Patients and Providers Are Amenable to Fecal Immunochemical Testing by Digital Rectal Exam.

Fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) for colorectal cancer (CRC) requires patients to return samples for processing, after having a spontaneously passed stool at home. This results in low completion rates (only 50% in our institution). Using stool obtained during an office-based digital rectal exam (DRE-FIT) could improve compliance, but it is not known whether patients and providers would find this option acceptable. Surveys were given to 100 physicians and 118 patients at our institution. We found that 68% of patients and 88% of providers approved of DRE-FIT making this a potentially effective way to improve CRC screening compliance.

Gastric antral vascular ectasia: the evolution of therapeutic modalities.

Gastric Antral Vascular Ectasia (GAVE) may be an enigmatic source of non-variceal upper GI bleeding associated with various systemic diseases such as connective tissue disorders, liver disease, and chronic renal failure. Successful treatment of GAVE continues to be a challenge and has evolved through the years. Currently, given the rapid response, safety, and efficacy, endoscopic ablative modalities have largely usurped medical treatments as first-line therapy, particularly using argon plasma coagulation. However, other newer ablative modalities such as radiofrequency ablation, cryotherapy, and band ligations are promising. This paper is an overview of GAVE and its various endoscopic and medical therapies.

Comparison of efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of in-office cup forcep biopsies versus operating room biopsies for laryngopharyngeal tumors.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic yield, safety, and cost of biopsies of laryngopharyngeal tumor performed in an office setting with those performed in the operating room (OR) under general anesthesia. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective review of patients' records at Boston Medical Center from 2006 to 2008. METHODS: In-office biopsies were performed using flexible digital videolaryngoscopy with cup forcep biopsies taken via the working channel in patients in whom cancer was strongly suspected. Patients whose in-office biopsies were nondiagnostic or suspected to be falsely negative were taken to the OR for biopsy under general anesthesia and served as the control group. RESULTS: Twelve patients fit the selection criteria and had in-office biopsies attempted. One patient could not tolerate the in-office biopsy. Seven of the 11 in-office biopsies performed were diagnostic for squamous cell carcinoma. The average cost (facility and professional otolaryngology charges) for an in-office biopsy was $2053.91. Five of these patients required further biopsy in the OR at an average cost (charges for surgeon, OR, anesthesia, and recovery room) of $9024.47. There were no significant complications reported for any of the procedures. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with strongly suspected laryngopharyngeal cancer, in-office cup forcep biopsies were 64% diagnostic. When compared with the OR, in-office cup biopsies of laryngopharyngeal tumor are safe and considerably more cost-effective. Although 36% of patients required operative biopsies, the cost would have been considerably higher in this cohort if all patients had gone to the OR for biopsies.