Catheter-based deployment of vascular plugs for the management of challenging gastric fistulae.

Video 1Case demonstrations of endoscopic vascular plug placement for challenging gastrointestinal fistulae.

Left-Sided Prosthetic Valve Dysfunction and Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

Introduction We sought to investigate the association between left-sided prosthetic valve dysfunction and gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Methods In a retrospective cohort of patients with left-sided prostheses, we identified those who experienced one or more GI bleeds. The latest or chronologically closest echocardiogram to the GI bleed was analyzed by a blinded investigator for prosthetic valve dysfunction. Results Among 334 unique patients, 166 had aortic prostheses, 127 had mitral prostheses, and 41 had both. A total of 58 (17.4%) subjects had GI bleeding events. Patients in the "GI Bleed" group had higher mean ejection fraction (56±14% vs. 49±15%; P = 0.003) and higher prevalence of hypertension, end-stage renal disease, and liver cirrhosis compared to the "No GI Bleed" group. There was a higher prevalence of moderate or severe prosthetic valve regurgitation in the GI Bleed vs. No GI Bleed group (8.6% vs. 2.2%; P = 0.027). Moderate or severe prosthetic valve regurgitation was independently associated with GI bleeding (odds ratio, 6.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.27-30.05; P = 0.024), after adjusting for ejection fraction, hypertension, end-stage renal disease and liver cirrhosis. Paravalvular regurgitation was associated with a higher incidence of GI bleeding compared to transvalvular regurgitation (35.7% vs. 11.9%; P = 0.044). The prevalence of prosthetic valve stenosis was similar between the GI Bleed and No GI Bleed groups (6.9% vs. 5.8%; P = 0.761). Conclusion In a cohort of patients with predominantly surgically placed prosthetic valves, moderate to severe left-sided prosthetic valve regurgitation was independently associated with GI bleeding.

Application of artificial intelligence in diagnosis of pancreatic malignancies by endoscopic ultrasound: a systemic review.

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly fatal malignancy with a global overall 5-year survival of under 10%. Screening of PC is not recommended outside of clinical trials. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is a very sensitive test to identify PC but lacks specificity and is operator-dependent, especially in the presence of chronic pancreatitis (CP). Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a growing field with a wide range of applications to augment the currently available modalities. This study was undertaken to study the effectiveness of AI with EUS in the diagnosis of PC. Methods: Studies from MEDLINE and EMBASE databases reporting the AI performance applied to EUS imaging for recognizing PC. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Results: A total of 11 articles reported the role of EUS in the diagnosis of PC. The overall accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of AI in recognizing PC were 80-97.5%, 83-100%, and 50-99%, respectively, with corresponding positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 75-99% and 57-100%, respectively. Types of AI studied were artificial neural networks (ANNs), convolutional neural networks (CNN), and support vector machine (SVM). Seven studies using other than basic ANN reported a sensitivity and specificity of 88-96% and 83-94% to differentiate PC from CP. Two studies using SVM reported a 94-96% sensitivity, 93%-99% specificity, and 94-98% accuracy to diagnose PC from CP. The reported sensitivity and specificity of detection of malignant from benign Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms (IPMNs) was 96% and 92%, respectively. Conclusion: AI reported a high sensitivity with high specificity and accuracy to diagnose PC, differentiate PC from CP, and differentiate benign from malignant IPMN when used with EUS.

Racial differences in the outcomes of IBD hospitalizations: a national population-based study.

PURPOSE: There are  scarce data describing the outcomes of hospitalized patients admitted with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) stratified by race. In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated the difference in outcomes between adult white and black patients hospitalized with a principal diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2016 and 2017 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Our primary outcome was inpatient mortality while the secondary outcomes were hospital length of stay (LOS), total hospital charges (THC), red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, diagnosis of bowel perforation, and severe sepsis with septic shock. We conducted the analysis using STATA software. We used propensity-matched multivariate regression analysis to adjust for potential confounders. RESULTS: Among 71 million hospital hospitalizations, we found 177,574 hospitalizations with a principal diagnosis of IBD, with 24,635 (13.9%) for black patients, 124,899 (70.3%) for white patients, and 28,040 (15.8%) were for others. There was no significant difference in inpatient mortality for black vs white patients. Among secondary outcomes, white compared to black patients had increased odds of having a diagnosis of bowel perforation when admitted with a diagnosis of IBD while there was no difference in the odds of developing septic shock. White patients admitted with a diagnosis of UC were also found to have increased total LOS and THC. CONCLUSION: White patients hospitalized with a principal diagnosis of IBD had no difference in inpatient mortality or septic shock but had worse outcomes such as increased odds of bowel perforation compared to black patients.

Massive Ischemic Strokes in a Young Patient With Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pneumonia.

Stroke is an identified sequela of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. While the pathophysiology remains poorly understood, endothelial dysfunction and intravascular thrombosis secondary to sepsis-induced hypercoagulability likely increase the risk of stroke. This report describes the rare case of an otherwise healthy 42-year-old male who developed large bilateral ischemic infarcts during admission for severe hypoxemic respiratory failure secondary to COVID pneumonia. This report adds to scarce literature describing massive cerebrovascular injury in COVID patients and emphasizes the importance of increased clinical suspicion for stroke in patients who exhibit acute change in mental status or motor function, as well as rapid clinical deterioration.

Predictors of venous thromboembolism in hospitalized patients with inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer: A retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colon cancer (CC) increases morbidity and mortality. Risk of thrombosis in IBD and CC is well established. Still, it remains unclear how interaction of thrombotic properties in patients with both diseases predict development of VTE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was sourced (2005-2014) for data on patients admitted with IBD-CC who developed VTE. The main outcome was predictors of VTE. Secondary outcomes were length of stay and total charge of admission. RESULTS: 7625 adults were admitted from 2005 to 2014 with a co-diagnosis of IBD and CC. 197 (2.6%) were coded to have VTE as a top three diagnosis. Multivariate logistic regression showed that black patients (11.9% vs 6.0%; aOR 2.04, 95% CI = 1.26-3.31, P < 0.004) and patients with metastatic disease (27.9% vs 16.7%; aOR 1.77, 95% CI = 1.27-2.47, P = 0.001) had higher odds of having VTE. Patients with uncomplicated diabetes (8.1% vs 15.5%; aOR 0.48, 95% CI = 0.28-0.84, P = 0.010) had lower odds. Obesity and anemia were significantly associated with VTE in univariate logistic regression, but lost significance after multivariate regression. Additionally, VTE was associated with increased length of stay (8.41 vs 6.87 days, P = 0.006) and admission cost ($64,388 vs $50,874, P = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with IBD and CC likely have unique procoagulant properties that differ from patients with IBD or CC alone. Knowledge of these predictors can assist efforts to risk stratify IBC-CC patients, and can aid development of an individualized approach to DVT prophylaxis in this population.

Temporal trend in inpatient mortality in inflammatory bowel disease-associated colorectal cancer vs non-inflammatory colorectal cancer: a nationwide retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Early detection and advancement in therapy have successfully achieved a steady decrease in colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality over the last two decades. On the other hand, studies investigating mortality trends in inflammatory bowel disease-associated CRC (IBD-CRC) are scarce and inconclusive. We conducted a retrospective analysis aiming to identify differences between inpatient mortality trends in IBD-CRC vs non-IBD-CRC and possible contributing factors. METHODS: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2006-2014 was queried to identify all patients admitted with a diagnosis of CRC. The main outcome was the prevalence and trend of mortality among IBD-CRC and non-IBD-CRC. The secondary outcome was the evaluation of predictors of inpatient mortality. RESULTS: A total of 1,190,759 weighted cases with the admission diagnosis of CRC were included in the study. Of which 10,997 (0.9%) had a co-diagnosis of IBD. The population with non-IBD-CRC had a statistically significant downward temporal trend in mortality (p < 0.001), while patients with IBD-CRC did not have any statistically significant temporal trend in inpatient mortality (p = 0.067). After subgroup analysis, patients with Crohn's disease-CRC had an upward temporal trend in mortality (p = 0.183) compared to patients with ulcerative colitis-CRC with a downward trend in mortality (p = 0.001). Sepsis resulted to be a stronger predictor of mortality for CD-CRC, while VTE for UC-CRC. CONCLUSION: Multiples strategies established to prevent morbidity and mortality in CRC have been fruitful in non-IBD-CRC population, but have not been enough for IBD-CRC population to cause the same effect. Further strategies are needed to achieve a reduction in IBD-CRC mortality trend.

Coexisting psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for patients with inflammatory bowel disease: an analysis of the National Inpatient Sample database.

This study compares the odds of being admitted for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in patients with psoriasis compared with those without psoriasis alone. We also compared hospital outcomes of patients admitted primarily for IBD with and without a secondary diagnosis of psoriasis. Data were abstracted from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) 2016 and 2017 database to search for hospitalizations of interest using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to calculate the adjusted OR (AOR) of IBD being the principal diagnosis for hospitalizations with and without a secondary diagnosis of psoriasis. Multivariate logistic and linear regression analyses were used accordingly to compare outcomes of hospitalizations for IBD with and without secondary diagnosis of psoriasis. There were over 71 million discharges included in the combined 2016 and 2017 NIS database. Hospitalizations with a secondary diagnosis of psoriasis have an AOR of 2.66 (95% CI 2.40 to 2.96, p<0.0001) of IBD being the principal reason for hospitalization compared with hospitalizations without psoriasis as a secondary diagnosis. IBD hospitalizations with coexisting psoriasis have similar lengths of stay, hospital charges, need for blood transfusion, and similar likelihood of having a secondary discharge diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis, gastrointestinal bleed, sepsis, and acute kidney injury compared with those without coexisting psoriasis. Patients with coexisting psoriasis have almost three times the odds of being admitted for IBD compared with patients without psoriasis. Hospitalizations for IBD with coexisting psoriasis have similar hospital outcomes compared with those without coexisting psoriasis.

Higher Inpatient Morbidity and Mortality in Biliary Pancreatitis Compared to Hypertriglyceridemia-Induced Pancreatitis: A Nationwide Retrospective Study.

Introduction Hypertriglyceridemia (HTG)-induced pancreatitis is the third most common cause of acute pancreatitis after gallstone disease and alcohol. We analyzed data from the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS) with the aim of evaluating the outcomes of patients with HTG-induced pancreatitis when compared to those with biliary-induced pancreatitis. Methods The NIS database was sourced for data involving adult hospitalizations for HTG-induced pancreatitis in the United States between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017. The main outcome was mortality in patients with biliary pancreatitis vs HTG pancreatitis. Secondary outcomes were the incidence of sepsis, septic shock, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), blood transfusion requirements, acute kidney failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and length of hospital stay. Results A total of 575,230 patients were admitted with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, 18.2% of which were classified as having HTG pancreatitis. The in-hospital mortality for pancreatitis was 0.59%. Patients with HTG pancreatitis had lower odds of in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.74, 95% CI 0.582-0.934, p=0.012) compared to those with biliary pancreatitis. Patients with HTG pancreatitis had less odds of developing comorbid sepsis (aOR: 0.52, 95% CI 0.441-0.612, p<0.001), septic shock (aOR: 0.64, 95% CI 0.482-0.851, p<0.001), and NSTEMI (aOR: 0.70, 95% CI 0.535-0.926, p<0.001) and had less odds of requiring transfusion of blood products (aOR: 0.57, 95% CI 0.478-0.678, p<0.001) when compared to those with biliary pancreatitis. Patients with HTG pancreatitis also had a lower average length of hospital stay and lower total hospital charges compared to those with biliary pancreatitis. There was no statistical difference, however, in acute kidney failure and ARDS between the two groups. Conclusion Patients with HTG-induced pancreatitis possibly have better inpatient outcomes including mortality when compared to those with biliary-induced pancreatitis.

Secondary Abdominal Cocoon Syndrome Due To Chronic Beta-Blocker Use.

Sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis (SEP), which is interchangeably used with the term ''abdominal cocoon syndrome'', is a rare condition characterized by a thick fibrous membrane encasing portions of the intestinal wall leading to recurrent bowel obstructions. To date, literature describing the association between this condition and chronic beta-blocker therapy is scarce. This report adds by detailing a rare presentation of SEP and highlights an understudied yet important association of SEP with chronic beta-blocker therapy.

Acute Rheumatic Fever Presenting as a Mimicker of Septic Arthritis.

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) describes the non-suppurative and autoimmune inflammation of joint, muscle, and fibrous tissue that occurs after group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis. This report describes a rare case of a 39-year-old male with migratory arthralgias as a presenting sign of ARF. Through this case, we review the current literature on ARF and highlight clinical and objective findings that differentiate ARF from similar presenting arthralgias, specifically post-streptococcal reactive arthritis (PSRA). With this report, we hope to increase clinical suspicion for ARF in patients with acute joint pain, as differentiating ARF from other arthritides, PSRA specifically, determines management strategy and need for secondary prophylaxis against rheumatic heart disease.

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Induced Pancreatic Ascites.

Pancreatic pathology is one of the causes of abdominal ascites. The estimated prevalence of pancreatic ascites is 3.5% in patients with chronic pancreatitis and it is mostly caused by pancreatic duct dehiscence in the setting of chronic pancreatitis. Other etiologies include pancreatic pseudocysts, trauma, severe acute pancreatitis and rupture to the pancreas. Management of this condition includes conservative management like holding feeds, total parenteral nutrition, administering somatostatin analogues or sometimes invasive procedures like endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and surgery. ERCP is an unusual cause of pancreatic ascites and only one other case report has linked an association between ERCP and the development of pancreatic ascites. Our case report contributes to this literature and aims to shed light on this under-reported cause of pancreatic ascites.

Wound Myiasis in Severe Venous Stasis Ulcer.

Although myiasis infestation of wounds presents with significant psychological discomfort to patients, studies have shown that it can be beneficial in the management of recalcitrant ulcers resistant to standard management. Here we report a patient with persistent ulcers unresponsive to standard management who was lost to follow-up for five months and presented with ''maggots in his wound''. This however proved beneficial to the patient as the ulcer showed healthy granulation tissue on presentation and improved healing on follow-up. Our case presents the beneficial effect of myiasis infestation in the 21st century and helps to highlight a time-tested therapy with further encouragement of the use of biotherapy (sterile maggots) for the management of recalcitrant ulcers.

Dystrophic Calcinosis Cutis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Calcinosis cutis is a disorder of pathologic calcium deposition in the cutaneous and subcutaneous layers of skin. While common in dermatomyositis and scleroderma, calcinosis cutis less frequently occurs in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is infrequently described in literature. In this report, we discuss the case of a 36-year-old patient with SLE, presenting with vascular compromise, ulceration, and superimposed infection of her left hand as a consequence of severe calcinosis cutis. This report includes a review of the current literature, and highlights the importance of early detection and intervention in preventing disease complications.