persistent pain stimuli. This is suspected to render affected individuals less likely to respond to conventional therapies. Endotherapy or surgical decompression is offered to patients with pancreatic duct obstruction.

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Background: The combination of rectally administered indomethacin and placement of a prophylactic pancreatic stent is recommended to prevent pancreatitis after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in high-risk patients. Preliminary evidence suggests that the use of indomethacin might eliminate or substantially reduce the need for stent placement, a technically complex, costly, and potentially harmful intervention.

Methods: In this randomised, non-inferiority trial conducted at 20 referral centres in the USA and Canada, patients (aged ≥18 years) at high risk for post-ERCP pancreatitis were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive rectal indomethacin alone or the combination of indomethacin plus a prophylactic pancreatic stent.

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Article Synopsis
  • The first single-use duodenoscope was approved for use in the US in December 2019, and doctors needed more information on how well it worked in different situations.
  • A study involved 61 doctors from 22 hospitals in 11 countries who performed a procedure called ERCP on adult patients, checking how many were successful and if there were any problems.
  • Out of 551 patients treated, most (96%) had successful procedures using the single-use duodenoscope, with doctors expressing high satisfaction with its performance, despite some patients experiencing complications.
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Chronic pancreatitis is a debilitating disease affecting millions worldwide. These patients suffer from bouts of severe pain that are minimally relieved by pain medications and may necessitate major surgeries with high morbidity and mortality. Previously, we demonstrated that "chemical pancreatectomy," a pancreatic intraductal infusion of dilute acetic acid solution, ablated the exocrine pancreas while preserving the endocrine pancreas.

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  • The study developed a new DNA/RNA next-generation sequencing platform called PancreaSeq Genomic Classifier to enhance the evaluation of pancreatic cysts, particularly in identifying cystic precursor neoplasms and advanced neoplasia.
  • This platform features a 74-gene targeted NGS panel that assesses various genomic alterations, and it was validated in separate cohorts, demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing pancreatic conditions.
  • The results show that PancreaSeq significantly increased the sensitivity of traditional pancreatic cyst guidelines by over 10% while maintaining high specificity, indicating its potential to improve clinical decision-making.
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Chronic pancreatitis is a debilitating disease affecting millions worldwide. These patients suffer from bouts of severe pain that are minimally relieved by pain medications and may necessitate major surgeries with high morbidity and mortality. Previously, we demonstrated that "chemical pancreatectomy," a pancreatic intraductal infusion of dilute acetic acid solution, ablated the exocrine pancreas while preserving the endocrine pancreas.

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Objective: To evaluate variables that affect risk of contamination for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic ultrasound endoscopes.

Design: Observational, quality improvement study.

Setting: University medical center with a gastrointestinal endoscopy service performing ∼1,000 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and ∼1,000 endoscopic ultrasound endoscope procedures annually.

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Introduction: The mechanistic definition of chronic pancreatitis (CP) identifies acute pancreatitis (AP) as a precursor stage. We hypothesized that clinical AP frequently precedes the diagnosis of CP and is associated with patient- and disease-related factors. We describe the prevalence, temporal relationship and associations of AP in a well-defined North American cohort.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study aimed to prospectively evaluate the effectiveness of next-generation sequencing (NGS) on pancreatic cyst fluid in a multi-institutional setting, as previous research had mainly been retrospective or focused on single hospitals.
  • In total, 1933 pancreatic cyst specimens were tested, with 98% being satisfactory for NGS analysis, and findings were correlated with current guidelines and surgical outcomes.
  • Results indicated that mutations such as GNAS had high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing mucinous cysts and that combining genomic alterations with cytopathologic evaluation significantly improved diagnostic accuracy compared to existing guidelines.
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Background And Aims: Fully covered self-expandable metal stents (FCSEMSs) may offer a treatment option for pain associated with a dilated pancreatic duct (PD) in chronic pancreatitis (CP), but optimal patient selection and FCSEMS design, efficacy, and safety remain uncertain. We studied an investigational pancreatic FCSEMS for treatment of CP-associated pain.

Methods: Patients with painful CP, a dominant distal PD stricture, and PD dilation upstream were enrolled in a prospective, multicenter, single-arm trial studying 6-month indwell of a 4- to 6-cm-long soft pancreatic FCSEMS.

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Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare malignancy of the biliary tract with a relatively poor prognosis. As a gastroenterologist, our main role is to differentiate between benign and malignant biliary disease, help achieve a diagnosis, and palliate jaundice related to biliary obstruction. This article focuses on summarizing the various tools currently available for endoscopic evaluation and management of cholangiocarcinoma.

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Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare fibroinflammatory immune-mediated condition which can affect multiple organ systems and form mass-like lesions. Initial presentation can mimic other diseases such as pancreatic malignancy when there is pancreatic involvement or tuberculosis (TB) when there are pulmonary lesions or hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP). Here, we report a novel case of IgG4-RD presenting as bilateral subdural haematomas with additional findings.

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Background: Better tools are needed to predict functional decline and oncologic prognosis in inpatient cancer rehabilitation. The Karnofky Performance Status (KPS) is a widely used scale of functional performance in oncology, although the scale differs from current rehabilitation terminology. Use of the KPS in inpatient rehabilitation may support a shared method of communication between cancer rehabilitation providers and the primary oncology teams.

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Pancreatogenic diabetes mellitus, also termed type 3c diabetes (T3cD), or glucose intolerance develops in 25%-75% of adults with chronic pancreatitis (CP). The primary pathophysiologic defect in T3cD is insulin deficiency, thought to result largely from "bystander" injury to the islets from fibrotic changes in the exocrine pancreas and cytokine-induced beta cell dysfunction from intrapancreatic inflammation..

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Background: A paucity of research regarding the psychosocial outcomes after TPIAT exists.

Methods: Adults (>18 years), adolescents (13-18 years), and children (5-12 years) with their parents were administered questionnaires at the time of evaluation for TPIAT and 1-year postsurgery to assess psychosocial outcomes.

Results: A total of 13 adults (6 male, 46%; mean age 35.

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