Capsule endoscopy

Capsule endoscopy (CE) is a simple, safe, non-invasive, reliable technique, well accepted and tolerated by the patients, which allows complete exploration of the small intestine. The advent of CE in 2000 has dramatically changed the diagnosis and management of many diseases of the small intestine, such as obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, Crohn’s disease, small bowel tumors, polyposis syndromes, etc . CE has become the gold standard for the diagnosis of most diseases of the small bowel. Lately this technique has also been used for esophageal and colonic diseases

Recognition and management of hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes

Over 1,900 colorectal tumors will arise in association with a hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome in Spain in 2009. The genetic defects responsible for the most common syndromes have been discovered in recent years. Genetic testing helps diagnose affected individuals and allows identification of individuals at-risk. Colonoscopy and prophylactic colectomy decrease colorectal cancer incidence and overall mortality in patients with hereditary colon cancer. Extracolonic tumors are frequent in these syndromes, so specific surveillance strategies should be offere

Endoscopic diagnosis of gastric peptic ulcer penetrating into the liver

A 61-year-old man was admitted with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Endoscopy showed a large gastric peptic ulcer with a pseudotumoral mass protruding from the ulcer bed. Histological examination of biopsies taken from the mass revealed distorted hepatic tissue and inflammatory changes. Hepatic penetration was diagnosed as the cause of bleeding. Surgery findings confirmed the endoscopic diagnosis

Nuevas aplicaciones de la cápsula endoscópica: PILLCAM™ ESO

ABSTRACT Capsule endoscopy has opened a new era in small bowel examination. Its indications are now welldefined and currently, wireless capsule endoscopy is considered as the first-line imaging tool for the diagnosis of small bowel diseases. ECE has been shown to be feasible, safe and a good alternative technique in patients refusing conventional endoscopy. Although results reported in both GERD and cirrhotic patients are encouraging, great differences in terms of accuracy (particularly in GERD patients) have been found in published studies. These differences have been attributed to study designs, the lack of adequate experience and inconvenience of ingestion protocols. In summary, more large-scale studies evaluating the new 14-fps capsule, adequate ECE-experience and new modified ingestion protocols are still needed

Superoxide dismutase in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

It has been reported that hepatitis C virus (HCV) may cause oxidative stress in infected cells. Patients with chronic hepatitis C exhibit an increased production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha), a cytokine that can produce oxidative stress by stimulating the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Cell defense against ROS includes overexpression of Mn-superoxide dismutase (SOD), an inducible mitochondrial enzyme. To investigate cell defense against oxidative stress in HCV infection, we analyzed Mn-SOD mRNA in liver and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with chronic hepatitis C. Mn-SOD expression in PBMC was significantly increased in patients with HCV infection. Patients with sustained virological and biochemical response after therapy showed significantly lower Mn-SOD than patients with positive viremia. By contrast, Mn-SOD expression was not enhanced in the liver of patients with chronic hepatitis C. The values of Mn-SOD mRNA did not correlate with TNF alpha mRNA expression, viral load, or liver disease activity. Our results indicate that in HCV infection an induction of Mn-SOD was present in PBMC but absent in the liver, suggesting that this organ could be less protected against oxidative damage. Oxidative stress could participate in the pathogenesis of HCV infection

Commercially available endoscopy facemasks to prevent aerosolizing spread of droplets during COVID-19 outbreak

We read with great interest the ESGE and ESGENA Position Statement [1] on gastrointestinal endoscopy and the COVID-19 pandemic. We share the concerns listed in the suggested research agenda, particularly about enhancing procedural protection in the endoscopy unit to reduce risk of COVID-19 dissemination. We would like to bring attention to commercially available endoscopy masks that can be used to avoid aerosolizing spread of droplets during upper endoscopic procedures. These products seem to improve intra-procedure risk management and can serve as an alternative to a modified ventilation mask reported for this purpose by Marchese et al [2]