Pneumatic Dilation in Geriatric Achalasia Patients.

Background: The aim of the study was to share the effectiveness of pneumatic dilation in geriatric achalasia patients.

Methods: Achalasia patients over the age of 65 and those under the age of 65 as the control group who received pneumatic dilation as the first-line treatment were evaluated in the study.

Results: The average age of geriatric patients was 72.

Relationship Among , Lower Esophagus Sphincter Pressure, and Gastroesophageal Reflux: A Single-Center Experience.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship among lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP), (Hp), and gastroesophageal reflux (GER).

Methods: The retrospective study included patients with isolated hypertensive or hypotensive lower esophageal sphincter (LES) who underwent esophageal manometry in our gastroenterology motility laboratory and had normal manometry results. Demographic characteristics, complaints on admission, upper endoscopy findings, 24-h esophageal pH monitoring results, and presence of Hp in gastric biopsy were evaluated.

Parenteral Methotrexate Is Efficient in the Treatment of Azathioprine Refractory Crohn's Disease.

Background: There is limited data in the literature analyzing the efficacy of methotrexate in Crohn's disease used after thiopurine analogs. We aimed in our study to show the efficacy of methotrexate in Crohn's disease patients who failed to respond to thiopurine treatment.

Methods: The study included 29 azathioprine refractory patients with Crohn's disease.

Can the treatment duration be shortened in bismuth-containing therapies for Helicobacter pylori eradication?

Background/aims: The duration of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication therapy as a range (e.g.

Platelet-to-lymphocyte Ratio and Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte Ratio Predict Mucosal Disease Severity in Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: We investigated the sensitivity of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), as well as a combination of NLR and PLR to predict endoscopic disease severity based on mucosal assessment in ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods: The study group consisted 104 patients with active UC, 104 patients in remission, and 105 healthy individuals. Disease activity was described with Rachmilewitz endoscopic activity index (EAI).

Is Oxidative Stress Associated with Activation and Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Background: We aimed to determine the levels of total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI) and paraoxonase1/arylesterase levels in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and the relation be - tween these molecules and the activity index of the disease.

Methods: Eighty IBD patients (ulcerative colitis (UC)/Crohn disease (CD) 40/40) and 80 control group participants were included in the study. Oxidative stress parameters were measured using the colorimetric method.

Crohn's disease in the elderly: Clinical presentation and manifestations from a tertiary referral center in Turkey.

Objective: There is no precise consensus at present on age to define elderly patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but recently, age of more than 60 years has been widely accepted. Characteristics of IBD in the elderly are somewhat different from what is seen in younger patients. The elderly have milder disease activity, and therapeutic options are fewer because of their age and features such as comorbidities, drug interactions, and loss of organ function.

Double balloon enteroscopy: A 7-year experience at a tertiary care Centre.

Background: Double Balloon Enteroscopy (DBE) provides the opportunity not only to investigate but also apply endoscopic therapeutic interventions for small intestinal disturbances. The aim of this study is to assess the indications, diagnosis, therapeutic interventions, complications and safety in clinical practise of DBE procedures that have been performed in our clinic.

Material-methods: The data of patients who had undergone DBE procedure in our clinic between October 2007 and December 2014 were retrospectively investigated.

The predictive value of noninvasive serum markers of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Background/aims: This study aims to show the predictive value of noninvasive serum markers on the hepatic fibrosis level.

Materials And Methods: This cross sectional study involves 120 patients with chronic hepatitis C. The noninvasive markers used were as follows: age-platelet index (AP index), cirrhosis discriminant score (CDS), aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio (AAR), fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, AST-platelet ratio index (APRI), Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index (GUCI), FibroQ, King's score, platelet count.

Is ischemia modified albumin a disease activity marker for inflammatory bowel diseases?

Background And Aim: We aimed to identify ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and IBD subgroups, and to examine its relation with disease activity index.

Methods: Sixty-eight patients with IBD (35 ulcerative colitis [UC] and 33 crohn disease [CD]) and 65 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Rachmilewitz scoring system (endoscopic activity index [EAI]) was used to determine UC activity, and as for CD activity, CD activity index (CDAI) scoring was used.

Clinical and histological features of idiosyncratic liver injury: Dilemma in diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis.

Aim: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is becoming a worldwide problem with its still unexplained properties.

Methods: The data of patients who were diagnosed with DILI between January 2008 and December 2013 were assessed.

Results: Five patients had been diagnosed with intrinsic and 82 patients with idiosyncratic DILI.

Treatment of Crohn's disease and familial Mediterranean fever by leukopheresis: single shot for two targets.

Coexistence of Crohn's disease (CD) and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a rare condition and knowledge about this clinical situation is limited with a few case reports in the literature. The treatment of both diseases depends on their individual therapies. However, it is very hard to deal with this coexistence when CD is refractory to standard therapies.

Major predictors for difficult common bile duct stone.

Background/aims: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography has become the standard treatment for common bile duct stones worldwide. There are only a few reports with small number of patients concerning the factors that contribute to the technical difficulty of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in these patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate these factors in a large group of patients.

Major predictors for difficult common bile duct stone.

Background/aims: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography has become the standard treatment for common bile duct stones worldwide. However, there are only a few reports with small number of patients concerning the factors that contribute to the technical difficulty of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in these patients. In this study we aimed to investigate these factors in a large group of patients.

Colovesical fistula as a complication of colonic diverticulosis: diagnosis with virtual colonoscopy.

A 65-year-old female patient admitted to our clinic with complaints of abdominal pain and watery diarrhea. She was diagnosed with colovesical fistula based on virtual colonoscopy findings. Since endoscopic and other radiological diagnostic tools were not able to establish a definite diagnosis, we found this case suitable for presentation.

Comparison of two different treatment protocols in Helicobacter pylori eradication.

Background: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) in Turkey is high and eradication rates are low. As a result, alternative treatment strategies are required.

Objectives: To evaluate the status of H pylori eradication in Turkey by comparing the results of this study to other studies reported in the literature.

ERCP experience in patients with choledochoduodenostomy: diagnostic findings and therapeutic management.

Background: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), besides reducing the need for surgery in a wide spectrum of biliary disease, is increasingly be used for the treatment of biliary complications of surgery. In this paper, we review our experience with postoperative ERCPs required after biliary surgery with a special focus on side-to-side choledochoduodenostomy (CD).

Methods: The records of 70 patients with a history of CD who underwent ERCP from May 2000 to February 2006 were analyzed.

Sclerosing cholangitis-like changes in hepatobiliary tuberculosis.

Atypical presentations of tuberculosis might cause difficulties in diagnosis, especially in developing countries. Primary hepatobiliary tuberculosis is a rare condition and the diagnosis of this condition necessitates a high index of suspicion. In this report, we present a case with obstructive jaundice, dilated intrahepatic bile ducts and lymphadenopathies in the porta hepatis.

Moxifloxacine plus amoxicillin and ranitidine bismuth citrate or esomeprazole triple therapies for Helicobacter pylori infection.

Up to 20% of patients, or even more, will fail to obtain eradication after a standard triple therapy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of moxifloxacine-containing regimens in the first-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori. One hundred and twenty H.