Factors associated with the presence of abnormal levels of fecal calprotectin in patients with negative panenteric studies.

BACKGROUND: fecal calprotectin is a selection tool prior to endoscopic studies in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms. However, some symptomatic patients with altered fecal calprotectin will not have any endoscopic lesions. The aim of the study was to determine the factors associated with the presence of altered fecal calprotectin in patients with negative endoscopic studies of the colon and small bowel. METHODS: this was an observational, prospective study of patients with digestive symptoms. The association of different clinical factors with elevated fecal calprotectin in the absence of endoscopic lesions of the colon and small bowel were analyzed. RESULTS: 143 patients were included in the study, 98 were female (68.5 %) and the mean age was 40.06 ± 16.42 (15-82) years. Smoking and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug intake were associated with altered fecal calprotectin in patients with a negative endoscopy of the colon and small bowel (p = 0.029 and p = 0.006). The mean values of fecal calprotectin were significantly higher in smokers, users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and patients with small intestine bacterial overgrowth. Smoking (OR: 3.505; p = 0.028), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs intake (OR: 3.473; p = 0.021) and small intestine bacterial overgrowth (OR: 3.172; p = 0.013) were independent risk factors for altered fecal calprotectin in the absence of endoscopic lesions. No association was found for any of the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: smoking and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are strongly associated with elevated levels of fecal calprotectin in symptomatic patients with a negative colonoscopy and capsule endoscopy of the small bowel. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth is also associated.

Training in Ultrasound for Resident Physicians in Gastroenterology: a survey and training project by the Spanish Association of Digestive Ultrasound (Asociación Española de Ecografía Digestiva - AEED).

BACKGROUND: the training program of the gastroenterology specialty that is mandatory for resident physicians, obliges them to be proficient in diagnostic and therapeutic digestive ultrasound tools. METHODOLOGY: the Asociación Española de Ecografía Digestiva (AEED) performed a survey of the 93 Departments of Gastroenterology with training programs for resident physicians in gastroenterology, in order to assess the exact situation of training in digestive ultrasound in Spain. RESULTS: only 31 of the 93 (33%) Departments of Gastroenterology were able to provide training in Digestive Ultrasound. Moreover, 33% (48 out of 148) of the residents in gastroenterology did not receive specific training in digestive ultrasound. Whereas, 31% (46 out of 148) had received some specific training, but with ample room for improvement. These deficiencies were spread throughout the Spanish regions (Autonomous Communities) in an uneven manner, with almost half totally lacking gastroenterology departments that were capable of providing digestive ultrasound training. CONCLUSIONS: there is a significant deficit of gastroenterology departments capable of providing training in digestive ultrasound to residents, causing a significant training inequality. Until this situation can be reversed, the AEED has designed a training project in digestive ultrasound aimed at providing adequate training to all residents in gastroenterology as required.

Giant intra-abdominal liposarcoma.

We report the case of a 67-year-old male with epigastric pain and weight loss during the last nine months. Physical examination revealed a hard palpable mass in the epi-mesogastrium. An abdominal ultrasound identified a large, heterogeneous and hypovascular mass, which compressed the left hepatic lobe and the pancreas.

Usefulness of percutaneous elastography by acoustic radiation force impulse for the non-invasive diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy of the acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) technique for the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We present an observational, single-center study that included patients with suspected chronic pancreatitis in the period between October 2012 and September 2015 who underwent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and were classified according to the standard and Rosemont criteria. The same group of patients was assessed by the ARFI technology using ACUSON S2000™ equipment with Virtual Touch™ Quantification software for the assessment of pancreatic stiffness by obtaining the shear wave velocity (SWV) in the head, body and tail of the pancreas. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and nonparametric correlation methods. Diagnostic accuracy was obtained by analyzing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: A total of thirty-three patients were studied (45.5% women); mean age was 58.3 ± 11.8 years. Seventeen with a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis and sixteen classified as normal according to standard criteria. A significant difference was detected between the means of SWV in pancreatic body of patients without (SWV: 1.27 m/s) and with chronic pancreatitis (SWV 1.57 m/s), p = 0.037. The area under the ROC curve was 71.3% (95% CI 0.532-0.895) and the accuracy of ARFI for diagnosing chronic pancreatitis was 69.7% for a SWV of 1.4 m/s in the pancreatic body. The SWV means in head (r = 0.421, p < 0.05) and body (r = 0.455, p < 0.05) of the pancreas showed a significant correlation with the number of EUS criteria for chronic pancreatitis. CONCLUSION: Quantification of pancreatic stiffness with ARFI elastography technique has proven to be useful for the non-invasive diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis.

Gastric schwannoma presenting as a casual ultrasonographic findings.

We present the case of a patient under study due to ascites in which a mass located on the gastric wall was observed during ultrasonography. Further studies (upper endoscopy and computed tomography) confirmed this finding. After an ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy, diagnosis of gastric schwannoma was made as intense S-100 expression was found. Surgery was rejected due to the bad clinical situation of the patient and because the mass was an asymptomatic benign tumor.

Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma: a rare entity diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound.

We present the case of a young man with a hepatic mass in which ultrasound gives great and immediate support for diferential diagnosis.

Direct percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy in pediatric age with a pexies triangulation system: report of a case and literature review.

Direct percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (DPEJ) is an infrequent procedure as it is not always easy to obtain transillumination, being this the main reason for failure of this technique. In patients with previous surgery, this procedure is more complex and there are only 6 reported cases in pediatric population. In our case, we provide the use of an endoscopic triangulation system with "T" pexies not used before in these cases. With this technique, we guarantee not to replace the introduction system afterwards, obtaining the placement of a balloon fixation system initially. We also provide several improvements that helped us developing the procedure: Placement of the jejunostomy through a gastrostomy; use of water column to avoid penetration in hollow viscus; use of a guide wire, and a triangulation pexy system.