A prospective randomized study comparing jumbo biopsy forceps to cold snare for the resection of diminutive colorectal polyps.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The quality of colonoscopy is essential for successful colon cancer screening. Inadequate polypectomy technique can contribute to incomplete polypectomy. The primary outcome of this study was to compare the incomplete resection rate (IRR) for cold jumbo forceps polypectomy (JFP) and cold snare polypectomy (CSP). Secondary outcomes were to compare the rates of tissue retrieval and rates of procedure-related complications. METHODS: This prospective randomized parallel-group study assigned patients undergoing colonoscopy to jumbo biopsy forceps polypectomy (JFP) or cold snare polypectomy (CSP) for polyps ≤ 6 mm in size. After polyp removal was complete, the base of the polypectomy site was biopsied to evaluate for the presence of residual polyp tissue. RESULTS: The resection quality was evaluated in 151 patients with 261 polyps ≤ 6 mm. The IRR was 9.6% (25/261) for all polyps, 11.1% (16/144) for JFP, and 7.7% (9/117) for CSP (P = 0.41). Failure of tissue retrieval was noted in 0/144 (0%) of JFP and 5/117 (4.3%) of CSP (P = 0.02). There were no procedure-related complications in either group. CONCLUSION: Colon polyps are incompletely resected in a small but potentially significant percentage of cases. IRR are similar with the use of cold jumbo forceps and cold snare. Use of cold jumbo forceps may result in more successful tissue retrieval as compared to cold snare.

A Simple Dietary Questionnaire Correlates With Formal Dietitian Evaluation and Frequently Identifies Specific Clinical Interventions in an Outpatient Gastroenterology Clinic.

BACKGROUND: The spectrum of gastroenterology-related diseases related to obesity is growing. Few clinical tools exist to aid in clinician-guided dietary counseling. GOALS: (1) Develop and validate a 1-page diet history form that would provide information on dietary factors that can contribute to gastrointestinal (GI) illness and to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet; and (2) evaluate the form in a general GI clinic to determine its potential utility as a clinical tool. STUDY: A 1-page diet history form was developed and underwent qualitative and quantitative validation in comparison to a formal diet evaluation by a registered dietitian. The form was then evaluated in consecutive patients attending a general GI clinic, and analyzed for overall diet content, compliance with a Mediterranean diet, and presence of high-risk (red flag) dietary behaviors. RESULTS: The form was evaluated in 134 patients. In a validation cohort (n=30) the qualitative dietary components measured were highly concordant with a formal dietary interview. Total daily calorie intake correlated with formal dietary review (R=0.61), but tended to underestimate total calories due to less precision in portion size. The prospective cohort (n=104) patients had a mean body mass index of 29.8. Overall, 52.9% were obese, 50% had metabolic syndrome, and 51% had a primary GI illness directly impacted by dietary factors (gastroesophageal reflux, irritable bowel, fatty liver). Overall, 85.6% of patients documented red flag behaviors. Patients with obesity trended for more red flags than overweight or normal body mass index groups. CONCLUSION: A 1-page diet questionnaire correlated well with formal dietary assessment and identified clinically relevant dietary interventions in a high percentage of GI patients.

Validation of gene expression biomarker analysis for biopsy-based clinical trials in Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: The ability to measure the expression of proinflammatory cytokines from intestinal biopsies in patients with Crohn's disease in an accurate and reproducible way is critical for proof-of-concept and mechanism-of-action trials; however, the number of biopsies from a segment of the ileum or colon required to yield reproducible results has not been rigorously evaluated. We examined intestinal biopsies from patients with Crohn's disease to validate methods for detecting changes in inflammatory gene expression. METHODS: To evaluate the reproducibility of gene expression measurements, intestinal biopsies were obtained from designated segments from 6 healthy controls, 6 patients with active Crohn's disease, and 6 patients with inactive Crohn's disease. Disease activity was based on the simple endoscopic score for Crohn's disease. Expression of 7 proinflammatory genes was measured from each biopsy using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Using a linear mixed effects model, the power to detect transcriptional changes corresponding to active and inactive Crohn's disease was calculated. RESULTS: Total simple endoscopic score for Crohn's disease score corresponds with expression of most inflammatory biomarkers. For most genes, 2 to 5 biopsies are needed to reduce sampling error to <25% for most genes. To measure changes in mRNA expression corresponding to active versus inactive Crohn's disease, 1 to 2 intestinal biopsies from 3 patients before and after treatment are needed to yield power of at least 80%. CONCLUSIONS: Measuring proinflammatory gene expression from mucosal biopsies from patients with Crohn's disease is practicable and provides objective biomarkers that can be used in proof-of-concept and mechanism-of-action trials to assess response to therapy.