[A case of foveolar-type gastric adenocarcinoma with a raspberry-like appearance followed up by endoscopy].

A 47-year-old man was referred to our hospital for detailed examination of a gastric polypoid lesion. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a raspberry-like polyp at the gastric body. Pathological examination of the biopsy specimen revealed this polypoid lesion to be a gastric adenocarcinoma. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed, and histopathological examination revealed that lesion to be a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the neoplasm was positive for MUC5AC and negative for MUC6, CD10, and pepsinogen I, indicating that this lesion was a foveolar-type gastric adenocarcinoma. From about 10 years now, this patient has been undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy almost every year. This lesion was absent until six years ago. Five years ago, a small polypoid lesion appeared at the gastric body, and this lesion gradually enlarged. The present case showed the growing process of the foveolar-type gastric adenocarcinoma with a raspberry-like appearance.

A multicenter prospective study of the treatment and outcome of patients with gastroduodenal peptic ulcer bleeding in Japan.

Gastroduodenal peptic ulcers are the main cause of nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB). We believe that recent advances in endoscopic techniques and devices for diagnosing upper gastrointestinal tract tumors have advanced hemostasis for UGIB. However, few prospective multicenter studies have examined how these changes affect the prognosis. This prospective study included 246 patients with gastroduodenal peptic ulcers treated at 14 participating facilities. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality within 4 weeks, and the secondary endpoints required intervention and refractory bleeding. Subsequently, risk factors affecting these outcomes were examined using various clinical items. Furthermore, the usefulness of the risk stratification using the Glasgow-Blatchford score, rockall score and AIMS65 based on data from the day of the first urgent endoscopy were examined in 205 cases in which all items were complete there are two periods. Thirteen (5%) patients died within 4 weeks; and only 2 died from bleeding. Significant risk factors for poor outcomes were older age and severe comorbidities. Hemostasis was required in 177 (72%) cases, with 20 cases of refractory bleeding (2 due to unsuccessful endoscopic treatment and 18 due to rebleeding). Soft coagulation was the first choice for endoscopic hemostasis in 57% of the cases and was selected in more than 70% of the cases where combined use was required. Rockall score and AIMS65 predicted mortality equally, and Glasgow-Blatchford score was the most useful in predicting the requirement for intervention. All scores predicted refractory bleeding similarly. Although endoscopic hemostasis for UGIB due to peptic ulcer had a favorable outcome, old age and severe comorbidities were risk factors for poor prognosis. We recommend that patients with UGIB should undergo early risk stratification using a risk scoring system.

[Epidemiological investigation of colonic diverticulosis detected by computed tomography colonography].

Among 586 patients who underwent computed tomography colonography (CTC) from May 2012 to September 2017, 333 were diagnosed with colonic diverticulosis. The incidence of colonic diverticulosis increases with age. Despite a high frequency of ascending colonic diverticulosis, multiple diverticulosis (>10 in a colonic segment) were the most frequent in the sigmoid colon. In previous studies, the frequency of detection of colonic diverticulosis by CTC was higher than that by colonoscopy and barium enema. In addition, using CTC, the detection rate of colonic diverticulosis has been recently increasing, suggesting that CTC is the most sensitive procedure for detecting colonic diverticulosis.

[A refractory case of ulcerative colitis developed after the cessation smoking achieved clinical and endoscopic remission after resuming smoking].

A 42-year-old man, who had stopped smoking almost one year ago, visited our hospital for hematochezia. He was diagnosed as having ulcerative colitis and was prescribed 5-amino salicylic acid and corticosteroids, which led to the remission of his disease. However, the disease relapsed after sufficient continuous corticosteroids administration and persisted despite 5-amino salicylic acid administration and intensive treatment with corticosteroids, immune modulators, leukocyte apheresis, and anti-TNF-α antibodies. Curiously, clinical remission was achieved after he resumed smoking, and colonoscopy revealed mucosal healing. Such remission may be attributable to anti-inflammatory effects of smoking nicotine and carbon oxides.

Bleeding Risk Related to Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Biopsy in Patients Receiving Antithrombotic Therapy: A Multicenter Prospective Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Although antithrombotic agents are widely used for cardiac and cerebrovascular disease prevention, they increase the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. OBJECTIVE: To examine GI bleeding risk in association with an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) biopsy performed in patients without cessation of antithrombotic therapy. METHODS: This study was prospectively conducted at 14 centers. EGD biopsies were performed in patients receiving antithrombotic agents without cessation, as well as age- and sex-matched controls not receiving antithrombotic therapy. Patients treated with warfarin before the biopsy had a prothrombin time-international normalized ratio level <3.0. The proportion of GI bleeding events was compared between the groups. RESULTS: The patient group (n = 277) underwent a total of 560 biopsies while continuing antithrombotic therapy, of whom 24 were receiving multiple antiplatelet drugs, and 9 were receiving both antiplatelet and anticoagulant agents. The control patients (n = 263) underwent 557 biopsies. The upper-GI bleeding rate within 30 days after the EGD biopsy did not increase in patients without cessation of antithrombotic treatment, regardless of receiving single or multiple antithrombotic agents. CONCLUSIONS: We found no significant increase in upper-GI bleeding risk following an EGD biopsy in patients taking antithrombotic agents, suggesting its safety without the need for antithrombotic treatment interruption.

Prevalence of organic colonic lesions in patients meeting Rome III criteria for diagnosis of IBS: a prospective multi-center study utilizing colonoscopy.

BACKGROUND: It remains unknown whether the Rome III criteria can exclude organic colonic lesions prior to the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We evaluated the colonoscopy results of patients meeting the Rome III criteria for the diagnosis of IBS to determine the presence of organic colonic lesions. METHODS: This study was prospectively conducted at 17 centers in Japan. We enrolled 4528 patients who underwent diagnostic colonoscopy examinations. The diagnosis of IBS was evaluated by questionnaire results according to the Rome III criteria. RESULTS: We evaluated 4178 patients (350 were excluded because of incomplete data or previous colonic surgery), of whom 203 met the Rome III criteria (mean age 57.9 years; range 14-87 years) prior to the diagnostic colonoscopy examination. We identified organic colonic diseases in 21 of these 203 patients (10.3 %) , and these disease were also identified in 338 (8.5 %) of 3975 patients who did not fulfill the Rome III criteria. There were no differences in regard to the prevalence of organic colonic diseases between patients who did and did not fulfill the Rome III criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of organic colonic diseases in patients who met the Rome III criteria was at an acceptably low level, indicating that the Rome III criteria are adequately specific for the diagnosis of IBS without performing a colonoscopy examination.