Cecal amebiasis mimicking inflammatory bowel disease.

Amebiasis is a frequently occurring parasitic infection in South East Asia. We present a case of a 54-year-old man with right lower quadrant abdominal pain that persisted for longer than 1 year. He had been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease in Indonesia. His abdominal pain persisted, despite therapy, and he visited Malaysia for transnational medical advice. Abdominal ultrasound showed fatty liver, gallbladder polyps, and a small left renal stone. Colonoscopy showed multiple ulcers in the cecum and a histopathological examination confirmed amebic infection of the cecum. The colonic ulcers subsided after anti-amebic treatment. This case highlights the need to consider the differential diagnosis of amebic colitis in patients presenting with manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease, especially in patients who live in or have traveled to endemic areas.

Help-Seeking Experiences of Hepatitis B Patients in Transnational Medical Care: The Solution to Health Inequality Is Social Mobility.

This paper tracked hepatitis B patients from Medan, Indonesia to Penang, Malaysia under transnational medical care and has an understanding of their medical history and socioeconomic status. The condition of these patients improved as a result of good compliance with medical treatment, including lifestyle adjustment and regular medication. Under the influence of the marketization of healthcare, transnational medical patients in the social structure, based on their economic ability and socioeconomic status, may be expected to experience health inequalities. People with unhealthy medical distribution and weak socioeconomic status are easily prone to diseases due to environmental and social conditions; it is easier for such patients to delay or give up their medical treatment. After continuous tracking and increasing patient exposure to medical knowledge and self-care management opportunities, increasing awareness, screening, care, and treatment, the transmission of hepatitis B can be reduced to enable them to gain upward mobility by their capacities and thus improve their health. Social mobility is deemed the main approach to reduce social inequality. There have been limited medical clinical observations and tracking confirming this theory. This paper, which uses medical observation, confirmed that social mobility is considered as the principal key to reducing inequalities in health.

Invasive pyogenic infection and infective endocarditis due to Streptococcus anginosus: A case report.

RATIONALE: Streptococcus anginosus mostly colonizes the digestive and genitourinary system, including the oropharyngeal region. It commonly causes invasive pyogenic infection, but less likely causes infective endocarditis (IE). PATIENT CONCERNS: An 18-year-old woman who had an underlying mitral valve prolapse without mitral regurgitation presented to our hospital with low-grade fever, left leg weakness, and left abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with brain infarction and microabscess as well as IE. The patient totally recovered after the 6-week course of intravenous antibiotics. DIAGNOSIS: Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed brain infarction and microabscess. Abdominal computed tomography revealed splenic and left renal infarction. Three sets of blood culture were positive for S anginosus. Transthoracic echocardiogram identified mitral valve prolapse with moderate eccentric mitral valve regurgitation, and a 0.3 × 0.6-cm vegetation was found on the left mitral valve. All of these results meet the modified Duke criteria. INTERVENTIONS: The abdominal pain and left leg weakness were improving after 2 weeks of intravenous antibiotics treatment. No neurological sequelae were noted after completing the 6-week course of medical treatment. OUTCOMES: The patient was successfully treated and discharged after completing the 6-week intravenous antibiotics treatment. LESSONS: IE should be considered in young patients with native valve disease who have prolonged fever. Though S anginosus commonly causes invasive pyogenic infection, patients with native valve disease should be checked for IE.

Fatty acid components in Asian female patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Abdominal pain is one of the key symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Studies have indicated an increase in the incidence of IBS in Asia. However, yet the pathophysiology of this disease remains unknown. Women are more likely to develop the condition than men, especially the constipation-predominant type. Essential fatty acid (EFA) malnutrition is one of several theories discussing the mechanism of IBS.The authors hypothesized that significant EFA deficiency may cause abdominal pain in patients with IBS. However, because patterns in the oral intake of EFAs differ between cultures, the authors narrowed this study to examine the nutritional status of Asian female patients with IBSThe authors investigated Asian female patients with IBS and compared them with a group of healthy controls. Thirty patients with IBS and 39 healthy individuals were included in this study. The participants' age, height, weight, and waist size were recorded. The 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was documented. Both erythrocyte and plasma fatty acid content were analyzed through gas-liquid chromatography.The authors found that patients with IBS exhibited significantly higher scores for depression, higher proportions of plasma saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids, and lower proportions of docosahexaenoic acid and total omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in plasma are associated with IBS in Asian female patients. Further study is indicated to confirm the causality of this association.

Negative correlation of cortical thickness with the severity and duration of abdominal pain in Asian women with irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) manifests as chronic abdominal pain. One pathophysiological theory states that the brain-gut axis is responsible for pain control in the intestine. Although several studies have discussed the structural changes in the brain of IBS patients, most of these studies have been conducted in Western populations. Different cultures and sexes experience different pain sensations and have different pain responses. Accordingly, we aimed to identify the specific changes in the cortical thickness of Asian women with IBS and to compare these data to those of non-Asian women with IBS. METHODS: Thirty Asian female IBS patients (IBS group) and 39 healthy individuals (control group) were included in this study. Brain structural magnetic resonance imaging was performed. We used FreeSurfer to analyze the differences in the cortical thickness and their correlations with patient characteristics. RESULTS: The left cuneus, left rostral middle frontal cortex, left supramarginal cortex, right caudal anterior cingulate cortex, and bilateral insula exhibited cortical thinning in the IBS group compared with those in the controls. Furthermore, the brain cortical thickness correlated negatively the severity as well as duration of abdominal pain. CONCLUSIONS: Some of our findings differ from those of Western studies. In our study, all of the significant brain regions in the IBS group exhibited cortical thinning compared with those in the controls. The differences in cortical thickness between the IBS patients and controls may provide useful information to facilitate regulating abdominal pain in IBS patients. These findings offer insights into the association of different cultures and sexes with differences in cortical thinning in patients with IBS.

The efficacy of blueberry and grape seed extract combination on triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication: a randomised controlled trial.

Helicobacter pylori is a major risk factor for gastritis, gastric ulcers and gastric cancer. Traditional therapy with proton pump inhibitor and antibiotics is regarded as optimal for H. pylori eradication whereas, the eradication rate is unsatisfactory. Studies have reported that cranberry may inhibit H. pylori adhesion to the human gastric mucus but lack of other berry extracts have been evaluated in clinical study. Thus, a 9-week add-on randomised controlled trial was conducted to explore the impact of blueberry and grape seed extract (BGE) combinations traditional therapy for H. pylori eradication. In results, we found that there was no significant difference of eradication rate between the berry extract group and placebo group in the intention-to-treat analysis and in the per-protocol analysis (94.64% versus 84.62%, p = 0.085). Diarrhoea, constipation and epigastric pain were observed increasing during ingestion of the berry extract in some cases. In conclusion, this study indicated that no significant difference existed between the BGE extract group and placebo group in eradication rate under triple therapy.

Durability of Nucleos(t)ide Analogues Treatment in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

Long-term nucleos(t)ide analogues (NUCs) treatment is usually required for patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, whether discontinuation of NUCs is possible in selected patients remains debated. The aim of this study was to assess the durability of NUCs and predictors of sustained response after cessation of NUCs.Ninety-three CHB patients (29 HBeAg-positive and 64 HBeAg-negative) from 2 medical centers in Taiwan with discontinuation of NUCs after a median of 3 years' treatment were retrospectively reviewed. Fifteen (51.7%) HBeAg-positive and 57 (89.1%) HBeAg-negative patients achieved APASL treatment endpoints. Virological relapse (VR) and clinical relapse (CR) were defined according to APASL guidelines.Achieving APASL endpoint was associated with longer median time to CR in HBeAg-positive patients, but not in HBeAg-negative cases. The cumulative 1-year VR and CR rates were 55.3% and 14.4% in HBeAg-positive patients, and 77.7% and 41.9% in HBeAg-negative patients, respectively. In HBeAg-negative patients, baseline HBV DNA >10 IU/mL was the only predictor of VR (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.277, P = 0.019) and CR (HR = 3.378, P = 0.014). HBsAg >200 IU/mL at the end of treatment (EOT) was associated with CR (HR = 3.573, P = 0.023) in patients developing VR. HBeAg-negative patients with low baseline viral loads and low HBsAg levels at EOT had minimal risk of CR after achieving APASL treatment endpoint (P = 0.016).The VR rate is high, but the risk of CR is low within 1 year with consolidation treatment after HBeAg seroconversion. Longer consolidation treatment to reduce the risk of VR should be considered in HBeAg-positive patients. As high risk of VR and CR, cessation of NUCs therapy could be considered only in selected HBeAg-negative patients.

Triphasic computed tomography enterography with polyethylene glycol to detect renal cell carcinoma metastases to the small bowel.

Enteroclysis was first used to diagnose small bowel obstruction in 1996. However, nasojejunal intubation required during enteroclysis causes discomfort to the patient. Triphasic computed tomography (CT) enterography, a noninvasive procedure that does not require intubation, was found to be an efficient method to diagnose small bowel lesions. We describe our experience of using triphasic CT enterography with polyethylene glycol (PEG) for diagnosing renal cell carcinoma (RCC) metastases to the small intestine. RCC can metastasize to many organs and can cause variable clinical presentations. We report the case of a 56-year-old man with RCC who had psoas muscle involvement and lung metastasis. The patient presented with melena and intermittent abdominal pain. Two conventional CT and small bowel series examinations had shown no obstructive lesion in the small intestine. However, triphasic CT enterography with PEG detected two enhanced masses suggestive of small bowel metastasis. The patient underwent laparotomy and segmental resection of the jejunum with primary anastomosis. Histologic examination was compatible with RCC. This is the first report where RCC metastasis to the small bowel was diagnosed using triphasic CT enterography. Our study emphasizes the importance of triphasic CT enterography in cases of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, especially in patients suspected of having small bowel metastasis.

Metabolic risk factors associated with erosive esophagitis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Our aim was to determine associations between metabolic risk factors and erosive esophagitis. METHODS: In this retrospective case-control study, diagnosis of erosive esophagitis was based on the Los Angeles classification. Endoscopic findings in subjects with erosive esophagitis were reviewed by two experienced endoscopists and those with agreement of diagnosis were enrolled for study. Body mass index (BMI), abdominal girdle, blood pressure, and serum triglyceride, glucose, and beta-lipoprotein levels were compared between individuals with and without erosive esophagitis. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent metabolic risk factors associated with erosive esophagitis. RESULTS: Between October 2004 and April 2006, 518 of 4206 subjects who underwent endoscopic examination were diagnosed as having erosive esophagitis. After expert review, 427 (male : female = 365:62) individuals met the study criteria of having erosive esophagitis (10.5%). Compared with age- and gender-matched controls, patients with erosive esophagitis had significantly higher BMI, abdominal girdle, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels, and lower levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (P < 0.05). More subjects with metabolic syndrome had erosive esophagitis than without metabolic syndrome (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.27-2.44, P = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that central obesity (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 05-1.89, P = 0.023) and hypertriglyceridemia (OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.19-2.13, P = 0.004) were significantly associated with erosive esophagitis. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity and hypertriglyceridemia, which are key components of metabolic syndrome, are moderate independent risk factors for erosive esophagitis.