Citations

AbstractObjectivesAlthough countries like Japan and South Korea have implemented nationwide endoscopic screening programs, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of endoscopy for diagnosing early gastric cancer (EGC) in developing countries such as India. In the present study, we aimed to determine the feasibility of endoscopic detection of EGC from India.MethodsThe data was prospectively collected for all patients ≥40 years who underwent a diagnostic upper endoscopy from April to September 2021. A single endoscopist who performed the endoscopic procedures completed 1‐month training in advanced endoscopy in Japan. Following the training, the endoscopist continued to engage in internet‐based discussions regarding his cases encountered. Prior to this training, the endoscopist had not detected any EGC cases during his 12‐year gastroenterology practice.ResultsA total of 1033 patients were included in the study, with males accounting for 65.4% and a mean age 52 years. The average procedural time was 7.13 ± 4.8 min. A total of 25 patients (2.4%) were found to have GC, including 6 patients (0.6%) with EGC. Two patients had synchronous EGC lesions. All EGC patients were males, with an average age of 66 years. All EGCs were detected in the distal stomach in the presence of Helicobacter pylori infection and severe atrophic gastritis.ConclusionOur findings showed that the endoscopic detection of EGC is feasible in India. Optimal training on endoscopic diagnosis of EGC can improve the detection of such lesion. Further studies are warranted to assess the optimization and implementation of an endoscopic screening program for EGC in India.

Background Dysphagia palliation in inoperable esophageal cancer continues to be a challenge. Self-expandable metal stents have been the mainstay of endoscopic palliation but have a significant risk of adverse events (AEs). Liquid nitrogen spray cryotherapy is an established modality that can be used with systemic therapy. This study reports the outcomes of cryotherapy, including dysphagia and quality of life (QoL), in patients receiving systemic therapy. Methods This was a prospective multicenter cohort study of adults with inoperable esophageal cancer who underwent cryotherapy. QoL and dysphagia scores before and after cryotherapy were compared. Results 55 patients received 175 cryotherapy procedures. After a mean of 3.2 cryotherapy sessions, mean QoL improved from 34.9 at baseline to 29.0 at last follow-up (P < 0.001) and mean dysphagia improved from 1.9 to 1.3 (P = 0.004). Patients receiving more intensive cryotherapy (≥ 2 treatments within 3 weeks) showed a significantly greater improvement in dysphagia compared with those not receiving intensive therapy (1.2 vs. 0.2 points; P = 0.003). Overall, 13 patients (23.6 %) received another intervention (1 botulinum toxin injection, 2 stent, 3 radiation, 7 dilation) for dysphagia palliation. Within the 30-day post-procedure period, there were three non-cryotherapy-related grade ≥ 3 AEs (all deaths). The median overall survival was 16.4 months. Conclusion In patients with inoperable esophageal cancer receiving concurrent systemic therapy, adding liquid nitrogen spray cryotherapy was safe and associated with improvement in dysphagia and QoL without causing reflux. More intensive treatment showed a greater improvement in dysphagia and should be considered as the preferred approach.

A combination of several factors, including the increasing use of cross-sectional imaging and an aging population, has led to pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) becoming the most detected incidental pancreatic lesions. Accurate diagnosis and risk stratification of PCLs is challenging. In the last decade, several evidence-based guidelines have been published addressing the diagnosis and management of PCLs. However, these guidelines cover different subsets of patients with PCLs and offer varying recommendations regarding diagnostic assessment, surveillance, and surgical resection. Further, recent studies comparing the accuracy of various guidelines have reported significant variations in the rate of missed cancer versus unnecessary surgical resections. In clinical practice, it is challenging to decide which guideline to follow specifically. This article reviews the varying recommendations of the major guidelines and results of comparative studies, provides an overview of newer modalities not included in the guidelines, and offers perspectives on translating the guidelines into clinical practice.

Abstract Background and Aim Data are lacking on predicting inpatient mortality (IM) in patients admitted for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IM is a critical outcome; however, difficulty in its prediction exists due to infrequent occurrence. We assessed IM predictors and developed a predictive model for IM using machine‐learning (ML). Methods Using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database (2005–2017), we extracted adults admitted for IBD. After ML‐guided predictor selection, we trained and internally validated multiple algorithms, targeting minimum sensitivity and positive likelihood ratio (+LR) ≥ 80% and ≥ 3, respectively. Diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) compared algorithm performance. The best performing algorithm was additionally trained and validated for an IBD‐related surgery sub‐cohort. External validation was done using NIS 2018. Results In 398 426 adult IBD admissions, IM was 0.32% overall, and 0.87% among the surgical cohort ( n = 40 784). Increasing age, ulcerative colitis, IBD‐related surgery, pneumonia, chronic lung disease, acute kidney injury, malnutrition, frailty, heart failure, blood transfusion, sepsis/septic shock and thromboembolism were associated with increased IM. The QLattice algorithm, provided the highest performance model (+LR: 3.2, 95% CI 3.0–3.3; area‐under‐curve [AUC]:0.87, 85% sensitivity, 73% specificity), distinguishing IM patients by 15.6‐fold when comparing high to low‐risk patients. The surgical cohort model (+LR: 8.5, AUC: 0.94, 85% sensitivity, 90% specificity), distinguished IM patients by 49‐fold. Both models performed excellently in external validation. An online calculator ( https://clinicalc.ai/im‐ibd/ ) was developed allowing bedside model predictions. Conclusions An online prediction‐model calculator captured > 80% IM cases during IBD‐related admissions, with high discriminatory effectiveness. This allows for risk stratification and provides a basis for assessing interventions to reduce mortality in high‐risk patients.

Abstract Background and study aims In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), endoscopically visible lesions with distinct borders can be considered for endoscopic resection. The role of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for these lesions is not well defined because of a paucity of data. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of colorectal ESD of dysplastic lesions in patients with IBD across centers in the United States. Patients and methods This was a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with IBD who were referred for ESD of dysplastic colorectal lesions at nine centers. The primary endpoints were the rates of en bloc resection and complete (R0) resection. The secondary endpoints were the rates of adverse events and lesion recurrence. Results A total of 45 dysplastic lesions (median size 30mm, interquartile range [IQR] 23 to 42 mm) in 41 patients were included. Submucosal fibrosis was observed in 73 %. En bloc resection was achieved in 43 of 45 lesions (96 %) and R0 resection in 34 of 45 lesions (76 %). Intraprocedural perforation occurred in one patient (2.4 %) and was treated successfully with clip placement. Delayed bleeding occurred in four patients (9.8 %). No severe intraprocedural bleeding or delayed perforation occurred. During a median follow-up of 18 months (IQR 13 to 37 months), local recurrence occurred in one case (2.6 %). Metachronous lesions were identified in 11 patients (31 %). Conclusions ESD, when performed by experts, is safe and effective for large, dysplastic colorectal lesions in patients with IBD. Despite the high prevalence of submucosal fibrosis, en bloc resection was achieved in nearly all patients with IBD undergoing ESD. Careful endoscopic surveillance is necessary to monitor for local recurrence and metachronous lesions after ESD.

Abstract Purpose: Little is known about the outcomes of endoscopic resection (ER) for patients with colorectal adenomas (CRAs) with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or intramucosal cancer (IMCA). This study aimed to estimate the rate of local/malignant recurrence, identify the predictive factors for local recurrence (LR) and evaluate the treatment outcomes of recurrence after ER for HGD/IMCA. Methods: A retrospective review was performed to identify patients who underwent ER for HGD/IMCA in two academic medical centers. Risk factors for LR were determined by Cox regression analysis. Results: Overall, 188 lesions with HGD/IMCA were included; 61 lesions were removed by en-bloc ER (e-ER), whereas 127 lesions were removed in a piecemeal ER (p-ER). The mean lesion size was 20.3 mm. Of the 125 patients who underwent follow-up, local adenoma recurrence occurred in 31 (23%), and malignant recurrence occurred in 2 (1.6%) patients at a median follow-up of 8 months. HGD/IMCA ≥ 4 cm removed by p-ER have the greatest hazard ratio (HR=21.5, 95% CI: 2.5-180.5; p=0.005) for LR, compared to the HGD/IMCA < 4 cm removed by e-ER. Surgery was performed in 3.2% of patients after a complete ER, all after p-ER. Of all patients who had LR, 22.6% (7/31 patients) had recurrent/residual adenomas despite repeat ER attempts after a mean of 1.9±0.79 procedures from the index ER. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates high rate of LR (23%) after ER of CRAs with HGD/IMCA with rate of malignant recurrence of 1.6% especially after p-ER. Thus, e-ER should be preferred for these lesions whenever technically feasible.

Objectives We compared the clinical profiles and organ manifestations of the commonly encountered immunoglobulin G4–related diseases (IgG4-RDs) on either side of the diaphragm: head and neck (HN) versus pancreatobiliary (PB) in IgG4-RD. Methods From the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, database, we identified 53 HN and 88 PB IgG4-RD based on the first affected organ manifestation. Results Compared with HN IgG4-RD, subjects with PB IgG4-RD were likely to be older (median, 64.8 vs 50.2 years; P < 0.0001), male (83% vs 60.4%; P = 0.003), and with a shorter duration of follow-up (24.4 vs 48.7 months; P < 0.0001). In HN versus PB-IgG4-RD orbital, lacrimal gland, submandibular, parotid gland, asthma, and sinusitis manifestations were more common (77% vs 4.5%, 21% vs 0%, 32% vs 8%, 13% vs 0%, 36% vs 9%, and 51% vs 6.8%; P < 0.0001, respectively), whereas lung manifestations were similar (13.2% vs 5.6%; P = 0.12). In contrast, in PB versus HN IgG4-RD, pancreas and biliary were more frequent (98.8% vs 15%, 56.8% vs 3.7%; P < 0.0001), whereas renal lesions were similar (12.5% vs 7.5%; P = 0.36). Conclusion Pancreatobiliary and HN IgG4-RD have distinct clinical profiles. Proximity matters in other organ involvement in IgG4-RD, and organs involved tend to cluster close to each.