A ghost epigastric pain.

A 16-year-old woman complained of intermittent epigastric pain for one year. The gastroscopy, colonoscopy and laboratory findings were normal. Physical examination was unremarkable other than upper abdominal tenderness. The symptom was not relieved in past medical treatment. The abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan revealed appendix wall swelling and suspected appendicitis. Endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy (ERAT) with eyeMax (Micro-tech, China) was proposed to perform after informed consent obtained. A colonoscopy with a transparent cap (Olympus, Japan) attached to the tip was inserted into the cecum, and advanced the level of appendicular orifice. Subsequently, the Gerlach's valve was pushed aside using the transparent cap. Finally, the eyeMax was placed in the appendicular orifice, slowly moved forward in appendicular lumen. The eyeMax showed a lot of appendicular stones, and irrigated repeatedly. The stones were expulsed smoothly. The patient was discharged two days later without recurrent epigastric pain on follow-up and to date.

Successful removal of a duodenal lesion in difficult location using "a sandwich method".

A 69-year-old woman was diagnosed with a duodenal adenoma near major duodenal papilla during cancer screening examination (Figure 1A). Therefore, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) was proposed to remove the duodenal lesion. Unfortunately, satisfactory visualization of the duodenal lesion was not obtained during gastroscopic operation. Unexpectedly, duodenoscopy provided optimal visualization of the duodenal lesion. Consequently, the "sandwich method" using duodenoscopy-gastroscopy-duodenoscopy was successfully performed to remove the challenging duodenal lesion. Firstly, the duodenoscopy was used to create a submucosal bleb through injecting saline containing 0.3 % indigo carmine. Subsequently, the gastroscopy with a transparent capwas used to remove the duodenal lesion with en bloc resection. Then, the duodenoscopy was reused to close the mucosal defect. Finally, pathologic examination showed a tubule-villous adenoma. The patient was recovered uneventfully, and discharged 2 days later.

An unpredictable gastrointestinal bleed.

A 65-year-old male complained of persistent melena for 6 days, and displayed anemia symptoms without hematemesis, vomiting, and abdominal distention. He was diagnosed as ruptured aneurysm of aortic sinus Valsalva, and had received coronary artery occlusion 1 month ago. After the operation, he was continually prescribed clopidogrel 75 mg once daily. The laboratory examination showed blood hemoglobin concentration was 60 g/L without other conspicuous abnormality. Unfortunately, neither esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) nor colonoscopy found no obvious bleeding lesions. And abdominal computed tomography angiography (CTA) and enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed no obvious abnormal findings. Moreover, capsule endoscopy revealed small intestinal with mucosal erosion (Figure 1A). After discontinued clopidogrel, blood transfusion, and support therapy, his symptoms was resolved with negative fecal occult blood, continued clopidogrel 75 mg once daily, and uneventfully discharged 1 week later.

Endoscopic resection in combination with ligation for the treatment of duodenal subepithelial lesions: a single-center experience.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: duodenal subepithelial lesions (SELs) are increasingly detected during endoscopic examinations. However, no feasible and safe methods are available to remove duodenal SELs. The present study aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of endoscopic resection in combination with ligation (ER-L) for the removal of duodenal SELs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: a total of 101 patients with duodenal SELs underwent ER-L from February 2010 to February 2020. The primary outcomes were complete resection, en bloc resection and R0 resection. The secondary outcomes included procedure duration, bleeding, perforation and residual lesions. A total of 101 patients with 101 duodenal SELs (ranged from 8.4 mm to 20.2 mm in size) were included in the study. RESULTS: most of the SELs (95.1 %) originated from the submucosal layer and were successfully removed using ER-L. The rates of complete resection, en bloc resection and R0 resection were 100 %, 96.0 % and 88.1 %, respectively. The median procedure duration was eight minutes. There were no severe complications, except for four patients who developed post-procedure bleeding (4.0 %) and recovered after conservative treatment. Furthermore, no residual lesions were detected during the follow-up period (median of 36 months). In fact, logistic regression analysis showed that the size of duodenal SELs was an independent factor for R0 resection during the ER-L procedure. CONCLUSION: in conclusion, ER-L is feasible and safe to remove duodenal SELs that originate from the submucosal layer and are less than 20 mm. However, the feasibility and safety of the ER-L should be further confirmed when removing the duodenal SELs that originate from the muscularis propria (MP) layer and are larger than 20 mm in diameter.

The feasibility and safety of disposable endoscope vs. conventional endoscope for upper gastrointestinal tract examination: a multicenter, randomized, parallel, non-inferiority trial.

BACKGROUND: A disposable upper gastrointestinal endoscope can effectively decrease infectious outbreaks associated with endoscope reuse. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a disposable endoscope for upper gastrointestinal examination. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized trial, 144 upper endoscopic procedures were allocated to either the disposable endoscope group or the conventional endoscope group. The primary outcomes were rates of excellent and good image qualities and maneuverability satisfaction. The second outcome included procedure duration, endoscopic diagnosis, and adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 144 subjects were enrolled in the present analysis and prospectively randomized to 2 study groups. Finally, 70 and 69 subjects were enrolled in the novel disposable endoscope group and the conventional endoscope group, respectively, due to the schedule cancellation of 5 subjects. The baseline characteristics of the patients were similar in both groups. The excellent and good image quality rates and maneuverability satisfaction of the novel disposable endoscope were not inferior to the conventional endoscope (p = 0.99 and p = 0.99, respectively). Moreover, no significant between-group difference was observed in the endoscopic results and adverse events (p = 0.30 and p = 1, respectively). However, the procedure duration in the novel disposable endoscope was longer compared with the conventional endoscope (8.40 ± 4.28 min vs. 5.12 ± 2.65 min, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The novel disposable endoscope was as safe, effective, and maneuverable as a conventional endoscope. However, the novel disposable endoscope was associated with a longer procedure duration.

Oral higher dose prednisolone to prevent stenosis after endoscopic submucosal dissection for early esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal stenosis is one of the main complications of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for the treatment of large-area superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and precancerous lesions (≥ 3/4 of the lumen). Oral prednisone is useful to prevent esophageal stenosis, but the curative effect remains controversial. AIM: To share our experience of the precautions against esophageal stenosis after ESD to remove large superficial esophageal lesions. METHODS: Between June 2019 and March 2022, we enrolled patients with large superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia experienced who underwent ESD. Prednisone (50 mg/d) was administered orally on the second morning after ESD for 1 mo, and tapered gradually (5 mg/wk) for 13 wk. RESULTS: In total, 14 patients met the inclusion criteria. All patients received ESD without operation-related bleeding or perforation. There were 11 patients with ≥ 3/4 and < 7/8 of lumen mucosal defects and 1 patient with ≥ 7/8 of lumen mucosal defect and 2 patients with the entire circumferential mucosal defects due to ESD. The longitudinal extension of the esophageal mucosal defect was < 50 mm in 3 patients and ≥ 50 mm in 11 patients. The esophageal stenosis rate after ESD was 0% (0/14). One patient developed esophageal candida infection on the 30th d after ESD, and completely recovered after 7 d of administration of oral fluconazole 100 mg/d. No other adverse events of oral steroids were found. CONCLUSION: Oral prednisone (50 mg/d) and prolonged prednisone usage time may effectively prevent esophageal stricture after ESD without increasing the incidence of glucocorticoid-related adverse events. However, further investigation of larger samples is required to warrant feasibility and safety.

Feasibility and Safety of Mark-Guided Submucosal Tunneling Endoscopic Resection for Treatment of Esophageal Submucosal Tumors Originating from the Muscularis Propria: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Background: Submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection (STER) has effectively removed esophageal submucosal tumors (SMTs) originating from the muscularis propria (MP) layer. However, clinical failure and adverse events of STER remain concerned. In this study, we described a mark-guided STER (markings before creating entry point) and evaluated its feasibility and safety for esophageal SMTs originating from MP. Methods: Patients receiving the mark-guided STER from October 2017 to July 2020 were included and followed up (ranged from 3 to 30 months). The primary outcomes included complete resection, en bloc resection, and R0 resection rates. The secondary outcomes included procedure duration, main complication, and residual lesions. Results: A total of 242 patients with 242 SMTs (median diameter of 22 mm, ranging from 7 mm to 40 mm) received the mark-guided STER. The median procedure duration was 55 min (ranging from 35 min to 115 min). The complete resection, en bloc resection, and R0 resection rates were 100%, 98.3%, and 97.5%, respectively. The adverse event rate was 4.5%. However, there was no severe complication. No residual SMTs were detected during the follow-up period. Logistic regression demonstrated that the SMT size and procedure duration were independent factors associated with en bloc resection (P=0.02 and P=0.04, respectively). Moreover, logistic regression demonstrated that the SMT size was an independent risk factor for main complications (P=0.02). Conclusion: Mark-guided STER was feasible and safe to remove esophageal SMTs ≦40 mm. However, it is necessary to further verify the feasibility and safety for the esophageal SMTs >40 mm.

Efficacy of low-dose versus high-dose simethicone with polyethylene glycol for bowel preparation: A prospective randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Additional simethicone (SIM) can improve adequate bowel preparation and adenoma detection rate (ADR). However, there is no consensus on the optimal dose of SIM. In this study, we compared the adequate bowel preparation rate with supplementation of split-dose 2 L polyethylene glycol (PEG) with low-dose SIM (200 mg) versus high-dose SIM (1200 mg). METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized, observer-blinded trial involving consecutive subjects undergoing colonoscopy. The primary outcome was adequate bowel preparation as assessed by Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) score. RESULTS: Four hundred subjects were randomly allocated to low-dose SIM or high-dose SIM group. Baseline characteristics were comparable in the two groups (P > 0.05). No significant between-group differences were observed with respect to total bubble scale (BS) (8.49 ± 1.00 vs 8.39 ± 1.10, P = 0.07), total BBPS score (8.70 ± 0.81 vs 8.29 ± 1.18, P = 0.98), ADR (33.68% vs 31.79%, P = 0.69) or withdrawal time (13 [range, 10-16] min vs 13 [10-15] min, P = 0.96). The intubation time in low-dose SIM group was significantly shorter than that in high-dose SIM group (8 (4-16) min vs 10 [6-17] min, P = 0.04). In addition, BS scores as well as diminutive ADR in right colon were superior in the low-dose SIM group (2.68 ± 0.59 vs 2.52 ± 0.73, P = 0.03 and 54.29% vs 30.30%, P = 0.046, respectively). CONCLUSION: Addition of low-dose SIM to split-dose 2 L PEG was as effective as addition of high-dose SIM with respect to adequate bowel preparation, ADR and patient tolerance. However, low-dose SIM was superior with respect to intubation time, right colon BS scores, right colon diminutive ADR and cost savings.

Effect and safety of mark-guided vs standard peroral endoscopic myotomy: A retrospective case control study.

BACKGROUND: Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a promising therapeutic modality for esophageal achalasia worldwide. However, clinical failure and adverse events of POEM have still been concerned. AIM: To compare the efficacy and safety of a novel mark-guided POEM with standard POEM. METHODS: A total of 133 patients with esophageal achalasia who underwent POEM from May 2013 to May 2019 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Of the 133 patients, there were 64 patients in the mark-guided POEM group and 69 patients in the standard POEM group. The clinical success, procedural duration and adverse events were compared between the two groups at 3 mo, 12 mo and 24 mo postoperatively. RESULTS: Characteristic baseline was similar in the mark-guided POEM group and standard POEM group. The clinical success was comparable between the two groups, ranging from 92% to 98%, at 3 mo, 12 mo and 24 mo postoperatively (all P > 0.5). Eckart score, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire score and SF-36 score were not different between the two groups after treatment (all P > 0.05). No severe adverse events occurred in the two groups. However, mark-guided POEM required shorter procedural duration, and less use of proton pump inhibitors and lower incidence of reflux symptoms than the standard POEM (all P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Mark-guided POEM and standard POEM were both effective and safe for the treatment of esophageal achalasia. However, the mark-guided POEM was characterized by shorter procedural duration, less use of proton pump inhibitors and lower incidence of reflux symptoms.