Palliative Endoscopic Salvage of a Functionally Obstructed Gastrojejunostomy - Report of Technique.

Background: Gastric outlet obstruction secondary to foregut gastrointestinal malignancies can be managed with a variety of medical, endoscopic, and surgical options. Laparoscopic gastrojejunostomy is an option for those patients who are able to tolerate an operation as a long-term palliative option. This operation may be associated with some significant postoperative technical and nontechnical complications, including delayed gastric emptying. This paper describes an incision-less, endoscopic option that we propose can be used to salvage a functionally obstructed gastrojejunostomy. Case Description: A 57-year old male patient had a history of pancreatic adenocarcinoma causing gastric outlet obstruction and underwent a previously created surgical gastrojejunostomy at an outside hospital. His procedure was complicated by anastomotic leak and essentially persistent obstructive symptoms secondary to delayed gastric emptying. Though his anastomosis was demonstrably patent, these symptoms were thought to be secondary to a functional obstruction at the gastrojejunostomy. After repeated workups and many failed attempts to treat these symptoms, he ultimately underwent endoscopic placement of an uncovered colonic stent into the efferent limb of his gastrojejunostomy. This allowed for preferential drainage of gastric contents down the efferent limb, and improvement of his delayed gastric emptying. Conclusions: In a select group of patients with advanced foregut malignancy, and with high re-operative risks, salvage endoscopic stenting may be useful in the palliation of symptoms from a functionally obstructed gastrojejunostomy.

Acute oesophageal necrosis in a patient with recent SARS-CoV-2.

A 57-year-old Hispanic man with diabetes presented with dyspnoea. He had a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR. He was intubated for severe hypoxia and treated with intermittent pressors, methylprednisolone and supportive care. He was extubated on hospital day (HD) 9 and discharged to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) on HD 18. Approximately 1 month later, he presented with melena. Endoscopy revealed two large 1.5-2 cm wide-based distal oesophageal ulcers without active bleeding. Histology showed ulcerated squamous mucosa with extensive necrosis extending to the muscularis propria and coccoid bacterial colonies with rare fungal forms suggestive of Candida He was treated with fluconazole and pantoprazole and was discharged to a SNF. Approximately 3 weeks later, he was readmitted for complications. Repeat endoscopy demonstrated improvement and histology revealed chronic inflammation with reactive epithelial changes. Incidentally, SARS-CoV-2 PCR was positive during this visit without any respiratory symptoms.

Incidence and survival of colorectal cancer among Hispanics in the United States: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the United States (US). AIMS: We evaluated the incidence and survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) among this population. METHODS: Data from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results program were used to calculate CRC age-adjusted and age-specific incidence rates in Hispanics during 1993-2007. Temporal trends in CRC incidence were examined using annual percent change (APC) and Poisson regression. The 1- and 5-year survival rates were calculated. RESULTS: The annual age-adjusted incidence rates for CRC in Hispanics of all ages declined from 47.4 per 100,000 in 1993-1997 to 43.8 per 100,000 in 2003-2007, with an APC during 1993-2007 equal to -0.8/year. However, there was a 45 % increase in CRC incidence among Hispanic men and women aged 20-49 years that affected both the right and left colon. The proportions of CRC cases with regional (+37 %) and distant (+18 %) spread increased, now constituting 72 % of cases diagnosed at that age. The Poisson model confirmed the increasing CRC incidence in Hispanics aged 20-49 years during 1993-2007 while adjusting for sex and geographic region. The 1-year survival improved in younger Hispanics from approximately 86 % in 1993-1997 to 91 % in 2003-2007 with no significant improvement in 5-year survival. In Hispanics aged >50 years, no significant improvements in survival were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of CRC in young Hispanic men and women has increased in the US. Most are diagnosed with regional or distant disease. No significant improvement in long-term survival was observed in young Hispanics with CRC.

Meta-analysis of cholecystectomy in symptomatic patients with positive hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan results without gallstones.

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical results of surgical management in patients with right upper quadrant pain, a positive hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) scan result, and no gallstones. DATA SOURCES: Health care databases and gray literature. STUDY SELECTION: Each article was scrutinized to determine whether it met inclusion criteria. Only abstracts, full articles, and gray literature that passed the detailed screening procedure were included. Case reports, letters, comments, reviews, and abstracts with insufficient details to meet inclusion criteria were excluded. Gallbladder ejection fraction assessed by means other than cholecystokinin HIDA scan were also excluded. DATA EXTRACTION: Three reviewers independently abstracted the following data from each article: first author, year of publication, journal, type of study, location of study population, institution where the study was conducted, symptoms recorded, imaging modality used to establish the absence of gallstones, HIDA scan ejection fraction, number of cases and controls, number of males and females in each group, method of follow-up, and number of cases lost to follow-up. DATA SYNTHESIS: Ten studies met inclusion criteria (N = 615). Follow-up ranged from 3 to 64 months. Surgical treatment was 15-fold more likely than medical treatment to result in symptom improvement, with 4% of patients reporting no symptom improvement with surgery. Sensitivity analysis in patients with complete symptom relief following surgery revealed an 8-fold greater odds difference than those treated medically (indicating variation in study reporting). CONCLUSIONS: Patients without gallstones who have right upper quadrant pain and a positive HIDA scan result are more likely to experience symptom relief following cholecystectomy than those treated medically. There is, however, wide variability in data reporting, particularly with respect to symptom relief and duration of follow-up. Cholecystectomy is indicated in symptomatic patients without gallstones who have a low-ejection fraction HIDA scan.

Antibiotic prophylaxis is not protective in severe acute pancreatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The use of prophylactic systemic antibiotics to prevent infection and reduce mortality in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) remains a contentious issue. We assessed the clinical outcome of patients with SAP treated with prophylactic antibiotics compared with that of patients not treated with antibiotics. METHODS: We performed a systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Ovid as search engines without language restriction until the end of May 2008. We also manually searched the references of original/review articles and evaluated symposia proceedings, poster presentations, and abstracts from major gastrointestinal and surgical meetings. Relative risks were calculated for individual trials and data were pooled using a fixed-effects model. Relative risk (RR) reduction, absolute risk reduction, and number needed to treat were calculated and are reported with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Results were subjected to sensitivity analysis to determine heterogeneity among studies. We pooled 502 patients from 8 studies. Patient age ranged from 43 to 59 years, and length of stay ranged from 18 to 95 days. There were 253 patients with SAP who received prophylactic antibiotics, and 249 patients were randomized to the placebo arm. Overall, there was no protective effect of antibiotic treatment with respect to mortality (RR, .76; 95% confidence interval [CI], .49-1.16). With respect to morbidity, antibiotic prophylaxis did not protect against infected necrosis (RR, .79; 95% CI, .56-1.11) or surgical intervention (RR, .88; 95% CI, .65-1.20). There was, however, an apparent benefit in regards to nonpancreatic infections (RR, .60; 95% CI, .44-.82), with a RR reduction of 40% (95% CI, 18%-56%), absolute risk reduction of 15% (95% CI, 6%-23%), and number needed to treat of 7 (95% CI, 4-17). CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic prophylaxis of SAP does not reduce mortality or protect against infected necrosis, or frequency of surgical intervention.

Meta-analysis: sequential therapy appears superior to standard therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection in patients naive to treatment.

BACKGROUND: Standard proton-pump inhibitor-based therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection fails in up to one quarter of patients. Sequential therapy may be more efficacious. PURPOSE: To compare sequential therapy with standard triple therapy for H. pylori infection. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE (1981 to October 2007), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Google Scholar. PubMed and Ovid were the search engines used. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) comparing sequential and standard triple therapies in treatment-naive patients with documented H. pylori infection. DATA EXTRACTION: 3 reviewers independently assessed trial eligibility and quality and extracted data on eradication. DATA SYNTHESIS: The crude rates of H. pylori eradication in 10 RCTs involving 2747 patients were 93.4% (95% CI, 91.3% to 95.5%) for sequential therapy (n = 1363) and 76.9% (CI, 71.0% to 82.8%) for standard triple therapy (n = 1384) (relative risk reduction, 71% [CI, 64% to 77%]; absolute risk reduction, 16 percentage points [CI, 14 to 19 percentage points]). The median rates of adherence were 97.4% (range, 90.0% to 98.9%) for sequential therapy and 96.8% (range, 93.0% to 100%) for standard therapy. Sequential therapy appeared superior in prespecified sensitivity (subgroup) analyses stratified by trial quality; smoking status; diagnosis (ulcer disease or nonulcer dyspepsia); resistance to clarithromycin, imidazoles, or both; duration of triple therapy; and method of diagnosis. Both treatments had similar side effect profiles. LIMITATIONS: Only 1 study was double-blinded. Most patients were from Italy. There was clear evidence of publication bias. CONCLUSION: Sequential therapy appears superior to standard triple therapy for eradication of H. pylori infection. If RCTs in other countries confirm these findings, 10-day sequential therapy could become a standard treatment for H. pylori infection in treatment-naive patients.

Spectrum of morbidity related to bolster placement at time of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: buried bumper syndrome to leakage and peritonitis.

Setting the external bolster at the time of placement of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is a key factor in the spectrum of morbidity and complications related to the procedure. Setting the bolster too tight results in various gradations of buried bumper syndrome, whereas setting the bolster too loose can lead to leakage and acute peritonitis. Aspects of the initial technique, awareness of contributing factors, and strategies for monitoring and surveillance of the PEG once placed are all important in preventing more serious sequelae.