Prospective study of acute complication rates and associated risk factors in endoscopic therapy for duodenal adenomas.

Background: Endoscopic therapy for duodenal adenomas is becoming increasingly important. However, only a few studies have been published on the topic, mainly with retrospective data.

Methods: This prospective study was carried out to determine complication rates and associated risk factors during and after endoscopic therapy for duodenal adenomas.

Endoscopic management for patients with serrated polyposis syndrome is feasible and effective: a prospective observational study at a tertiary centre.

Background And Study Aims: Serrated polyposis syndrome is a rare condition in which multiple serrated lesions develop all over the colon, which is thought to be associated with an increased risk for the development of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of endoscopic treatment and standardised surveillance in patients with this increasingly recognised syndrome.

Methods: From September 2010 to November 2013, consecutive patients were included in a prospective study.

Diagnosing early Barrett's neoplasia and oesophageal squamous cell neoplasia by bioimpedance spectroscopy in human tissue.

Background: Detection of early oesophageal cancer in surrounding normal tissue can be challenging, but detection is essential to determine the subsequent treatment. Dysplastic tissue can be detected by using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility and value of EIS in the diagnosis of oesophageal neoplasia.

Standardized long-term follow-up after endoscopic resection of large, nonpedunculated colorectal lesions: a prospective two-center study.

Objectives: Endoscopic removal of large, nonpedunculated colorectal lesions is challenging. Long-term outcome data based on standardized protocols, including detailed inspection of the resection site, are scarce. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic resection (ER) of large, nonpedunculated lesions (LNLs; >20 mm) and to assess the long-term recurrence rate afterward.

Prospective, randomized, single-center trial comparing double-balloon enteroscopy and spiral enteroscopy in patients with suspected small-bowel disorders.

Background: Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is an established method in diagnostic and therapeutic small-bowel enteroscopy.

Objective: Spiral enteroscopy (SE) appears to be a promising new technique. A randomized, prospective study was conducted to compare both methods.

Long-term outcome after argon plasma coagulation of small-bowel lesions using double-balloon enteroscopy in patients with mid-gastrointestinal bleeding.

Background And Study Aims: Vascular malformations are the most common sources of bleeding in the small bowel. They can be treated with argon plasma coagulation (APC) during double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE). This study aimed to evaluate the long-term follow-up of the effectiveness of APC for small-bowel bleeding by means of a single-center retrospective study.

Prospective, cross-over, single-center trial comparing oral double-balloon enteroscopy and oral spiral enteroscopy in patients with suspected small-bowel vascular malformations.

Background And Study Aims: Spiral enteroscopy is a new, promising rapid enteroscopy technique. A prospective cross-over study was carried out to compare this new method with the established technique of double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE).

Patients And Methods: From an initial group of 18 patients with suspected mid-gastrointestinal bleeding due to vascular malformations but no previous history of small-bowel or colonic surgery, 10 patients (mean age 69 years) completed the study.

Impact of fluoroscopy on oral double-balloon enteroscopy: results of a randomized trial in 156 patients.

Background And Study Aims: The routine utility of fluoroscopy during double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) via the oral route has been not prospectively evaluated. Up to now, there have been no prospective randomized trials to assess whether fluoroscopy improves outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the value of fluoroscopy during oral DBE.

Prospective multicenter trial comparing push-and-pull enteroscopy with the single- and double-balloon techniques in patients with small-bowel disorders.

Objectives: Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is now an established method for diagnostic and therapeutic small-bowel endoscopy. Single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) has been introduced to simplify the technique. A prospective randomized study was carried out to compare the two methods.

Analysis of fifty-six cochlear implant device failures.

Objective: Our aim was to present a failure analysis after cochlear implant revision surgery in a large series of children and adults and to assess the outcome and audiologic performance.

Methods: Fifty-six cochlear implant failures that occurred in 422 devices implanted between 1990 and 2007 at the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Mainz, Germany, were retrospectively analyzed. The causes of failure were reviewed evaluating the individual history, telemetric and intraoperative findings and manufacturer's investigation reports.

Small-bowel diagnosis in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis: comparison of push enteroscopy, capsule endoscopy, ileoscopy, and enteroclysis.

Background: Conventional upper endoscopy (EGD), EGD with side-view endoscope and ileoscopy are established procedures for endoscopic evaluation of patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). However, we still have little data on the frequency and relevance of adenomas in those parts of the small bowel which are not accessible to EGD and ileoscopy. Adenomas distal to the duodenum are found more often in FAP patients with known duodenal adenomas.

Prevention of feeding tube dislodgement with the Wiesbaden rein: a case series.

We describe initial experience with the use of a new fixation method (Wiesbaden rein), which has been developed to prevent dislodgement of feeding tubes in the gastrointestinal tract. The Wiesbaden rein has been used in three patients without complication. In none of the patients was dislodgement or malfunction of the feeding tube observed.

Long-term results of endoscopic resection in early gastric cancer: the Western experience.

Objectives: In the West, neither acute nor long-term results of endoscopic resection (ER) for early gastric cancer (EGC) have been reported in large studies. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of ER in patients with EGC in a long-term follow-up (FU).

Methods: From May 1995 to October 2004, 179 patients were referred to our department for endoscopic therapy (ET) of gastric cancer (GC).

Beta-carotene in dermatology: Does it help?

UV irradiation of the skin leads to the induction of free radicals, carcinogenesis, and skin aging, and thus the use of beta-carotene in humans as a chaperoning agent is discussed. In the photohemolysis model, beta-carotene protects against the phototoxic effects of porphyrins. Beta-carotene should be used in erythropoietic protoporphyria, photosensitive diseases, and to reduce the effects of phototoxic drugs.

Invisible gastric carcinoma detected by random biopsy: long-term results after photodynamic therapy.

Background And Study Aims: Gastric cancer diagnosed from routine gastric biopsies without any evidence of a visible lesion and negative repeated biopsies is an infrequent but serious clinical problem for which gastrectomy has usually been recommended, even if operative specimens do not show cancer either. We report on a series of 22 such patients undergoing long-term follow-up after attempted treatment with photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Patients And Methods: 22 patients with invisible gastric cancer (IGC) who presented during a 10-year period (10 men, mean age 56 +/- 15 years) were prospectively included.

One-step chromoendoscopy and structure enhancement using balsamic vinegar for screening of Barrett's esophagus.

Background And Study Aims: Screening for specialized columnar epithelium (SCE) within columnar lined esophagus (CLE) with standard video endoscopes is not reliable enough. Several methods to improve accuracy of predicting presence of SCE like chromoendoscopy with vital stains or structure enhancement with acetic acid have been introduced but data up to now remains controversial. The present prospective study was conducted to evaluate a combination of chromoendoscopy and acetic acid structure enhancement using the naturally brownish coloured balsamic vinegar during routine upper endoscopy.

Successful treatment of catastrophic antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (CAPS) associated with splenic marginal-zone lymphoma with low-molecular weight heparin, rituximab and bendamustine.

Case Report: A 69-year-old woman with splenic marginal-zone lymphoma was admitted with progressive abdominal pain and splenomegaly as the suspected cause of pain. Rituximab treatment (375 mg/m) had been initiated on the day of admission. Abdominal computerized tomography revealed splenic infarction.

Ultrasonography in the assessment of peripheral joint involvement in psoriatic arthritis : a comparison with radiography, MRI and scintigraphy.

The objective of our study was to investigate the role of musculoskeletal ultrasound (US) in the assessment of hand and foot small joints in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Thirteen consecutive patients with PsA of hands or feet underwent B-mode US using a 9- to 13-MHz transducer and simultaneous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), bone scintigraphy and radiography. US findings were compared with radiography, MRI and scintigraphy in 190, 182 and 109 joints, respectively.

Confocal laser endomicroscopy for in vivo diagnosis of early squamous cell carcinoma in the esophagus.

Background & Aims: Confocal laser endomicroscopy has been shown to allow direct histologic imaging of gastrointestinal tumors in vivo. This study was designed to assess the potential of endomicroscopy for predicting histology in vivo during routine endoscopy in patients with early squamous cell cancer.

Methods: Twenty-one consecutive patients with suspected early squamous cell cancer who had been referred for endoscopic therapy to a tertiary-care academic medical center were included in this prospective study.

Ileo-ileal invagination--a cause of recurrent mid-gastrointestinal bleeding: diagnostic and endoscopic therapy by means of push-and-pull enteroscopy.

The types of lesions that cause bleeding in the small bowel are similar to those found in other areas in the gastrointestinal tract, such as vascular malformations, ulcers and inflammatory lesions, neoplasms and other less common lesions like Meckel's diverticulum. This report describes three patients with suspected mid-gastrointestinal bleeding with no significant past medical history. Before presenting to our unit the diagnostic work-up such as oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy and radiological small bowel imaging such as conventional enteroclysis or magnet resonance imaging enteroclysis had been performed without detecting any bleeding source.

Prospective multicenter trial of capsule endoscopy in patients with chronic abdominal pain, diarrhea and other signs and symptoms (CEDAP-Plus Study).

Background: On the basis of the published data, capsule endoscopy cannot be recommended in patients whose only symptom is chronic abdominal pain. The present study therefore focused on the diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy in patients with chronic abdominal pain who were also suffering from additional symptoms.

Patients And Methods: A total of 50 patients with chronic abdominal pain, plus other symptoms singly or in combination were enrolled in this prospective multicenter trial.

Prospective evaluation of the macroscopic types and location of early Barrett's neoplasia in 380 lesions.

Background And Study Aims: The macroscopic appearance of early gastric cancers, classified according to the Japanese criteria, has been shown to be an important prognostic factor for local endoscopic therapy. No prospective data about the distribution of macroscopic types and their location in early Barrett's neoplasia are available, however. The present study was conducted to evaluate the clinical applicability of this macroscopic classification and to analyze the relative proportions of the different gross types in early Barrett's neoplasms and the correlation between the macroscopic classification and the stage or grade of differentiation.

Conclusions from the histological diagnosis of low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia in Barrett's oesophagus.

Objective: It is well known that low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN) in Barrett's oesophagus (BE) might progress to high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) or carcinoma. Since accurate diagnosis of LGIN is difficult, general pathologists are frequently uncertain about the diagnosis of LGIN and its follow-up risks. The purpose of this study was to analyse the divergence between the diagnoses of general and specialized gastrointestinal pathologists.