Prokinetics-safety and efficacy: The European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility/The American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society expert review.

BACKGROUND: Prokinetics are a class of pharmacological drugs designed to improve gastrointestinal (GI) motility, either regionally or across the whole gut. Each drug has its merits and drawbacks, and based on current evidence as high-quality studies are limited, we have no clear recommendation on one class or other. However, there remains a large unmet need for both regionally selective and/or globally acting prokinetic drugs that work primarily intraluminally and are safe and without systemic side effects. PURPOSE: Here, we describe the strengths and weaknesses of six classes of prokinetic drugs, including their pharmacokinetic properties, efficacy, safety and tolerability and potential indications.

A Non-Inferiority Study: Modified Dual Therapy Consisting Higher Doses of Rabeprazole Is as Successful as Standard Quadruple Therapy in Eradication of Helicobacter pylori.

The aim is to compare high-dose rabeprazole and amoxicillin containing modified dual therapy (MDT) with bismuth subcitrate containing standard quadruple therapy (SQT) as the first-line Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment in terms of efficacy, safety, and adherence to treatment. A total of 200 consecutive patients diagnosed endoscopically with nonulcer dyspepsia with H. pylori infection were randomly assigned into 2 groups, 1 treated with amoxicillin 750 mg thrice daily plus rabeprazole 20 mg thrice daily (MDT group) or rabeprazole 20 mg b.i.d., bismuth subcitrate 120 mg q.i.d., tetracycline 500 mg q.i.d., metronidazole 500 mg t.i.d. (SQT group). Overall, 196 patients (98 in the MDT group and 98 in the SQT group) completed the study. H. pylori eradication was achieved in 84.7% of patients in the MDT group by intention to treat analysis and 84.9% by per-protocol analysis, which were comparable with SQT group (87.8% and 88.8%, respectively). Adverse events including nausea (P = 0.03), dysgeusia (P < 0.001), diarrhea (P = 0.001), black colored stool (P < 0.001), headache (P = 0.01), and abdominal pain (P = 0.05) were significantly higher in SQT group. The MDT is an efficient and safe treatment choice that could be recommended in the first-line eradication treatment of H. pylori.

A very rare cause of markedly elevated CA 19.9: Autoimmune hepatitis.

Carbohydrate antigen 19.9 (CA 19.9) is a specific tumour marker of the biliary, pancreatic and gastrointestinal tracts. Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic immune-mediated liver disorder characterised by female predominance. We report a case of approximately 30-fold increased serum CA 19.9 in a 57-year-old woman who was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis. She had no evidence of any malignant disease in pancreatobiliary or gastrointestinal tracts. CA 19.9 levels decreased to normal levels with immunosuppressive treatment. Markedly elevated serum CA 19.9 levels might be encountered with benign liver diseases such as autoimmune hepatitis.

Lower plasma pantoprazole level predicts Helicobacter pylori treatment failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the plasma pantoprazole level (PPL) between patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and non-diabetic patients during Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication treatment and to explore the role of PPL in predicting the treatment success rates. METHODS: This study included 40 diabetic and 40 non-diabetic treatment-naive H. pylori-infected patients. Bismuth-based standard quadruple treatment for H. pylori eradication was used for 14 days in both groups. PPL was measured using the square-wave voltammetry method. RESULTS: H. pylori eradication rate (60.0% vs 87.5%, P = 0.005) and PPL (0.25 ± 0.03 µg/mL vs 0.34 ± 0.03 µg/mL, P < 0.001) was significantly lower in the diabetic group compared with the controls. Patients with treatment failure had lower PPL than those with successful treatment (P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristics curve demonstrated that PPL had a significant predictive value for the outcome of H. pylori eradication. CONCLUSION: Type 2 diabetic patients had lower PPL than the non-diabetic controls, which led to their lower H. pylori eradication rates.

Results of endoscopic treatment for the management of stenotic end-to-side hepaticoduodenostomy.

PURPOSE: The outcome of endoscopic treatment for the management of surgical end-to-side hepaticoduodenostomy (HD) has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of endoscopic management of HD. METHODS: The medical records of 17 patients with HD stenosis who were referred to the ERCP unit between August 2003 and June 2012 for endoscopic intervention were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Fourteen patients presented with cholangitis, of whom, jaundice was the presenting complaint in 3 patients. Eight patients (47.1%) who had stents placed for a median of 2 (min, 1; max, 3) ERCP periods remained asymptomatic for a median stent-free period of 19.5 months (min, 7; max, 96 mo). Five patients (29.4%) who had stents placed for a median of 2 (min, 1; max, 5) ERCP periods presented with an episode of stone-related cholangitis for a mean of 41.8±28.9 months after stent removal. These 5 patients remained asymptomatic for a median of 9.5 months (min, 5; max, 40 mo) after endoscopic stone extraction. Three patients with HD (17.6%) were followed up with stents for 4 to 19 ERC periods. One HD patient (5.9%) who had cholangitis associated with secondary biliary cirrhosis died of cholangitis-related complications, despite the treatment with stents for 4 ERC periods. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic management is also a realistic treatment option for stenotic HD anastomosis, although success rates may vary.

Cholecystectomy-related aberrant bile duct injuries and their endoscopic treatment.

Both complete transection and accidental ligation of the main bile duct because of a cholecystectomy are the injuries that are not amenable to endoscopic treatment and require an additional surgery. Leaks resulting from the severance of an aberrant bile duct may be treated endoscopically, although such injuries are difficult to be identified, thus resulting in treatment delays. Presented here are the details and follow-up results of 7 cases of patients with postcholecystectomy aberrant bile duct injuries, which were treated by endoscopic treatment.

Serum nitric oxide levels in patients with benign and malignant biliary disease: a prospective single center study.

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in new diagnostic modalities, the differentiation of malignant from benign causes of biliary obstruction still remains difficult. The nitric oxide (NO) system is considered to be an important component in mediating cytokine activation of macrophages in inflammation. It also modulates tumorigenesis and regulates cell proliferation, angiogenesis, survival, and DNA repair. Although NO and its role in pancreatobiliary disorders has not been studied previously, the present study is designed to evaluate NO synthesis and metabolism in patients with biliary obstruction and to determine its usefulness in differentiating between benign and malignant causes of biliary obstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-nine consecutive patients (60 malignant and 19 benign) with a history of biliary obstruction either with a benign or a malignant cause and 23 age-matched and sex-matched controls were included in this prospective study. NO metabolites, and conventional inflammation and tumor markers were determined. RESULTS: In patients with malignant biliary obstruction (MBO), serum NO metabolites were found to be significantly elevated (P<0.001). The receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that an NO level of 1.095 was the best cut-off value for predicting a malignant biliary stricture with a sensitivity of 78.3% and a specificity of 84.2% (area under the curve=0.821). Correlation analysis suggested that carbohydrate antigen 19-9 and carcinoembryonic antigen levels were correlated with NO levels for differentiating benign from malignant cause of biliary obstruction. CONCLUSIONS: Serum NO-associated tissue injury might be associated with the development of pancreatobiliary neoplasia by creating a local environment that is enriched with reactive oxygen species, cytokines, and other growth factors that may promote endothelial cell apoptosis. Moreover, serum NO levels may be used as an adjunctive marker to identify malignant causes of the obstructive jaundice.