Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Biliary Drainage in Two Patients with Difficult Biliary Access.

Introduction: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is the method of choice for biliary drainage, although in some cases standard biliary access is difficult or even impossible. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided endoluminal procedures are an alternative in these cases, although experience with these techniques is still limited.

Clinical Case: We present two cases of successful EUS-guided biliary drainage.

A Global Survey of Gastroenterologists' Travel Advice to Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease on Immunosuppressive Agents and Management of Those Visiting Tuberculosis-Endemic Areas.

Background: With increasing use of biological therapies and immunosuppressive agents, patients with inflammatory bowel disease[IBD] have improved clinical outcome and international travel in this group is becoming common. Adequate pre-travel advice is important. We aim to determine the proportion of gastroenterologists who provided pre-travel advice, and to assess their management strategies for patients on biological therapies visiting tuberculosis[TB]-endemic areas.

Impact of pain in overweight to morbidly obese women: preliminary findings of a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the prevalence, intensity and interference of pain in women, and how it affects quality of life and level of physical activity; and to determine independent predictors of pain intensity.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Settings: Obesity treatment clinic, community and university laboratory.

Management of Early-Stage Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus: Endoscopic Mucosal Resection and Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection.

Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia and early-stage adenocarcinoma is amenable to curative treatment by endoscopic resection. Histopathological correlation has established that mucosal cancer has minimal risk of nodal metastases and that long-term complete remission can be achieved. Although surgery is the gold-standard treatment once there is submucosal involvement, even T1sm1 (submucosal invasion ≤ 500 μm) cases without additional risk factors for nodal metastases might also be cured with endoscopic resection.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced EUS for quantification of tumor perfusion in colonic cancer: a prospective cohort study.

Background And Aims: Dynamic contrast-enhanced EUS (CE-EUS) for quantification of perfusion in colonic tumors has not previously been reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between perfusion parameters and vessel density assessed by immunohistochemical staining with antibodies toward CD31 and CD105.

Methods: We conducted a prospective clinical study of 28 patients with left-sided colonic adenocarcinoma who underwent CE-EUS and left-sided hemicolectomy within 2 weeks.

Staging with computed tomography of patients with colon cancer.

Purpose: Accurate staging of colonic cancer is important for patient stratification. We aimed to correlate the diagnostic accuracy of preoperative computed tomography (CT) with final histopathology as reference standard.

Methods: Data was collected retrospectively on 615 consecutive patients operated for colonic cancer.

Report - Colonization rates and immune status of children against Streptococcus pneumoniae before the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Pneumococcal infections contribute to high morbidity and mortality in Pakistan. Pneumococcal colonization rates and immune status of children before and after vaccination can serve as an important indicator to determine the success of immunization program. Aim of this study was to determine the pneumococcal colonization rate and immune status of children (<3-years) before the introduction of Pneumococcal immunization in EPI program.

The Scandinavian baltic pancreatic club (SBPC) database: design, rationale and characterisation of the study cohort.

Objectives: Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a multifaceted disease associated with several risk factors and a complex clinical presentation. We established the Scandinavian Baltic Pancreatic Club (SBPC) Database to characterise and study the natural history of CP in a Northern European cohort. Here, we describe the design of the database and characteristics of the study cohort.

Endoscopic ultrasonography and computed tomography scanning for preoperative staging of colonic cancer.

Purpose: With an increasing demand for more accurate preoperative staging methods for colon cancer, we aimed to compare preoperative tumour (T)- and nodal (N)-stage in patients with left-sided colon cancer by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and computed tomography (CT) with post-operative histology as gold standard.

Methods: A total of 44 patients were prospectively recruited at Herlev and Roskilde University Hospitals during November 2014-January 2016. Thirty-five patients were included in the final analysis and underwent EUS, CT and surgery within 2 weeks.

Well-differentiated bronchial neuroendocrine tumors: Clinical management and outcomes in 105 patients.

Introduction: Bronchial neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare tumors representing approximately 20%-30% of all neuroendocrine tumors and 2%-3% of all adult lung cancers. Here, they present a large case series of well-differentiated bronchial NETs with the aim of investigating the behavior of these tumors and long-term outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of 105 patients with bronchial NETs managed in a tertiary referral center in the period between January 1998 and January 2012.

European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy - Establishing the key unanswered research questions within gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Gastrointestinal endoscopy is a rapidly evolving research field. The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) plays a key role in shaping opinion and endoscopy activity throughout Europe and further afield. Establishing key unanswered questions within the field of endoscopy and prioritizing those that are important enables researchers and funders to appropriately allocate resources.

Entecavir plus tenofovir combination therapy for chronic hepatitis B in patients with previous nucleos(t)ide treatment failure.

Background And Aims: In patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who have failed on other nucleos(t)ide analogs (NUCs), the combination of entecavir (ETV) plus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), two potent agents with non-overlapping resistance profiles, may provide a single rescue regimen.

Methods: In this single-arm, open-label study, 92 CHB patients with a primary non-response, partial response, or virologic breakthrough on their current NUC were switched to ETV (1 mg) plus TDF (300 mg) and treated for 96 weeks.

Results: At baseline, 62 % of patients were HBeAg(+) and mean HBV DNA was 4.

Travel health and pretravel preparation in the patient with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background And Aims: Foreign travel for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) carries an increased risk of travel-related morbidity. There is limited research looking specifically at travel-associated health risks and travel preparation in patients with IBD. The aims of this study are to explore the experience of travel, pretravel preparation undertaken by the patient with IBD and examine IBD healthcare professionals' (HCP) confidence at providing travel advice and the content of that advice.

Harmonic Contrast-Enhanced Endoscopic Ultrasonography for the Guidance of Fine-Needle Aspiration in Solid Pancreatic Masses.

 The global accuracy of fine-needle aspiration guided by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS-FNA) for pancreatic adenocarcinoma is about 85 %. The use of contrast agents during EUS to highlight vessels and the necrotic parts of pancreatic masses may improve biopsy guidance. Our aim was to assess whether the guidance of FNA by harmonic contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasound (CH-EUS) would increase diagnostic accuracy relative to conventional EUS-FNA in the same pancreatic masses.