Effects of Starting a Gastroenterology Fellowship Training Program on Quality Measures of Colonoscopy.

OBJECTIVES: Adenoma detection rate (ADR) is the most established indicator of the quality of screening colonoscopy. The effect of gastroenterology (GI) fellows on the quality of screening colonoscopies has been evaluated previously; however, the effect of starting a new GI fellowship program on the quality of screening colonoscopies has not been studied. The aim of our study was to assess the effects of starting a GI fellowship program and the participation of fellows in screening colonoscopies on ADR and other measures of quality. METHODS: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study of all screening colonoscopies performed 20 months before and 20 months after starting the GI fellowship at our medical center (November 2010-February 2014). Colonoscopy procedure notes and pathology records were reviewed for each patient. Data from the two periods were compared using either the Fisher exact test or the two-sample t test. RESULTS: A total of 2127 complete colonoscopies were included in the analysis. The mean age of patients was 58.8 ± 6.6 years. Of the 2127 colonoscopies, GI fellows were involved in 385 (18%), whereas 1742 (82%) were performed solely by GI attendings (attending physicians). Multivariate analysis using relative risk (RR) of regression was done. The after starting the GI fellowship period was significantly associated with an increase in ADR (RR 1.19, 95% confidence interval 1.10-1.30, P < 0.001) and advanced adenoma detection rate (RR 1.17, 95% confidence interval 1.00-1.38, P < 0.001) compared with the before starting the GI fellowship period. In the after starting the GI fellowship period, the polyp detection rate and ADR for colonoscopies performed by the attending physicians with the fellows were significantly higher than colonoscopies performed solely by the same attendings (58.4% vs 44.5%, P = 0.001, 42.0% vs 32.9%, P = 0.017, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Starting a GI fellowship program significantly increased the polyp detection rate, ADR, and advanced ADR.

Gastric polyps: Association with Helicobacter pylori status and the pathology of the surrounding mucosa, a cross sectional study.

AIM: To assess the endoscopic characteristics of gastric polyps and their association with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) status in a predominantly Hispanic population. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of all esophagogastroduodenoscopies performed at our institution. Demographic, endoscopic and histopathological data were reviewed. Categorization of patients into Hispanic and Non-Hispanic was based on self-identification. Patients without resection/biopsy were not included in the analysis. Identification of polyps type was based on histological examination. One way analysis of variance was used to compare continuous variables among different polyp types and Fisher's exact test was used compare categorical variables among polyp types. Unadjusted and adjusted comparisons of demographic and clinical characteristics were performed according to the H. pylori status and polyp type using logistic regressions. RESULTS: Of 7090 patients who had upper endoscopy, 335 patients had gastric polyps (4.7%). Resection or biopsy of gastric polyps was performed in 296 patients (88.4%) with a total of 442 polyps removed or biopsied. Of 296 patients, 87 (29%) had hyperplastic polyps, 82 (28%) had fundic gland polyps and 5 (1.7%) had adenomatous polyps. Hyperplastic polyps were significantly associated with positive H. pylori status compared with fundic gland polyps (OR = 4.621; 95%CI: 1.92-11.13, P = 0.001). Hyperplastic polyps were also found to be significantly associated with portal hypertensive gastropathy compared with fundic gland polyps (OR = 6.903; 95%CI: 1.41-33.93, P = 0.0174). Out of 296 patients, 30 (10.1%) had a follow-up endoscopy with a mean duration of 26 ± 16.3 mo. Interval development of cancer was not noted in any of the patients during follow up period. CONCLUSION: Gastric hyperplastic polyps were significantly associated with positive H. pylori status and portal hypertensive gastropathy as compared with fundic gland polyps.

Combination chemotherapy regimen in a patient with metastatic malignant pheochromocytoma and neurofibromatosis type 1.

PATIENT: Female, 55 FINAL DIAGNOSIS: Metastatic malignant pheochromocytoma Symptoms: Chest pain • tachycardia • tachypnea MEDICATION: - Clinical Procedure: - Specialty: Oncology. OBJECTIVE: Rare disease. BACKGROUND: Malignant pheochromocytoma is defined as the occurrence of the tumor in an area that is normally devoid of chromaffin tissue, direct tumor invasion, and/or metastasis. Metastatic malignant pheochromocytoma is very rare. Malignant pheochromocytoma carries a poor prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of 44%. The majority of pheochromocytoma cases are sporadic, but a small portion (10%) can be associated with hereditary syndromes such as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). CASE REPORT: A 55-year-old Hispanic woman presented to our care with chest pain. Her past medical problems included hypertension, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), and pheochromocytoma status after right laparoscopic adrenalectomy, which was converted to open procedure about 19 months ago. Initial vital signs were significant for tachycardia, tachypnea, and hypertension. Computed tomography (CT) angiography of the chest was performed to rule out a pulmonary embolism, but instead revealed multiple bilateral lung nodules measuring up to 8 mm, consistent with metastasis. CT of the abdomen and pelvis revealed a lytic lesion in the posterior aspect of the left pedicle and transverse process of L4, and the neck/greater trochanter of the left femur. MIBG scan revealed widespread metastatic disease. She received an outpatient chemotherapy regimen of cyclophosphamide, dacarbazine, and vincristine. CONCLUSIONS: Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) is an alkyl-guanidine derivative similar to noradrenaline, which accumulates in tissue derived from neural crest cells. Current medical literature suggests that therapeutic 131I MIBG has a response rate of 50-75%. Combination chemotherapy using cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and dacarbazine has been the most widely used regimen for malignant pheochromocytoma. This combination of chemotherapy has been shown to have a high response rate and symptomatic improvement. Numerous therapeutic regimens exist for metastatic malignant pheochromocytoma; however, no regimen has been shown to have a benefit significantly superior to the others.