Cost-effectiveness of universal esophageal cancer screening for newly diagnosed oral cancer patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Oral and esophageal cancers are globally prevalent, especially in East Asia. Over half of head and neck cancer patients developing second primary esophageal cancer (SPEC) were initially diagnosed with oral cavity cancer (OCC). This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of universal endoscopic screening for early SPEC prevention in newly diagnosed OCC patients at different stages. METHODS: This study employed Markov cohort models to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of endoscopic SPEC screening post-OCC diagnosis (stages 0 to IV) between screened and non-screened groups. Four surveillance frequencies were assessed: (i) one time, (ii) annual for 3 years, (iii) annual for 10 years, and (iv) annual for life. A hypothetical cohort of 100 000 cases across stages was compared for costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), discounted annually at 3%. RESULTS: All four screening strategies were beneficial for all OCC stages, especially for early-stage patients, resulting in higher QALYs. Lifetime/annual screening from the payer's perspective proved most favorable, with incremental QALYs of 1.23 at stage 0 and 0.06 at stage IV. Incremental costs for this strategy ranged from NTD 121 331 (USD 4044) at stage 0 to NTD 13 032 (USD 434) at stage IV. Both incremental costs and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) values indicated cost savings from a societal perspective. The ICER values ranged from NTD -626 440 (USD -20 881) at stage 0 and NTD -475 021 (USD -15 834) at stage IV. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our study provided cost-effectiveness evidences to understanding the cost-effectiveness of endoscopic screening in OCC patients, particularly emphasizing the benefits of early and consistent screening.

Effect of esophageal cancer screening on mortality among patients with oral cancer and second primary esophageal cancer in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE: Oral and esophageal cancer are the fourth and fifth leading causes of cancer deaths among men in Taiwan. Despite a good prognosis for oral cavity cancer patients, survival is worse for those who develop second primary esophageal cancer. There remains no consensus regarding early prevention of potential second primary esophageal cancer in patients with oral cavity cancer. Our study aimed to compare 5-year mortality between endoscopically screened and non-screened patients with oral cavity cancer and second primary esophageal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study identified patients with incident oral cavity cancer and second primary esophageal cancer during 2004 and 2013 using the Taiwan Cancer Registry and National Health Insurance Research Database. We compared 5-year mortality from the second primary esophageal cancer diagnosis date between screened and non-screened groups of patients with oral cavity cancer and second primary esophageal cancer. RESULTS: A total of 217 screened and 305 non-screened oral cavity cancer patients with second primary esophageal cancer were studied. Endoscopic screening significantly improved early detection of second primary esophageal cancer (adjusted odds ratio: 0.34, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.23-0.49) and reduced all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.80; 95 % CI: 0.66-0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Oral cavity cancer patients with second primary esophageal cancer may have worse overall survival than those without. Early detection of second primary esophageal cancer is a crucial mediator between endoscopic screening and mortality. Endoscopic screening after the diagnosis of incident oral cavity cancer significantly increased early detection and reduced all-cause mortality.

Prevention and management of esophageal stricture after esophageal ESD: 10 years of experience in a single medical center.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure to deal with local early esophageal neoplasm, although post-ESD esophageal stricture is a major delayed complication of esophageal ESD greatly influencing the patient's quality of life. This retrospective study was conducted to analyze the esophageal stricture after esophageal ESD while determining further treatment and outcome of stricture management. METHODS: From 2009 to 2021, we reviewed all patients who underwent ESD for esophageal squamous cell neoplasia in Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital. RESULTS: Totally, 133 patients with esophageal squamous cell neoplasm were enrolled. Among these 133 patients, 108 patients had lesions less than three-fourths in circumferential and 25 patients had lesions in excess of three-fourths circumferentially. Totally, 18 patients (13.5%) had symptomatic esophageal stricture and 17 patients (94.4%) had stricture existing over the upper or middle esophagus. The most important risk factor of esophageal stricture was the extent of resection of esophageal circumference, especially whole circumferential resection. Although oral steroid prevention medication was prescribed for high-risk patients with lesions more than three-fourth circumferential ESD, the stricture rate was still up to 40% (10/25). Endoscopic/luminal management with balloon dilation, radial incision and self-bougination achieved 83% (15/18) symptom remission. Three patients received surgical intervention with esophagectomy or jejunostomy. CONCLUSION: Esophageal stricture is frequently encountered in esophageal ESD. Aggressive preventative strategy is warranted for the high-risk group. Endoscopy/luminal management has high efficacy for post-ESD esophageal stricture.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inflammatory bowel disease care in Taiwan: A multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a great impact on healthcare system and patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perceptions of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: This prospective multicenter study was conducted between July 2021 and December 2021. Patients with IBD answered a structured questionnaire, and their degree of anxiety was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after reading educational materials. RESULTS: A total of 225 (47.67%) patients with Crohn's disease, 244 (51.69%) with ulcerative colitis and 3 (0.64%) with indeterminate colitis were enrolled. Common concerns were adverse events from vaccination (20.34%), and higher risks of developing severe COVID-19 (19.28%) and COVID-19 infection (16.31%) than the general population. Medications deemed by the patients to increase the risk of COVID-19 were immunomodulators (16.10%), anti-tumor necrosis factor-α antagonists (9.96%), and corticosteroids (9.32%). Thirty-five (7.42%) patients self-discontinued IBD medication, of whom 12 (34.28%) had worse symptoms. Older age (>50 years) (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.19, p = 0.03), IBD-related complications (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.04-1.28, p = 0.01), education status below senior high school (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.08-1.37, p = 0.001), and residing in north-central Taiwan (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.10-1.34, p < 0.001) were associated with more anxiety. None of the enrolled patients contracted COVID-19. The anxiety VAS score (mean ± SD) improved after reading the educational materials (3.84 ± 2.33 vs. 2.81 ± 1.96, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The medical behavior of IBD patients was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and their anxiety could be mitigated after education.

Nutritional and dietary strategy in the clinical care of inflammatory bowel disease.

The incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease have been increasing for decades and IBD has become a worldwide disease. Epidemiology studies demonstrated higher incidence rates in the more westernized countries. The change of habitual diets in these countries is perceived as the reason for the development of IBD. Besides, molecular biological studies showed some pathogenic substances produced after digestion of daily diet decrease the diversity of intestinal microbiota and cause dysbiosis of microbiome. Then, chronic inflammation occurs in some genetically susceptible subjects and IBD developed. As a result, many researchers started to investigate the potential therapeutic effects of nutrients and dietary intervention on the clinical course and pathogenesis of IBD. Carbohydrates, fats, proteins and fibers are investigated and their molecular roles in the inflammatory process are discovered gradually. The undigested carbohydrates are proved to cause overgrowth of colonic bacteria and inflammation occurs by altering colonic microbiome. ω-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids are more favored over ω-6 poly-unsaturated fatty acids due to its less pro-inflammatory properties. High fibers produce more short-chain fatty acids in colon and facilitate the diversity of colonic microbiota. Moreover, some dietary interventions were designed and studied with promising results. Low FODMAP is recommended in IBS and is also suggested in patients of IBD with IBS-like symptoms. Specific Carbohydrate Diet was designed for celiac disease at first and is proved to be effective to decrease inflammation and to induce remission by decreasing non-digested carbohydrates into colon. Exclusive Enteral Nutrition has been investigated and is suggested to be the first line of management in pediatric CD in many literatures. Paleolithic diet and semi-vegetarian diet are evaluated and might be beneficial in some clinical settings. These findings are promising but limited to the evidence without high quality level. Some more well-designed studies with randomization and double-blind are needed and the primary endpoints should be more focused on the decrease of inflammation in pathology and mucosal healing in endoscopy instead of relief of the symptoms.

Endoscopic management of strictures in patients with Crohn's disease - A multi-center experience in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic gastrointestinal (GI) disorder that causes relapsing inflammation and severe mucosal damage in the intestine. Crohn's disease (CD)-related stricturing complications are a major cause of surgery, disability, and reduced quality of life. Endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) has been shown to reliably delay or prevent surgery in patients with stricturing CD. However, cases of EBD performed for stricture in CD in Taiwan are rare. In this study, we want to evaluate the experiences regarding EBD for stricturing CD in Taiwan. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 9 medical centers in Taiwan. Patients with CD-related strictures who were treated with EBD were included and analyzed. RESULTS: In nine medical centers, a total of 26 CD patients (19 male, 7 female, mean disease duration 75.4 ± 65.2 months) underwent 42 EBD procedures during the study period. Among the subjects, an 83.3% (35/42) EBD success rate was seen, but 26.9% (7/26) patients underwent surgery after ineffective EBD. In the surgery group, the the small bowel strictures was high compared with the non-surgery group (p = 0.01). There were no significant differences in disease phenotype, disease duration or history of fistulizing disease. In the surgery group, immunosuppressant use was high, and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) use was low compared with the non-surgery group. After EBD, the physicians tended to change the drugs, especially increasing the use of biologic agents. CONCLUSION: EBD is a safe and effective procedure for CD-related stricture, with a 83.3% success rate in Taiwan.

Gastric juice-based PCR assay: An alternative testing method to aid in the management of previously treated Helicobacter pylori infection.

BACKGROUND: Culture of Helicobacter pylori with previous eradication failure has been emphasized in clinical guidelines. The current unmet need to manage previously treated H pylori is one tool with diagnostic accuracy and ability for antibiotics susceptibility. Gastric juice PCR can provide diagnosis and antibiotics susceptibility; however, whether treatment failure affects its accuracy remains uninvestigated. Our study aimed to investigate diagnostic accuracy and antibiotics susceptibility of juice PCR in previously treated H pylori and to compare with the current standard of culture. METHODS: We categorized all 547 patients into treatment-naïve, post-1st treatment, post-2nd treatment, and post-3rd treatment. Helicobacter pylori infection was confirmed using gold standards. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under ROC curve (AUC) of juice PCR and culture were calculated. Intra-gastric H pylori density was evaluated. Lastly, the antibiotics susceptibility results of gastric juice and culture were compared. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrated AUC was higher in juice PCR than culture in all patients (96.7% vs 91.3%, P < 0.0001). The superiority of juice PCR was statistically significant in previously treated patients (P < 0.0001) but not in treatment-naïve patients (P = 0.13). Antral H pylori density was less marked in previously treated patients (P = 0.014). The comparisons of PCR-RFLP and E-test for Clarithromycin resistance showed reliable AUC = 89.8%. CONCLUSION: Compared with the current standard of culture, the gastric juice PCR contains the strengths of performing the antibiotics susceptibility and overcomes the shortcomings of low accuracy. Consequently, gastric juice PCR suits the unmet need to manage previously treated H pylori.

Predictor of slower gastric emptying in gastroesophageal reflux disease: Survey of an Asian-Pacific cohort.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Asian populations have relatively lower prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease and tend to exhibit symptoms of prolonged gastric retention. However, it remains unknown if slower gastric emptying influences its features in Asian countries. We prospectively assessed the potential implications of slower gastric emptying in an Asian-Pacific cohort of gastroesophageal reflux disease by a hospital-based survey. METHODS: One hundred fifty-two patients of gastroesophageal reflux disease complete the scintigraphic measurement of solid phase of gastric emptying. Clinical symptoms and psychological stress are recorded by self-report questionnaire. The status of Helicobacter pylori infection, blood level of pepsinogen I, and I/II ratio are assessed. RESULTS: Forty-seven percent and 28% of the patients have slower gastric emptying rate, depending on the incremental defined cut-off values of slower gastric emptying, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicates that older age and depression score are independently related to slower gastric emptying. Subgroup analysis discloses that patients with slower gastric emptying and higher depression score tend to present with non-erosive esophagitis whereas higher body mass index level and male gender in patients with normal gastric emptying predict the presence of erosive reflux disease. CONCLUSIONS: Our study cohort of Asian patients indicates distinctive clinical implications of slower gastric emptying in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Fecal microbiota transplantation: Review and update.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a method to directly change the recipient's gut microbiota to normalize the composition and gain a therapeutic benefit. The history of FMT has been traced back to the 4th century and has been highly regarded since 2013, when the United States Food and Drug Administration approved FMT for treating recurrent and refractory Clostridium difficile infection. Since then, the range of FMT applications extended rapidly and broadly not only in gastrointestinal disorders, but also in extra-gastrointestinal diseases. Donor selection with questionnaire, interview, blood tests, and stool examinations should be strictly performed before FMT to reduce and prevent occurrence of any adverse events. Step-by-step cautious fecal and recipient preparation along with adequately choosing delivery methods based on individual clinical situations are key points of the FMT process. Although current evidence deems FMT as a generally safe therapeutic method with few adverse effects, the long-term outcomes of FMT have not been completely elucidated. Therefore, establishing periodicity and length of regular follow-up after FMT to monitor the clinical efficacy and long-term adverse events are other essential issues. In the future, we will look forward to personalized FMT for different patients and conditions according to varied hosts and diseases.

A training program of a new simplified classification of magnified narrow band imaging for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Optimal staging of the invasion depth of superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is vital before endoscopic treatment. A new simplified magnified narrow-band imaging (M-NBI) classification system based on vascular architecture has recently been developed by the Japan Esophageal Society; however, its validity remains uncertain. METHODS: A total of 11 experienced and 11 inexperienced endoscopists were invited to join an endoscopic training program, which was composed of pretest, educational section, and post-test. The pretest and post-test sections included a set of endoscopic photos from 40 subjects with superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with various invasion depths. Each subject appeared twice in the test, one with white-light imaging (WLI) only and the other with both WLI and M-NBI. The educational section included lectures and video demonstrations. RESULTS: The accuracy of WLI alone and combined with M-NBI at baseline were 0.53, 0.57 and 0.43, 0.41 for the experienced and inexperienced endoscopists, respectively, which then improved to 0.57, 0.63 and 0.49, 0.52 after training. Inter-observer agreement (k-value) of WLI alone and combined WLI and M-NBI for the experienced and inexperienced endoscopists also improved from 0.61, 0.61, and 0.61, 0.53 to 0.68, 0.71, and 0.71, 0.59, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that the educational course but not experience in endoscopy, NBI, or magnification significantly improved the diagnostic accuracy. M-NBI had a significant additional benefit to WLI, with an improvement in accuracy from 36% to 56% for the cases with m3/sm1 cancers (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A well-designed training program can improve the diagnostic accuracy in evaluating cancer invasion depth, with substantial agreement.

Exploring the expression bar code of SAA variants for gastric cancer detection.

We reported an integrated platform to explore serum protein variant pattern in cancer and its utility as a new class of biomarker panel for diagnosis. On the model study of serum amyloid A (SAA), we employed nanoprobe-based affinity mass spectrometry for enrichment, identification and quantitation of SAA variants from serum of 105 gastric cancer patients in comparison with 54 gastritis patients, 54 controls, and 120 patients from other cancer. The result revealed surprisingly heterogeneous and most comprehensive SAA bar code to date, which comprises 24 SAA variants including SAA1- and SAA2-encoded products, polymorphic isoforms, N-terminal-truncated forms, and three novel SAA oxidized isotypes, in which the variant-specific peptide sequence were also confirmed by LC-MS/MS. A diagnostic model was developed for dimension reduction and computational classification of the 24 SAA-variant bar code, providing good discrimination (AUC = 0.85 ± 3.2E-3) for differentiating gastric cancer group from gastritis and normal groups (sensitivity, 0.76; specificity, 0.81) and was validated with external validation cohort (sensitivity, 0.71; specificity, 0.74). Our platform not only shed light on the occurrence and modification extent of under-represented serum protein variants in cancer, but also suggested a new concept of diagnostic platform by serum protein variant profile.

Ten-Day Quadruple Therapy Comprising Proton Pump Inhibitor, Bismuth, Tetracycline, and Levofloxacin is More Effective than Standard Levofloxacin Triple Therapy in the Second-Line Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: Proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-amoxicillin-fluoroquinolone triple therapy is recommended as a second-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection in the Maastricht V/Florence Consensus Report. However, the eradication rate of this standard salvage treatment is suboptimal. The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of esomeprazole-bismuth-tetracycline-levofloxacin therapy (TL quadruple therapy) and esomeprazole-amoxicillin-levofloxacin triple therapy (AL triple therapy) in rescue treatment for H. pylori infection. METHODS: Consecutive H. pylori-infected subjects after failure of first-line therapies were randomly allocated to receive either TL quadruple therapy (esomeprazole 40 mg b.d., bismuth 120 mg q.d.s., tetracycline 500 mg q.d.s., and levofloxacin 500 mg o.d.) or AL triple therapy (esomeprazole 40 mg b.d., amoxicillin 500 mg q.d.s., and levofloxacin 500 mg o.d.) for 10 days. H. pylori status was assessed 6 weeks after the end of treatment. RESULTS: The study was stopped after an interim analysis. Of 50 patients in the TL quadruple therapy, 49 (98.0%) had successful eradication of H. pylori infection. Cure of H. pylori infection was achieved in 36 of 52 patients (69.2%) receiving AL triple therapy. Intention-to-treat analysis demonstrated that TL quadruple therapy achieved a markedly higher eradication rate than AL triple therapy (difference: 28.8%; 95% confidence interval: 15.7% to 41.9%; P<0.001). Per-protocol analysis yielded a similar result (97.8% vs. 68.6%; P<0.001). The two treatment groups exhibited comparable frequencies of overall adverse events (22.0% vs. 11.5%) and drug compliance (90.0% vs. 98.1%). The subgroup analysis showed that TL quadruple therapy was superior to AL triple therapy in patients with failure of either standard triple therapy (100% vs. 75.0%; P=0.010) or non-bismuth quadruple therapy (95.0% vs. 52.6%; P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Ten-day PPI-bismuth-tetracycline-levofloxacin quadruple therapy is a good option for rescue treatment of H. pylori infection following failure of standard triple or non-bismuth quadruple therapy.

Recent Advances in the Pharmacological Management of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

The management of proton pump inhibitor-refractory GERD (rGERD) is a challenge in clinical practice. Since up to one-third of patients with typical GERD symptoms (heartburn and/or acid regurgitation) are not satisfied with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy, new drug development targeting different pathophysiologies of GERD is imperative. At present, no other drugs serve as a more potent acid suppression agent than PPIs. As an add-on therapy, histamine type-2 receptor antagonists, alginates, prokinetics and transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxation inhibitors have some impact on the subgroups of rGERD, but greater effectiveness and fewer adverse effects for widespread use are required. Visceral hypersensitivity also contributes to the perception of GERD symptoms, and neuromodulators including antidepressants play a role in this category. Esophageal pH-impedance monitoring helps to distinguish functional heartburn from true GERD, and psychologic medication and cognitive behavior therapy are further therapy options instead of PPIs.

Overexpression of Endothelial Cell-Specific Molecule 1 Correlates with Gleason Score and Expression of Androgen Receptor in Prostate Carcinoma.

Endothelial cell-specific molecule 1 (ESM1) is a major prognostic marker of several tumor types, but its value as a marker for prostate cancer is unknown. The purpose of the present study was to measure the relationship of ESM1 expression with androgen receptor (AR) expression and with Gleason score in human prostate carcinoma tissue. Expression of ESM1 and AR were determined by immunohistochemical staining of prostate tissues from healthy individuals and patients with prostate cancer. The results showed that ESM1 expression was significantly higher in prostate tumor tissues than in normal prostate tissues (p < 0.01), and that ESM1 expression in prostate tumor tissue correlated with Gleason score (p < 0.016) and Gleason grade (p < 0.013). ESM1 expression was also greater in prostate tissues with higher Gleason score and Gleason grade (p < 0.001 for both comparisons), and also correlated with AR expression (R = 0.727, p < 0.001). In conclusion, our results demonstrated that ESM1 should be considered as a marker for the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

ß-mangostin suppresses human hepatocellular carcinoma cell invasion through inhibition of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression and activating the ERK and JNK pathways.

ß-mangostin is a dietary xanthone that has been reported to have the anticancer properties in some human cancer cell types. However, the antimetastatic effect and molecular mechanism of ß-mangostin action in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells remain unknown. In this study, we found that ß-mangostin did not induce cytotoxicity in human HCC cells (SK-Hep-1, Huh-7 and HA22T/VGH cells). ß-mangostin could inhibit migration and invasion of human HCC cells. Meanwhile, ß-mangostin significantly decreased the protein activities and expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 via increasing the activation of MEK1/2, ERK1/2, MEK4 and JNK1/2 signaling pathways. Furthermore, using specific inhibitor for ERK1/2 (PD98059) and JNK1/2 (JNKII) significantly restored the expression of MMP-2/-9 and invasion by ß-mangostin treatment in Huh-7 cells. In addition, ß-mangostin effectively restored the protein levels and transcription activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in siERK or siJNK-transfected Huh-7 cells, concomitantly with promotion on cell migration and invasion. Taken together, these findings are the first to demonstrate the antimetastatic activity of ß-mangostin against human HCC cells, which may act as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of HCC.

Robotic surgery with high dissection and low ligation technique for consecutive patients with rectal cancer following preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

PURPOSE: We present the preliminary experiences with and short-term outcomes of 50 consecutive patients with rectal cancer who underwent preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) followed by robotic surgery by using the high dissection and low ligation technique. METHODS: Between October 2013 and August 2015, 50 patients with rectal cancer underwent robotic surgery after preoperative CCRT at a single institution. We performed D3 lymph node dissection and low tie ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA); this technique is referred to as the high dissection and low ligation technique. Clinicopathological features, perioperative parameters, and postoperative outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: FOLFOX regimen was used for preoperative CCRT in 26 (52 %) patients. Long-course radiotherapy was concurrently administered. A pathological complete response (pCR) was obtained in 14 (28 %) patients. Of the 50 patients, 23 (46 %) patients received intersphincteric resection (ISR) with coloanal anastomosis, 25 (50 %) patients received lower anterior resection (LAR), and 2 (4 %) patients received abdominoperineal resection (APR). Apical nodes were pathologically harvested in 47 (94 %) patients, and the median number of harvested apical lymph nodes was 2 (range, 0-10). The overall complication rate was 24 % (10 patients with 12 episodes), and most complications were mild. CONCLUSION: Roboic rectal surgery combined with appropriate preoperative CCRT helps in achieving a favorable pCR, circumferential resection margin, and sphincter preservation. Moreover, high dissection and low ligation of the IMA can be safely performed using the da Vinci(®) Surgical System safely which yield favorable short-term clinical outcomes.

Robotic colorectal surgery for laparoscopic surgeons with limited experience: preliminary experiences for 40 consecutive cases at a single medical center.

BACKGROUND: We present our preliminary experiences and results for forty consecutive patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) who were treated by robotic surgery. METHODS: Between May 2013 and September 2014, forty patients with CRC received robotic surgery at a single institution. The clinicopathological features and perioperative parameters were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 40 patients with CRC, 33 (82.5 %) had rectal cancers, and 22 (66.7 %) of those 33 patients also underwent pre-operative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). The two most frequent surgical procedures were intersphincteric resection (ISR) with coloanal anastomosis (16/40, 40 %) and lower anterior resection (LAR) (15/40, 37.5 %). Among all 40 patients, the median time to first flatus passage was 2 days. The median time to soft diet resumption was 4 days. The median post operative hospital stay was 7 days. The overall complication rate was 20 % (8/40 patients), of which most of the complications were mild, although one laparotomy was required to check for post-operative bleeding. There was no 30-day hospital mortality, nor conversion to open surgery and laparoscopy. CONCLUSION: We present our preliminary experiences of robotic colorectal surgery and demonstrate that robotic colorectal surgery is a safe and feasible surgery even when conducted by laparoscopic surgeons with limited experience.

Acid suppressive agents and risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The acid-suppressive agents have been linked with an increased risk of infectious disease. The relationship between these drugs and Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (TB) was not been reported. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study using data from National Health Insurance research database of Taiwan. From 1996 till 2008, and 6541 cases were defined as TB infection/activation (ICD-9 coding plus prescription two of four first-line anti-TB regimen for at least one month). Control subjects who were matched to the TB cases by age and sex were selected with 10:1 ratio. Medical records including acid-suppressive agent prescription and comorbidity, and socioeconomic status were analyzed. RESULTS: TB infection/activation was more frequent to comorbidity with chronic diseases, alcohol abuse, malignancy, immune deficient/suppression status and acid-related disease (peptic ulcer, reflux esophagitis). Among the TB cases, there was higher exposure record to acid-suppressive agents within 3 months before TB index date (OR 2.43(2.06-2.88) and 1.90 (1.68-2.14) for proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and histamine 2 receptor antagonist (H2RA) respectively). After adjusting confounding factors, PPIs prescription 3 months before TB index date had an association of TB infection/activation (adjusted OR 1.63(1.61-1.63)). Similar result was found in H2RA user (adjusted OR 1.51(1.50-1.52)). The association of acid-suppressive agents in TB infection/activation was fade gradually when the drug prescription period extended. CONCLUSIONS: Recent prescription of acid-suppressive agent seems to associate the TB infection/activation. In the society where TB was prevalent, evaluation of pulmonary TB before prescription of PPI or H2RA is warranted.