Endoscopic placement of enteral feeding tubes

Malnutrition is common in patients with acute and chronic illness.Nutritional management of these malnourished patients is an essential part of healthcare.Enteral feeding is one component of nutritional support.It is the preferred method of nutritional support in patients that are not receiving adequate oral nutrition and have a functioning gastrointestinal tract(GIT).This method of nutritional support has undergone progression over recent times.The method of placement of enteral feeding tubes has evolved due to development of new feeding tubes and endoscopic technology.Enteral feeding can be divided into methods that provide short-term and long-term access to the GIT.This review article focuses on the current range of methods of gaining access to the GIT to provide enteral feed.

Gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging can predict the pathologic stage of solitary hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND Although important for determining long-term outcome, pathologic stage of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is difficult to predict before surgery. Current state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using gadoxetic acid provides many imaging features that could potentially be used to classify single HCC as pT1 or pT2. AIM To determine which gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI (EOB-MRI) findings predict pathologic stage T2 in patients with solitary HCC (cT1). METHODS Pre-operative EOB-MRI findings were reviewed in a retrospective cohort of patients with solitary HCC. The following imaging features were examined: Hyperintensity in unenhanced T2-weighted images, hypointensity in unenhanced T1-weighted images, arterial enhancement, corona enhancement, washout appearance, capsular appearance, hypointensity in the tumor tissue during the hepatobiliary (HB) phase, peritumoral hypointensity in the HB phase, hypointense rim in the HB phase, intratumoral fat, hyperintensity on diffusionweighted imaging, hypointensity on apparent diffusion coefficient map, mosaic appearance, nodule-in-nodule appearance, and the margin (smooth or irregular). Surgical pathology was used as the reference method for tumor staging. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of microvascular invasion or satellite nodules. RESULTS There were 39 (34.2%;39 of 114) and 75 (65.8%;75 of 114) pathological stage T2 and T1 HCCs, respectively. Large tumor size (≥ 2.3 cm) and two MRI findings, i.e., corona enhancement [odds ratio = 2.67;95% confidence interval: 1.101-6.480] and peritumoral hypointensity in HB phase images (odds ratio = 2.203;95% confidence interval: 0.961-5.049) were associated with high risk of pT2 HCC. The positive likelihood ratio was 6.25 (95% confidence interval: 1.788-21.845), and sensitivity of EOB-MRI for detecting pT2 HCC was 86.2% when two or three of these MRI features were present. Small tumor size and hypointense rim in the HB phase were regarded as benign features. Small HCCs with hypointense rim but not associated with aggressive features were mostly pT1 lesions (specificity, 100%). CONCLUSION Imaging features on EOB-MRI could potentially be used to predict the pathologic stage of solitary HCC (cT1) as pT1 or pT2.

Hospitalizations for alcoholic liver disease during the COVID-19 pandemic increased more for women,especially young women,compared to men

BACKGROUND Alcoholic liver disease(ALD)remains one of the major indications for liver transplantation in the United States and continues to place a burden on the national healthcare system.There is evidence of increased alcohol consumption during the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,and the effect of this on the already burdened health systems remains unknown.AIM To assess the trends for ALD admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic,and compare it to a similar pre-pandemic period.METHODS This retrospective study analyzed all admissions at a tertiary health care system,which includes four regional hospitals.ALD admissions were identified by querying a multi-hospital health system’s electronic database using ICD-10 codes.ALD admissions were compared for two one-year periods;pre-COVID-19 from April 2019 to March 2020,and during-COVID-19 from April 2020 to March 2021.Data were analyzed using a Poisson regression model and admission rates were compared using the annual quarterly average for the two time periods,with stratification by age and gender.Percent increase or decrease in admissions from the Poisson regression model were reported as incident rate ratios.RESULTS One thousand three hundred and seventy-eight admissions for ALD were included.80.7%were Caucasian,and 34.3%were female.An increase in the number of admissions for ALD during the COVID-19 pandemic was detected.Among women,a sharp rise(33%)was noted in those below the age of 50 years,and an increase of 22%in those above 50 years.Among men,an increase of 24%was seen for those below 50 years,and a 24%decrease in those above 50 years.CONCLUSION The COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread implications,and an increase in ALD admissions is just one of them.However,given that women are often prone to rapid progression of ALD,this finding has important preventive health implications.

Contrast enhanced endoscopic ultrasound: More than just a fancy Doppler

Contrast enhanced endoscopic ultrasound(CEUS)is a new modality that takes advantage of vascular structure and blood flow to distinguish different clinical entities.Contrast agents are microbubbles that oscillate when exposed to ultrasonographic waves resulting in characteristic acoustic signals that are then converted to colour images.This permits exquisite imaging of macroand microvasculature,providing information to help delineate malignant from non-malignant processes.The use of CEUS may significantly increase the sensitivity and specificity over conventional endoscopic ultrasound.Currently available contrast agents are safe,with infrequent adverse effects.This review summarizes the theory and technique behind CEUS and the current and future clinical applications.

Barrett's esophagus in 2016: From pathophysiology to treatment

Esophageal complications caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD)include reflux esophagitis and Barrett’s esophagus(BE).BE is a premalignant condition with an increased risk of developing esophageal adeno-carcinoma(EAC).The carcinogenic sequence may progress through several steps,from normal esophageal mucosa through BE to EAC.A recent advent of functional esophageal testing(particularly multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH monitoring)has helped to improve our knowledge about GERD pathophysiology,including its complications.Those findings(when properly confirmed)might help to predict BE neoplastic progression.Over the last few decades,the incidence of EAC has continued to rise in Western populations.However,only a minority of BE patients develop EAC,opening the debate regarding the cost-effectiveness of current screening/surveillance strategies.Thus,major efforts in clinical and research practice are focused on new methods for optimal risk assessment that can stratify BE patients at low or high risk of developing EAC,which should improve the cost effectiveness of screening/surveillance programs and consequently significantly affect health-care costs.Furthermore,the area of BE therapeutic management is rapidly evolving.Endoscopic eradication therapies have been shown to be effective,and new therapeutic options for BE and EAC have emerged.The aim of the present review article is to highlight the status of screening/surveillance programs and the current progress of BE therapy.Moreover,we discuss the recent introduction of novel esophageal pathophysiological exams that have improved the knowledge of the mechanisms linking GERD to BE.

患SARS的医护人员中的腹泻状况调查

Background and goal: Several known coronavirus species cause a variety of dise ases, including respiratory or enteric diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interesting enteric symptoms of the medical care workers who were evidently infected with SARS by means of respiratory transmission. Study: Between May 1 and June 16, 2003, we enrolled 16 medical care workers who fulfilled the definition of probable SARS. Samples used for the detection of coronavirus RNA by RT-PCR were collected from throat and rectal swabs during acute phase. S erum anti SARS IgG was checked by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays at the co nvalescent phase. Results: The incidence of watery diarrhea was 18.8%(3 of 16). The RT PCR of coronavirus was positive in three (18.8%) of 16 throat swabs an d in none (0%) of seven rectal swabs. Serum anti coronavirus IgG was positive in 13 of the 15 patients (86.7%). The mortality rate was 6.25%(1 of 16). The d iarrhea rate in our hospital was significantly lower in comparison with the 73% (55 of 75) of the Amoy Gardens outbreak in Hong Kong (P = 0.000073), and similar to the 19.6%(27 of 138) of the hospital acquired outbreak in the Prince of Wa les Hospital in Hong Kong (P= 0.798). In contrast to the high positive rate of f eces RT-PCR (97%)in Amoy Gardens, our positive rate in rectal swab RT PCT (0 %) was significantly lower (P = 0.00000002). Conclusions: Hospital acquired SA RS cases infected mainly by respiratory route less commonly presented with diarr hea. Lower intestinal viral load, when the virus spread by respiratory route, may be contributive to lower diarrhea rate and lower positive rate in rectal swab RT-PCR.