[Significance of free perigastric fluid detected by echoendoscopy in patients with gastric cancer]. / Significado del líquido libre perigástrico identificado por ecoendoscopia en pacientes con cáncer gástrico.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the diagnostic value of free perigastric fluid identified by echoendoscopy in patients with gastric cancer and to establish the factors related to the presence of peritoneal carcinomatosis in these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively included 100 patients with a histological diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma referred for echoendoscopy. A positive result was defined as the echoendoscopic identification of free perigastric fluid. This result was compared with the final study based on exploratory laparoscopy-laparotomy. The histological and endoscopic characteristics were compared with the final result. RESULTS: Free perigastric fluid was found in 21 patients (21%). Among these, 15 (71%) showed peritoneal carcinomatosis, confirmed by laparoscopy (12 patients) or echoendoscopy-guided fine-needle-aspiration biopsy (three patients). In seven of the 79 patients (8%) not showing the presence of ascites, peritoneal implants were identified by exploratory laparoscopy-laparotomy. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of free fluid in the diagnosis of carcinomatosis was 68%, 92%, 71%, 91% and 87%, respectively. No histologic or endoscopic factors related to the malignancy of echoendoscopically-detected fluid were identified. CONCLUSION: In patients with gastric cancer, free perigastric fluid identified by echoendoscopy is an important predictive factor of peritoneal carcinomatosis and may have significant implications in the management of these patients.

Carney triad: A case report, characteristics and literature review of this rare entity.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Carney triad is a rare entity of unknown etiology, characterized by the association of tumors with low incidence such as: gastric leiomyosarcoma, pulmonary chondroma and extra-adrenal paraganglioma. We show a case of Carney triad diagnosed in our center that has some different characteristics to the typical presentation of this patology, and a review of the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 47-year-old men who was admitted to our hospital for upper gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia. The patient was diagnosed of gastric GIST (gastrointestinal stromal tumor), pulmonary nodule and retroperitoneal nodule close to iliac bifurcation. A review of his medical history revealed that he had undergone surgery at 18-year-old for gastric leiomiosarcoma, subtotal gastrectomy performed with gastroenteric anastomosis type Billroth II. The patient underwent total gastrectomy with a end-lateral esophago-jejune mechanical anastomosis and retroperitoneal tumor was also excised. Pathological result confirmed gastric GIST, and extra-adrenal paraganglioma. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: We review the available literature to determinate the characteristics and the most appropriate management for this syndrome. The trend is surgical treatment of gastric GIST and paraganglioma, preferred conservative treatment in pulmonary chondroma. It is under discussion whether gastric tumors Carney syndrome is considered GIST, because the Carney triad lesions in stomach are different clinically, pathologically, and etiologically from GIST of stomach. CONCLUSION: Carney's triad is a low prevalence entity, with a limited number of publications, so the presentation of the syndrome may be different from the presentation described in the literature.

[Serological diagnosis of atrophic gastritis with a combination of pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17 and anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies]. / Diagnóstico serológico de gastritis atrófica con una combinación de pepsinógeno I y II, gastrina-17 y anticuerpos anti-Helicobacter pylori.

OBJECTIVE: Noninvasive diagnosis of atrophic gastritis would help to identify individuals at increased risk of gastric carcinoma. In the present study, we evaluated the utility of a serological panel combining pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17, and anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies (Gastropanel) as a screening method for atrophic gastritis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The serological panel was evaluated in 56 patients divided in two groups: group 1 consisted of 47 patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia and group 2 was composed of nine consecutive patients with gastric carcinoma. In all patients, we performed endoscopy with biopsies of the gastric antrum and body. Levels of pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17, and anti-H. pylori antibodies were determined through a specific EIA test (Biohit plc, Helsinki, Finland) in fasting serum samples. RESULTS: Atrophic gastritis was significantly more frequent in patients with gastric carcinoma than in those with dyspepsia (56 vs 6%; p = 0.0015). Agreement between the Gastropanel and gastric histology was good (kappa = 0.68). The sensitivity and specificity of the Gastropanel in the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis was 87.5% and 100%, respectively. However, the Gastropanel would not have detected four of the nine cases of gastric carcinoma, since these tumors arose in stomachs with nonatrophic mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: Gastropanel is a useful noninvasive method for the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis. However, its utility as a screening method is limited by cases of gastric carcinoma that arise in stomachs without atrophic mucosa.

[Stromal tumors of the jejunum and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Use of minimally invasive techniques in three cases]. / Tumores estromales yeyunales y hemorragia digestiva oculta. Empleo de técnicas mínimamente invasivas en tres casos clínicos.

Gastrointestinal bleeding is considered to be obscure when routine endoscopic techniques (esophagogastroscopy and colonoscopy) fail to identify the origin of the hemorrhage. These hemorrhages represent 5% of all gastrointestinal bleeding. Twenty-seven percent of these hemorrhages are due to small bowel disease and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are a frequent cause, especially in middle-aged patients. We present three cases that illustrate the difficulty of diagnosing this clinical entity. We emphasize the use of minimally invasive techniques such as computed tomography and laparoscopic surgery in the complicated management of these patients. We believe that the use of these techniques could avoid the need for other more aggressive procedures and allow the application of early definitive surgical treatment with the advantages of laparoscopic surgery.