Diagnostic tools for fecal incontinence: Scoring systems are the crucial first step

The main aim of this editorial is to comment on the recent article published by Garg et al in the World Journal of Gastroenterology 2023;29:4593-4603.This original research presents a new scoring system for fecal incontinence.Fecal incontinence is a chronic disease with a severe impact on the quality of life of the patients.Substantial social stigmatization often leads to significant underreporting of the condition even during visits to a specialist and could lead to further misman-agement or non-existent management of the disease.An important fact is that patients are often unable to describe their condition when not asked precisely defined questions.This problem is partially resolved by scoring questionnaires.Several scoring systems are commonly used;however,each of them has their shortcomings.For example,the absence of different kinds of leakage besides flatus and stool could further lead to underscoring the incontinence severity.Therefore,there has long been a call for a more precise scoring system.The correct identification of the presence and severity of fecal incontinence is paramount for further diagnostic approach and for choosing the appropriate therapy option.This editorial describes fecal incontinence,its effect on quality of life in general and further evaluates the diagnostic approach with a particular focus on symptom scoring systems and their implications for clinical practice.

Acute-on-chronic liver failure in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)has had a significant impact on the lives of millions of people,especially those with other concomitant diseases,such as chronic liver diseases.To date,seven coronaviruses have been identified to infect humans.The main site of pathological action of these viruses is lung tissue.However,a substantial number of studies have proven that SARSCoV-2 shows affinity towards several organs,including the gastrointestinal tract and the liver.The current state of evidence points to several proposed mechanisms of liver injury in patients with COVID-19 and their combination.Liver impairment is considered to be the result of the direct effect of the virus on the hepatic tissue cells,a systemic reaction consisting of inflammation,hypoxia and cytokine storm,drug-induced liver injury,with the possible contribution of a perturbed gut-liver axis.Reactivation of chronic hepatic disease could be another factor for liver impairment in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.Acute-onchronic liver failure(ACLF)is a relatively new syndrome that occurs in 10%–30%of all hospitalized patients with chronic liver disease.It is crucial to recognize high-risk patients due to the increased morbidity and mortality in these cases.Several published studies have reported virus infection as a trigger factor for ACLF.However,to date,there are few relevant studies describing the presence of ACLF in patients with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.In this minireview we summarize the current state of knowledge regarding the relation between ACLF and acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.