Evaluating the impact of application of anaerobic bacterial fermentation enhancer on digital dermatitis.

The control of digital dermatitis (DD) among cattle is crucial; however, effective and environmentally-sound control measures have yet to be identified. From the monitoring data of DD which were recorded during regular hoof trimmings in a farm in Hokkaido, Japan, we detected a decrease in the DD prevalence in a herd where an anaerobic bacterial fermentation enhancer (ABFE) was distributed. The possible effect of ABFE was analyzed using a retrospective repeated cross-sectional design. The prevalence of DD decreased over time in the ABFE-distributed group. Furthermore, a selected regression model indicated the time-dependent enhancement of the decreasing trend. While potential coincidental factors may influence, this study provides a basis for further research on the preventive effect of ABFE against DD.

Endoscopic diagnosis of superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumors in Japan: Multicenter case series.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: To verify the current status in Japan on endoscopic diagnosis of superficial non-ampullary duodenal epithelial tumors (SNADET) by a multicenter case series through a questionnaire survey. METHODS: Nine endoscopists and a surgeon responded to a questionnaire on endoscopic diagnosis of SNADET. The subjects of this survey were histologically confirmed SNADET that were endoscopically or surgically resected from 2007 to 2012. This survey collected data of 364 patients with 396 SNADET. RESULTS: Of the 396 SNADET, 121 were histologically diagnosed as low-grade dysplasia (LGD), 112 as high-grade dysplasia (HGD), and 163 as superficial adenocarcinoma (SAC) including 153 mucosal carcinomas and 10 submucosal carcinomas. Total number of SNADET increased from 125 in the first half to 271 in the second half of the survey period. Compared to LGD, a significantly greater number of HGD or SAC was found in the tumors having a diameter >5 mm as well as solitary or predominantly red color. Preoperative endoscopic diagnosis indicated significantly higher sensitivity and accuracy and significantly lower specificity for HGD or SAC of final histology than preoperative biopsy. Ten submucosal carcinomas had 0-I or 0-IIa+IIc macroscopic-type tumors with red color. CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter case series study suggested that the number of resected SNADET is dramatically increasing in Japan. Tumor diameter >5 mm and red color seemed to be signs for tumors of HGD or SAC. Preoperative endoscopy may provide a more reliable diagnosis of final histology of HGD or SAC than preoperative biopsy. Further studies are warranted for establishing endoscopic features of submucosal carcinoma.