Utility of an Artificial Intelligence Enabled Electrocardiogram for Risk Assessment in Liver Transplant Candidates.

BACKGROUND: Post-operative cardiac complications occur infrequently but contribute to mortality after liver transplantation (LT). Artificial intelligence-based algorithms based on electrocardiogram (AI-ECG) are attractive for use during pre-operative evaluation to screen for risk of post-operative cardiac complications, but their use for this purpose is unknown. AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of an AI-ECG algorithm in predicting cardiac factors such as asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction or potential for developing post-operative atrial fibrillation (AF) in cohorts of patients with end-stage liver disease either undergoing evaluation for transplant or receiving a liver transplant. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed in two consecutive adult cohorts of patients who were either evaluated for LT or underwent LT at a single center between 2017 and 2019. ECG were analyzed using an AI-ECG trained to recognize patterns from a standard 12-lead ECG which could identify the presence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF < 50%) or subsequent atrial fibrillation. RESULTS: The performance of AI-ECG in patients undergoing LT evaluation is similar to that in a general population but was lower in the presence of prolonged QTc. AI-ECG analysis on ECG in sinus rhythm had an AUROC of 0.69 for prediction of de novo post-transplant AF. Although post-transplant cardiac dysfunction occurred in only 2.3% of patients in the study cohorts, AI-ECG had an AUROC of 0.69 for prediction of subsequent low left ventricular ejection fraction. CONCLUSIONS: A positive screen for low EF or AF on AI-ECG can alert to risk of post-operative cardiac dysfunction or predict new onset atrial fibrillation after LT. The use of an AI-ECG can be a useful adjunct in persons undergoing transplant evaluation that can be readily implemented in clinical practice.

Factors That Influence the Speed and Completion of Double Balloon Enteroscopy in Patients with Arteriovenous Malformations.

BACKGROUND: Double balloon enteroscopy remains a resource and time-intensive procedure that is not available in many endoscopy units. AIMS: We aimed to identify variables impacting the speed and completion of double balloon enteroscopy. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 550 patients. Using a mean time and distance for both the antegrade and retrograde approach, we determined the procedure speed and assessed factors that influenced it. In addition, we assessed the factors that contributed to a complete double balloon enteroscopy. RESULTS: A total of 386 antegrade and 164 retrograde double balloon enteroscopies were performed. Greater than 10 AVMs requiring treatment was a negative predictor (AOR 0.25, CI 0.11-0.51, p < 0.001), whereas age greater than 60 years (AOR 2.66, CI 1.18-6.65, p = 0.025) was a positive predictor of a fast antegrade enteroscopy. For retrograde, prior abdominal surgery was the only factor that trended to significance (AOR 0.38, CI 0.14-0.99, p = 0.052). A total of 120 combined procedures were performed. Female gender (AOR 2.62, CI 1.16-6.24, p = 0.02), history of prior abdominal surgery (AOR 0.31, CI 0.13-0.70, p = 0.006) and Boston bowel pre-preparation score of greater than 6 (AOR 4.50, CI 1.59-14.30, p = 0.006) were the only significant predictors of a complete procedure. CONCLUSION: By applying double balloon enteroscopy speed, a novel method of measuring procedure efficiency, we were able to more reliably identify the factors that will negatively impact the speed and success of the procedure.

Parotid sebaceous lymphadenoma associated with Sjogren's syndrome: Review of pathologic and radiologic characteristics and clinical presentation.

Salivary lymphadenoma is an extremely rare neoplasm that is usually seen in the older patient population, arising sporadically on one side and almost exclusive to the parotid gland. Imaging and pathology findings can mimic both benign and malignant tumors, and therefore, this lesion may be misdiagnosed if not on the differential diagnosis. This article reviews the clinical presentation, as well as the pathology and imaging findings of salivary lymphadenoma in the setting of Sjogren's syndrome.

Endoscopic Management of Luminal Strictures: Beyond Dilation.

Luminal strictures can occur as part of many different gastrointestinal (GI) disorders anywhere along the GI tract and affect all age groups. The end goal of managing any stricture is to re-establish an adequate and durable luminal patency that is sufficient to resolve the presenting clinical symptoms. Treatment options can be generally categorized into medical, endoscopic, and surgical. However, within each of these categories, multiple different options are available. Therefore, choosing the best treatment modality is often challenging and depends on multiple factors including the type, location, and complexity of the stricture, as well as the preference of the treating physician. In this article, we will review the most current literature regarding foregut strictures, particularly esophageal and gastric, beyond dilation.

Colchicine as an Alternative First-Line Treatment of Sclerosing Mesenteritis: A Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Sclerosing mesenteritis is a rare condition characterized by chronic inflammation and fibrotic changes of the mesentery. AIMS: To determine the long-term management and outcomes of patients with sclerosing mesenteritis. METHODS: Patients with biopsy-proven sclerosing mesenteritis at the Mayo Clinic between January 2006 and December 2016 were identified. Clinical data were collected retrospectively. RESULTS: One hundred and three patients were identified, median age 68.0 years (range 35.0-85.3). Most patients were symptomatic (87.4%) at presentation. Patients received no treatment (52.4%), medical therapy (42.7%) or surgery (4.9%) on initial diagnosis. The most common initial regimens were prednisone plus tamoxifen (41.9%), prednisone alone (23.3%), and prednisone plus colchicine (11.6%) with 55.6%, 57.2%, and 60% of patients improving, respectively, p = 0.85 for a difference in response rates. At least half of the patients responded to prednisone plus tamoxifen, prednisone plus colchicine, or prednisone alone at 6.0, 7.2, and 8.4 months, respectively. At a median follow-up of 45.6 months (95% CI 24.1-69.7), 65.4% of patients were receiving medical therapy. Of those receiving tamoxifen-based, steroid-based, or steroid-sparing regimens, 100%, 87.5%, and 77.8% had improved by their last follow-up appointment respectively, p = 0.15. CONCLUSION: Prednisone plus colchicine has a similar efficacy to prednisone plus tamoxifen for the initial and long-term treatment of sclerosing mesenteritis. The majority of patients were initiated on medical therapy over the long term with most reporting symptomatic improvement within a year. Death from SM was rare.

Artificial intelligence in gastroenterology: A state-of-the-art review.

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, with clinical applications progressively being explored for most of the medical specialties. The field of gastroenterology and hepatology, substantially reliant on vast amounts of imaging studies, is not an exception. The clinical applications of AI systems in this field include the identification of premalignant or malignant lesions (e.g., identification of dysplasia or esophageal adenocarcinoma in Barrett's esophagus, pancreatic malignancies), detection of lesions (e.g., polyp identification and classification, small-bowel bleeding lesion on capsule endoscopy, pancreatic cystic lesions), development of objective scoring systems for risk stratification, predicting disease prognosis or treatment response [e.g., determining survival in patients post-resection of hepatocellular carcinoma), determining which patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) will benefit from biologic therapy], or evaluation of metrics such as bowel preparation score or quality of endoscopic examination. The objective of this comprehensive review is to analyze the available AI-related studies pertaining to the entirety of the gastrointestinal tract, including the upper, middle and lower tracts; IBD; the hepatobiliary system; and the pancreas, discussing the findings and clinical applications, as well as outlining the current limitations and future directions in this field.

Schistosoma japonicum Associated With Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, with increasing prevalence in Asian countries with a crude incidence of 21.1 per 100,000. Schistosoma is a genus of trematodes that infect millions of humans, affecting multiple organs, notably the intestines, liver, and bladder. Those trematodes may cause chronic inflammation in the affected organ leading to long-term complications such as fibrosis and neoplasia. There is rising evidence that infection with Schistosoma japonicum is correlated with the liver and CRC in endemic Asian countries. It is reported that chronic infection with Schistosomiasis raises the risk of CRC by 3 times. Less commonly seen outside of endemic areas, we present a case of S. japonicum-associated CRC in the United States in a woman with sigmoid adenocarcinoma and Schistosoma japonicum infection.