Newly proposed quantitative criteria can assess chronic atrophic gastritis via probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE): a pilot study.

Background and study aims Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) can provide high magnification to evaluate chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG), but the current pCLE criteria are qualitative and prone to variability. We aimed to propose a quantitative CAG criterion based on pCLE to distinguish non-atrophic gastritis (NAG) from CAG. Patients and methods This observational, exploratory pilot study included patients with NAG and CAG evaluated via esophagogastroduodenoscopy, pCLE, and histology. We measured the gastric glands density, gastric gland area, and inter-glandular distance during pCLE. Results Thirty-nine patients (30/39 with CAG) were included. In total, 194 glands were measured by pCLE, and 18301 were measured by histology, with a median of five glands per NAG patient and 4.5 per CAG patient; pCLE moderately correlate with histology (rho = 0.307; P  = 0.087). A gland area of 1890-9105 µm 2 and an inter-glandular distance of 12 to 72 µm based on the values observed in the NAG patients were considered normal. The proposed pCLE-based CAG criteria were as follows: a) glands density < 5; b) gland area < 1/16 the pCLE field area (< 1890 µm 2 ) or > 1/4 the pCLE field area (> 9105 µm 2 ); or c) inter-glandular distance < 12 or > 72 µm; CAG was diagnosed by the presence of at least one criterion. The proposed criteria discriminated CAG with a ranged sensitivity of 76.9 % to 92.3 %, a negative predictive value of 66.6 % to 80.0 %, and 69.6 % to 73.9% accuracy. Conclusions The proposed pCLE criteria offer an accurate quantitative measurement of CAG with high sensitivity and excellent interobserver agreement. Larger studies are needed to validate the proposed criteria.

Cost-effectiveness of endoscopic ultrasound-guided coils plus cyanoacrylate injection compared to endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection in the management of gastric varices.

BACKGROUND: Cyanoacrylate (CYA) injection can be performed using a standard upper endoscopy technique or under endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guidance alone or in combination with coils. There is little information available on the economic impact of these treatment methods. AIM: To compare the cost-effectiveness of treating gastric varices by CYA injection via upper endoscopy vs coils plus CYA guided by EUS. METHODS: This was an observational, descriptive, and retrospective study. Patients were allocated into two groups: A CYA group and coils plus CYA group. The baseline characteristics were compared, and a cost analysis was performed. RESULTS: Overall, 36 patients were included (19 in the CYA group and 17 in the coils + CYA group). All patients in the CYA group had acute bleeding. They underwent a higher mean number of procedures (1.47 vs 1, P = 0.025), and the mean volume of glue used was 2.15 vs 1.65 mL, P = 0.133. The coils + CYA group showed a higher technical success rate (100% vs 84.2%), with a complication rate similar to the CYA group. The majority of CYA patients required hospitalization, and although the mean total per procedure cost was lower (United States $ 1350.29 vs United States $ 2978), the mean total treatment cost was significantly different (United States $ 11060.89 for CYA vs United States $ 3007.13 for coils + CYA, P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The use of EUS-guided coils plus cyanoacrylate is more cost-effective than cyanoacrylate injection when the total costs are evaluated. Larger, randomized trials are needed to validate the cost-effectiveness of the EUS-guided approach to treat gastric varices.

Reliability and accuracy of a novel classification system using peroral cholangioscopy for the diagnosis of bile duct lesions.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to propose a novel, comprehensive, macroscopic classification for bile duct lesions. METHODS: A two-stage protocol was designed. In Stage I, a retrospective study (September 2013 to September 2015) of patients with bile duct lesions detected by peroral cholangioscopy (POCS) was performed. A total of 315 images with at least 6 months of follow-up were recorded, analyzed, and correlated to histology, and were classified as non-neoplastic (one of three types, 1 - 3) or neoplastic (one of four types, 1 - 4) based on morphological and vascular patterns. In Stage II, a prospective, nonrandomized, double-blind study was performed from December 2015 to December 2016 to validate the proposed classification. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR + and LR - , respectively) were calculated (gold standard: 6-month follow-up). Inter- and intraobserver agreement (kappa value, κ) among experts and non-experts were calculated. RESULTS: 171 patients were included (65 retrospective; 106 prospective). In Stage I, 28/65 cases were neoplastic and 37 /65 were non-neoplastic, according to the final diagnosis. In Stage II, 56/106 were neoplastic with a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, LR + , and LR - for neoplastic diagnosis of 96.3 %, 92.3 %, 92.9 %, 96 %, 12.52, and 0.04, respectively. The proposed classification presented high reproducibility among observers, for both neoplastic and subtypes categories. However, it was better for experts (κ > 80 %) than non-experts (κ 64.7 % - 81.9 %). CONCLUSION: The novel classification system could help physicians to distinguish non-neoplastic from neoplastic bile duct lesions.