Association Between Waiting Time from Diagnosis to Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection and Non-curative Resection in Gastric Neoplasm.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Currently, there are no standard guidelines for the waiting time from the diagnosis of gastric neoplasms to endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 1,605 patients who had undergone ESD for early gastric cancer (EGC) or high-grade dysplasia (HGD) were enrolled. Waiting time for ESD was defined as the time from the first diagnosis to ESD. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The curative resection rate was 86.8% and the mean waiting time was 36.8 days. In the multivariable model, longer waiting time did not significantly affect non-curative resection, whereas age >70 years, submucosal fibrosis, and initial cancer diagnosis were significantly associated with non-curative resection. Waiting time was still not identified as a risk factor for non-curative resection in EGC and HGD groups. CONCLUSION: A longer waiting time from diagnosis to ESD was not associated with non-curative resection.

Diagnostic accuracy of "sweeping" method compared to conventional sampling in rapid urease test for Helicobacter pylori detection in atrophic mucosa.

Although the rapid urease test (RUT) is a simple method for detecting Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, it requires sufficient biopsy samples and its sensitivity varies depending on the site and condition of H. pylori infection. We compared the diagnostic performance of a "sweeping method" for H. pylori detection with the conventional biopsy sampling method in atrophic gastric conditions which can reduce RUT accuracy. This prospective study included 279 patients who underwent upper endoscopy to determine the presence of H. pylori infection. Gastric mucosa of both the antrum and the corpus were swabbed, and we named this method the "sweeping method". Biopsy sampling for the conventional method, histologic evaluation, and polymerase chain reaction were performed at the same time. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the sweeping method were 0.941, 0.826, and 0.903, respectively, compared to 0.685, 0.859, and 0.742, respectively, for the conventional biopsy method. The area under the receiver operating curve for the sweeping method was 0.884 versus 0.772 for the conventional method (P < 0.001). The sweeping method had a faster detection time than the conventional method. Compared to conventional biopsy sampling, the sweeping method with the RUT provided higher sensitivity and accuracy for the detection of H. pylori, with a faster detection time.

Comparison of Effectiveness between Abdominal Vibration Stimulation and Walking Exercise for Bowel Cleansing before Therapeutic Colonoscopy.

Background/Aims: Adequate bowel preparation is important for successful colonoscopy. We aimed to evaluate the clinical feasibility and effectiveness of abdominal vibration stimulation in bowel preparation before therapeutic colonoscopy. Methods: A single center, prospective, randomized, investigator-blinded study was performed between January 2016 and December 2016. Patients for therapeutic colonoscopy were prospectively enrolled and assigned to either the vibrator group or walking group. Patients who refused to participate in this study as part of the experimental group consented to register in the control group instead. During the preparation period, patients assigned to the walking group walked ≥3,000 steps, whereas those assigned to the vibrator group received abdominal vibrator stimulation and restricted walking. All patients received the same colon cleansing regimen: 4-L split-dose polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution. Results: Three hundred patients who received PEG solution for therapeutic colonoscopy were finally enrolled in this study (n=100 per group). Bowel cleansing with abdominal vibration stimulation showed almost similar results to that with walking exercise (Boston Bowel Preparation Scale score for the entire colon: vibrator vs walking vs control, 7.38±1.55 vs 7.39±1.55 vs 6.17±1.15, p<0.001). There were no significant differences between the vibrator group and walking group regarding instances of diarrhea after taking PEG, time to first diarrhea after taking PEG, total procedure time, and patient satisfaction. Conclusions: This study indicates that, compared with conventional walking exercise, abdominal vibration stimulation achieved similar rates of bowel cleansing adequacy and colonoscopy success without compromising safety or patient satisfaction.

The factors associated with longitudinal changes in liver stiffness in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Liver stiffness (LS) as assessed by transient elastography (TE) can change longitudinally in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The aim of this study was to identify the factors that improve LS. METHODS: Between April 2007 and December 2012, 151 patients with CHB who underwent two TE procedures with an interval of about 2 years were enrolled. Ninety-six of the 151 patients were treated with nucleos(t)ide analogues [the antiviral therapy (+) group], while the remaining 55 patients were not [the antiviral therapy (-) group]. The two groups of patients were stratified according to whether they exhibited an improvement or a deterioration in LS during the study period (defined as an LS change of ≤0 or >0 kPa, respectively, over a 1-year period), and their data were compared. RESULTS: No differences were observed between the antiviral therapy (+) and (-) groups with respect to either their clinical characteristics or their initial LS. The observed LS improvement was significantly greater in the antiviral therapy (+) group than in the antiviral therapy (-) group (-3.0 vs. 0.98 kPa, P=0.011). In the antiviral therapy (+) group, the initial LS was higher in the LS improvement group (n=63) than in the LS deterioration group (n=33; 7.9 vs. 4.8 kPa, P<0.001). However, there were no differences in any other clinical characteristic. In the antiviral therapy (-) group, the initial LS was also higher in the LS improvement group (n=29) than in the LS deterioration group (n=26; 8.3 vs. 6.5 kPa, P=0.021), with no differences in any other clinical characteristic. CONCLUSIONS: A higher initial LS was the only factor associated with LS improvement in patients with CHB in this study.

Gastrocsoleus fascial release for correction of equinus deformity in residual or relapsed clubfoot.

BACKGROUND: Regardless of the mode of treatment, clubfoot has a strong tendency to relapse, especially hindfoot equinus. Because contraction or shortening of the Achilles tendon causes an equinus deformity of the ankle, release of this tendon is required to correct equinus deformity in patients with residual or relapsed clubfoot. This study assessed the effectiveness of the Vulpius technique in correcting equinus deformity in patients with residual or relapsed clubfoot. METHODS: Of the 80 idiopathic clubfeet treated conservatively using the Ponseti protocol, between March 2000 and July 2008, 32 were found to have residual or relapsed equinus deformity, with 22 feet in 17 patients undergoing Vulpius-type Achilles tendon lengthening. Mean age at the time of surgery was 29 (range, 6 to 52) months, and mean follow-up was 48 (range, 24 to 78) months. Clinical evaluation included the dorsiflexion angle of the ankle and radiographic evaluation included the talocalcaneal and tibiocalcaneal angles on dorsiflexion lateral views. RESULTS: All 22 feet showed satisfactory results at last follow-up, with significant improvements in mean ankle dorsiflexion angle, mean tibiocalcaneal angle, and mean lateral talocalcaneal angle (p < .05 each). CONCLUSION: The Vulpius procedure is an effective surgical procedure for correcting equinus deformity in residual and relapsed clubfeet.

Perioperative morbidity and mortality of total hip replacement in liver transplant recipients: a 7-year single-center experience.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate perioperative mortality and morbidity after total hip replacement in liver transplant recipients and suggesting safety guidelines. BACKGROUND: Hip replacement surgery is one of the most common elective surgeries even for organ transplant recipients. However, there is a paucity of literature addressing the morbidity and complications of hip replacement surgery for liver transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed retrospectively 33 arthroplasty cases in 20 liver transplant recipients carried out in a single center from 2005 to 2011. All perioperative clinical and laboratory data were evaluated together with early and late morbidity and mortality. RESULT: Of 2253 liver transplant recipients, 20 (0.9%) patients underwent 33 total hip arthroplasties. Thirty-two arthroplasties were performed for avascular necrosis of the femoral head, whereas only one was performed for osteoarthritis. There was no death, liver failure, or infection within 30 days after surgery. Three patients showed elevated liver enzyme more than 5 times the normal value, but it eventually decreased to normal within 1 week. Of 33 cases of arthroplasty, postoperative blood transfusion was needed in 14 cases with 1 case receiving more than 4 U. On long-term follow-up, no patients have developed periprosthetic fracture, implant loosening, or liver failure. All patients showed good to excellent postoperative Harris hip score. CONCLUSION: In this series, we can infer that hip replacement surgery in liver transplantation patients is safe and gives a reliably good result. Some preoperative conditions should be obtained to reduce postoperative morbidity.

Locking plate for proximal humeral fracture in the elderly population: serial change of neck shaft angle.

BACKGROUND: We conducted this radiographic study in the elderly population with proximal humeral fracture aiming to evaluate 1) the serial changes of neck-shaft angle after locking plate fixation and 2) find relationship between change in neck shaft angle and various factors such as age, fracture pattern, severity of osteoporosis, medial support and initial reduction angle. METHODS: Twenty-five patients who underwent surgical treatment for proximal humeral fracture with locking plate between September 2008 and August 2010 are included. True anteroposterior and axillary lateral radiographs were made postoperatively and at each follow-up visit. Measurement of neck shaft angle was done at immediate postoperative, 3 months postoperative and a final follow-up (average, 11 months; range, 8 to 17 months). Severity of osteoporosis was assessed using cortical thickness suggested by Tingart et al. RESULTS: The mean neck shaft angles were 133.6° (range, 100° to 116°) at immediate postoperative, 129.8° (range, 99° to 150°) at 3 months postoperative and 128.4° (range, 97° to 145°) at final follow-up. The mean loss in the neck-shaft angle in the first 3 months was 3.8° as compared to 1.3° in the period between 3 months and final follow-up. This was statistically significant (p = 0.002), indicating that most of the fall in neck shaft angle occurs in the first three months after surgery. Relationship between neck shaft angle change and age (p = 0.29), fracture pattern (p = 0.41), cortical thickness (p = 0.21), medial support (p = 0.63) and initial reduction accuracy (p = 0.65) are not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The proximal humerus locking plate maintains reliable radiographic results even in the elderly population with proximal humerus fracture.

Early vascular access blood flow as a predictor of long-term vascular access patency in incident hemodialysis patients.

The long-term clinical benefits of vascular access blood flow (VABF) measurements in hemodialysis (HD) patients have been controversial. We evaluated whether early VABF may predict long-term vascular access (VA) patency in incident HD patients. We enrolled 57 patients, of whom 27 were starting HD with arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) and 30 with arteriovenous grafts (AVGs). The patients' VABF was measured monthly with the ultrasound dilution technique over the course of the first six months after the VA operation. During the 20.4-month observational period, a total of 40 VA events in 23 patients were documented. The new VA events included 13 cases of stenosis and 10 thrombotic events. The lowest quartile of average early VABF was related to the new VA events. After adjusting for covariates such as gender, age, hypertension, diabetes, VA type, hemoglobin levels, body mass index, parathyroid hormone, and calcium-phosphorus product levels, the hazard ratio of VABF (defined as <853 mL/min in AVF or <830 mL/min in AVG) to incident VA was 3.077 (95% confidence interval, 1.127-8.395; P=0.028). There were no significant relationships between early VABF parameters and VA thrombosis. It is concluded that early VABF may predict long-term VA patency, particularly VA stenosis.

Serial testing of interferon-gamma-release assays for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis in hemodialysis patients.

INTRODUCTION: The performance of serial interferon-gamma-release assays (IGRAs) for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis has not been studied in hemodialysis patients. METHOD: The QuantiFERON-TB-Gold In-Tube test (QFT) and T-SPOT-TB test (TSPOT) were performed 1 year after initial testing at a hemodialysis center. RESULTS: Ninety-eight patients were included in the final analysis. Positive rates for the initial tuberculin skin test (TST), QFT and TSPOT were 26.5%, 43.9% and 58.2%, respectively. The follow-up QFT and TSPOT showed positive responses in 52.0% and 53.1%. Conversion rates of the QFT and TSPOT were 20.0% and 26.8%. Reversion rates of the QFT and TSPOT were 16.3% and 29.8%; however, they decreased to 0.0% and 4.8% in patients with a concordantly positive response at the initial TST. A group at high risk for latent tuberculosis increased the risk for the TSPOT conversion [odds ratio (95% confidence interval), 7.76 (1.27-47.40)] and showed a trend of increasing the risk for the QFT conversion [1.97 (0.45-8.71)]. Reversion of both the QFT [18.92 (2.01-178.65)] and TSPOT [6.16 (1.57-24.19)] occurred more frequently in the group at low risk. CONCLUSIONS: Both conversion and reversion of the IGRAs were associated with the risk for latent tuberculosis in hemodialysis patients. However, serial IGRAs results should be interpreted cautiously due to their high variability.