The Italian version of the Nurses' Cancer Pain Management Competency Scale: a validation study.

Background And Aim: The Nurses' Cancer Pain Management Competency Scale is a tool to explore nurses' competencies and subjective experiences in cancer pain management, and to help nurses understand their current shortcomings in cancer pain management. Furthermore, based on the scale's specific score, nurses can evaluate their lack of understanding about cancer pain management, advance research into this area, and enhance their capacity to control cancer pain while providing patient care. The scale is currently available only in English and in Chinese.

Soft Coagulation Versus Argon Plasma Coagulation After Large Non-pedunculated Colorectal Polyp Resection: A Meta-analysis.

Introduction: Thermal ablative methods (such as argon plasma coagulation (APC) and soft tip snare coagulation (STSC) are commonly used to treat polyp margins. We aim to appraise the current literature and compare clinical outcomes between patients with treated (with APC vs. STSC) and non-treated endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) margins.

Spinal Dumbbell Meningiomas: A Systematic Review.

Aim: This systematic review aims to synthesize the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic approaches, treatment strategies, and outcomes of spinal dumbbell meningiomas to enhance understanding and improve patient management.

Methods: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, four major databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) were searched until June 2024. Studies included patients diagnosed with spinal dumbbell intradural-extradural meningiomas, focusing on patient demographics, tumor characteristics, diagnostic methods, treatment modalities, and clinical outcomes.

Safety and efficacy of the EndoRotor device for the treatment of walled-off pancreatic necrosis after EUS-guided cystenterostomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Debridement of infected walled-off pancreatic necrosis is indicated to treat and prevent sepsis-related multiorgan failure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the EndoRotor-powered endoscopic debridement system to remove solid debris under direct endoscopic visualization. Search strategies were developed for PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases from inception to June 2022, in accordance with Preferred Reporting items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines.

Correction: Green endoscopy, one step toward a sustainable future: Literature review.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1055/a-2303-8621.].

Green endoscopy, one step toward a sustainable future: Literature review.

Rapid climate change or climate crisis is one of the most serious emergencies of the 21st century, accounting for highly impactful and irreversible changes worldwide. Climate crisis can also affect the epidemiology and disease burden of gastrointestinal diseases because they have a connection with environmental factors and nutrition. Gastrointestinal endoscopy is a highly intensive procedure with a significant contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Endoluminal radiofrequency ablation with stenting versus stenting alone in patients with malignant biliary obstruction: a meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Background: Endoluminal radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a palliative treatment for patients suffering from malignant biliary obstruction (MBO). We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of RFA on stent patency, patient survival, and adverse events.

Methods: Major databases were searched through December 2023 for patients who had undergone stenting with or without RFA for extrahepatic MBO.

Efficacy of different stent types in post-liver-transplant anastomotic biliary strictures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Stent selection in the endoscopic management of post-liver-transplant anastomotic biliary strictures remains controversial. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the potential differences between available stents.

Methods: MEDLINE, Cochrane, and Scopus databases were searched until April 2023 for comparative studies evaluating stricture management using multiple plastic stents (MPS) and self-expandable metal stents (SEMS), including fully-covered (FC)- and intraductal (ID)-SEMS.

Hepatitis E Virus: What More Do We Need to Know?

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is typically a self-limiting, acute illness that spreads through the gastrointestinal tract but replicates in the liver. However, chronic infections are possible in immunocompromised individuals. The HEV virion has two shapes: exosome-like membrane-associated quasi-enveloped virions (eHEV) found in circulating blood or in the supernatant of infected cell cultures and non-enveloped virions ("naked") found in infected hosts' feces and bile to mediate inter-host transmission.

Molecular Pathogenesis of Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Strokes: Background and Therapeutic Approaches.

Stroke represents one of the neurological diseases most responsible for death and permanent disability in the world. Different factors, such as thrombus, emboli and atherosclerosis, take part in the intricate pathophysiology of stroke. Comprehending the molecular processes involved in this mechanism is crucial to developing new, specific and efficient treatments.

Gender Differences in Quality of Bowel Preparation for Colonoscopy: Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Bowel cleansing is a key element for a quality colonoscopy. Despite recent advances, not all predictors of successful cleansing are fully known. This post hoc analysis of an RCT aims to explore gender differences in bowel cleansing quality.

The psychometric evaluation of the Italian version of the Surgical Fear Questionnaire in adult patients waiting for major cardiac surgery.

Background And Aim: Preoperative surgical fear is an emotional reaction that can be observed in many patients who are waiting to undergo a surgical procedure. The Surgical Fear Questionnaire was originally developed to determine the level of fear in patients who are expected to undergo elective surgery. This study aims to test the validity and reliability of this Italian version in a population of patients waiting for major cardiac surgery.

Coexistence of mastoid, frontal and vertebral hemangiomas in a patient with diabetic neuropathy: Possible correlation between diabetic angiopathy and intraosseous neoangiogenesis.

Bony hemangiomas are benign vascular lesions with an expansive growth; usually they tend to obliterate the entire bony cavity. They are typical lesion of the spinal bones, but they can rarely arise within other bones of the neurocranium. Diabetic microangiopathy is a condition characterized by the development of aberrant vessel tangles anastomosed to each other due to dysregulated neoangiogenesis.

Outcomes of ERCP in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis: A Nationwide Inpatient Assessment.

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a multisystem disorder that leads to abnormal transport of chloride and sodium across secretory epithelia resulting in thickened, viscous secretions in the bronchi, biliary tract, pancreas, intestine, and the reproductive system. Defects in the biliary tract can predispose to stone formation requiring endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). However, there is a paucity of data assessing ERCP outcomes in patients with CF.

EUS-Guided Gallbladder Drainage Using a Lumen-Apposing Metal Stent for Acute Cholecystitis: Results of a Nationwide Study with Long-Term Follow-Up.

Background: Although endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) using lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) has become one of the treatments of choice for acute cholecystitis (AC) in fragile patients, scant data are available on real-life settings and long-term outcomes.

Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective study including EUS-guided GBD using LAMS for AC in 19 Italian centers from June 2014 to July 2020. The primary outcomes were technical and clinical success, and the secondary outcomes were the rate of adverse events (AE) and long-term follow-up.

Left ventricular ejection fraction: clinical, pathophysiological, and technical limitations.

Risk stratification of cardiovascular death and treatment strategies in patients with heart failure (HF), the optimal timing for valve replacement, and the selection of patients for implantable cardioverter defibrillators are based on an echocardiographic calculation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in most guidelines. As a marker of systolic function, LVEF has important limitations being affected by loading conditions and cavity geometry, as well as image quality, thus impacting inter- and intra-observer measurement variability. LVEF is a product of shortening of the three components of myocardial fibres: longitudinal, circumferential, and oblique.

Cold Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (c-EMR) of Nonpedunculated Colorectal Polyps ≥20 mm: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: There is increasing evidence that cold endoscopic mucosal resection (c-EMR) can effectively treat large colorectal polyps. We aim to appraise the current literature and evaluate outcomes following c-EMR for nonpedunculated colonic polyps ≥20 mm.

Methods: Major databases were searched.

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation as Emerging Treatment in European Countries 2.0.

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections and one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients in the world. Although several antibiotics effectively treat CDI, some individuals may not respond to these drugs and may be cured by transplanting stool from healthy donors. FMT has demonstrated extraordinary cure rates for the cure of CDI recurrences.

Role of ustekinumab in treatment of ulcerative colitis: a narrative review.

The therapeutic armamentarium for gastroenterologists in treating ulcerative colitis (UC) has been rapidly growing since the introduction of monoclonal antibodies directed against anti-TNFs. Ustekinumab is a monoclonal antibody binding the shared p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23, and the inhibition of these two cytokines, implicated in host response to microbial pathogens, has demonstrated clinical efficacy in different immune-mediated diseases, including moderate-to-severe UC. This narrative review summarizes the newest clinical evidence regarding the efficacy, effectiveness and safety of ustekinumab in moderate-to-severe UC, including specific situations (pregnancy, breastfeeding, elderly/pediatric populations, extraintestinal manifestations, acute severe UC, pouchitis and dual biological therapy).

Focal Active Colitis: What Are Its Clinical Implications? A Narrative Review.

Focal active colitis (FAC) is described as a histolopathological term indicating the isolated finding of focal neutrophil infiltration in the colonic crypts. Currently, there exist numerous debates regarding the clinical significance of diagnosing FAC, which may or may not have clinical relevance as it is frequently detected in colorectal biopsies without any other microscopic abnormalities. The objective of this narrative review is to provide an overview of the available evidence concerning the clinical implications of FAC, both in the adult population (among five studies available in the scientific literature) and in the pediatric context (based on two available studies).