Influence of night duty on endoscopic therapy for bile duct stones

AIM To examine the influence of night duty(ND) on endoscopic therapy for biliary duct stones.METHODS The subjects consisted of 133 patients who received initial endoscopic therapy for biliary duct stones performed by eight endoscopists after they had been on(ND group, n = 34 patients) or not [day duty(DD) group, n = 99 patients]. Patient characteristics(age, gender, history of abdominal surgery, transverse diameter of the largest stone, number of stones), years of experience of the endoscopists, endoscopic procedures [sphincterotomy, papillary balloon dilation(EPBD), papillary large balloon dilation(EPLBD)], and outcomes of initial endoscopy(procedure time; rate of stone removal by the first endoscopist; proceduresuccess rate by the first endoscopist: removal of stones or endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage; rate of final stone removal; final procedure success rate; complications; hospitalization after the procedure) were compared retrospectively between the two groups. History of abdominal surgery and treatment outcomes were also compared between the groups for each of the four endoscopists who performed most of the procedures in the ND group.RESULTS There were no significant differences regarding the number of treatments performed by each endoscopist or the years of experience between the ND and DD groups. The frequency of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography procedures did not differ significantly between the groups. There were also no significant differences regarding patient characteristics: age, gender, history of abdominal surgery(ND 7: Billroth II 4, R-Y 3; DD 18: double tract reconstruction 1, Billroth I 3, Billroth II 6, R-Y 7, duodenoduodenostomy for annular pancreas 1), transverse diameter of largest stone, and number of stones between the two groups. Among the treatment procedures, the endoscopic s p h i n c t e r o t o m y a n d E P B D r a t e s d i d n o t d i f f e r significantly between the groups. However, EPLBD was performed more frequently in the ND group [47.1%(16/34) v s 19.2%(19/99)]. Regarding outcomes, there were no significant differences in the rate of stone removal, procedure success rate, complications(ND: pancreatitis 1; DD: pancreatitis 6, duodenal bleeding 1, decreased blood pressure 1, hypoxia 2), or hospitalization after the procedure. However, the procedure time was significantly longer in the ND group(71.5 ± 44.7 vs 54.2 ± 28.8). Among the four endoscopists, there were no significant differences in patient history of abdominal surgery, removal of stones, or procedure success rate. However, the procedure time for one endoscopist was significantly longer in the ND group.CONCLUSION The time required for endoscopic therapy for bile duct stones might be influenced by ND.

Effect of Calcium on the Vanadium Extraction from High Calcium Type Stone Coal

The high calcium type stone coal from Hubei province was leached by water and dilute acid separately after being roasted with different dosage of Na Cl. The water leaching rate of vanadium（WLRV） was low and only 26.8% of vanadium can be leached by water when 4% Na Cl was added, but the acid leaching rate of vanadium（ALRV） was relatively high. Calcium in the high calcium type stone coal is greatly superfl uous relative to vanadium, hence, the calcium reacts with vanadium to form Ca（VO3）2, Ca2V2O7 and Ca3（VO4）2orderly during the stone coal roasting process and high temperature is beneficial to the reactions between calcium and vanadium, which was validated by simulated reactions between pure calcium carbonate and vanadium pentoxide. These calcium vanadates are all water insoluble but acid soluble and this causes the low WLRV and relatively high ALRV. After calcium removal by HCl, the WLRV is highly enhanced and reaches about 50% when only 2% Na Cl was added. If the HCl content is too high, the stone coal is easily sintered and the formed glass structure can enwrap vanadium, which leads the WLRV to decline. Single water leaching process is not appropriate to extract vanadium from high calcium type stone coal.

Risk prediction of common bile duct stone recurrence based on new common bile duct morphological subtypes

Stones in the common bile duct(CBD) are reported worldwide, and this condition is majorly managed through endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP). CBD stone recurrence is an important issue after endoscopic stone removal. Therefore, it is essential to identify its risk factors to determine the necessity of regular follow-up in patients who underwent endoscopic removal of CBD stones. The authors identified that the S and polyline morphological subtypes of CBD were associated with increased stone recurrence. New morphological subtypes of CBD presented by the authors can be important risk predictors of recurrence after endoscopic stone removal. Furthermore, the new morphological subtypes of CBD may predict the risk of residual CBD stones or technical difficulty in CBD stone removal. Further studies with a large sample size and longer follow-up durations are warranted to examine the usefulness of the newly identified morphological subtypes of CBD in predicting the outcomes of ERCP for CBD stone removal.