Risk Factors for Bleeding After Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Gastric Cancer in Elderly Patients Older Than 80 Years in Japan.

Introduction:As the aging of people in a society advances, the number of elderly patients older than 80 years in Japan with gastric cancer continues to increase. Although delayed ulcer bleeding is a major adverse event after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), little is known about characteristic risk factors for bleeding in elderly patients undergoing ESD. This study aimed to evaluate risk factors for delayed bleeding after ESD for gastric cancer in elderly patients older than 80 years.Methods:We retrospectively evaluated the incidence of delayed bleeding after ESD in 10,320 patients with early-stage gastric cancer resected by ESD between November 2013 and January 2016 at 33 Japanese institutions and investigated risk factors for delayed bleeding in elderly patients older than 80 years.Results:The incidence of delayed bleeding in elderly patients older than 80 years was 5.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.6%-6.9%, 95/1,675), which was significantly higher than that in nonelderly (older than 20 years and younger than 80 years) patients (4.5%, 4.1%-5.0%, 393/8,645). Predictive factors for ESD-associated bleeding differed between nonelderly and elderly patients. On multivariate analysis of predictive factors at the time of treatment, risk factors in elderly patients were hemodialysis (odds ratio: 4.591, 95% CI: 2.056-10.248, P < 0.001) and warfarin use (odds ratio: 4.783, 95% CI: 1.689-13.540, P = 0.003).Discussion:This multicenter study found that the incidence of delayed bleeding after ESD in Japanese patients older than 80 years was high, especially in patients receiving hemodialysis and taking warfarin. Management of ESD to prevent delayed bleeding requires particular care in patients older than 80 years

Effect of disease duration on the association between serum albumin and mucosal healing in patients with ulcerative colitis

Objective Serum albumin is used as a marker of acute inflammation. Several studies have addressed the association between serum albumin and clinical outcome in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). While mucosal healing (MH) has been indicated as the therapeutic goal for UC, the association between serum albumin and MH remains unclear. We evaluated this issue in patients with UC overall and explored whether duration of UC affected this association.Design This cross-sectional study recruited consecutive patients with UC. Study subjects consisted of 273 Japanese patients with UC. Serum albumin was divided into tertiles based on its distribution in all study subjects. One endoscopy specialist was responsible for measuring partial MH and MH, which were defined as a Mayo endoscopic subscore of 0–1 and 0, respectively. The association between serum albumin and clinical outcomes was assessed by multivariate logistic regression.Results Rates of clinical remission, partial MH and MH were 57.9%, 63% and 26%, respectively. Only high serum albumin (&gt;4.4 mg/dL) was significantly positively associated with MH (OR 2.29 (95% CI: 1.03 to 5.29), p for trend=0.043). In patients with short UC duration (&lt;7 years) only, high serum albumin was significantly positively associated with MH and clinical remission. In patients with long UC duration (≥7 years), in contrast, no association between serum albumin and clinical outcomes was found.Conclusion In Japanese patients with UC, serum albumin was significantly positively associated with MH. In patients with short UC duration, serum albumin might be a useful complementary marker for MH

Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Erectile Dysfunction in Japanese Patients With Ulcerative Colitis: A Cross-Sectional Study

Socioeconomic status is a risk factor for poor disease prognosis. No studies of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) have investigated the association between socioeconomic status and erectile dysfunction (ED), although UC is independently positively associated with ED. Therefore, the purpose of this survey to evaluate this issue in Japanese patients with UC. The study enrolled 165 patients with UC. Education status (low, middle, high) and household income (low, middle, high) were classified in three groups using self-administered surveys. The information regarding the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) was obtained using self-administered questionnaires. The definition of mild to moderate or severe ED and severe ED was SHIM score <17 and SHIM score <8, respectively. The prevalence of mild to moderate or severe ED and severe ED was 64.9% and 47.9%, respectively. In crude analysis, household income was inversely associated with mild to moderate or severe ED and severe ED. After adjustment for age, current drinking, current smoking, exercise habit, body mass index, mucosal healing, and duration of UC, high household income was independently and inversely associated with mild to moderate or severe ED (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.05, 0.93], p for trend = .038) and severe ED (adjusted OR 0.26, 95% CI [0.07, 0.85], p for trend = .024). In contrast, no association between education status and ED was found. In conclusion, household income was independently and inversely associated with ED in Japanese UC patients

The albumin to globulin ratio is associated with clinical outcome in Japanese patients with ulcerative colitis

Purpose The albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) is a recognized chronic inflammation marker. No evidence regarding the relationship between AGR level and ulcerative colitis (UC) exists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between AGR and clinical outcomes among Japanese subjects with UC. Methods The study subjects consisted of 273 Japanese individuals with UC. AGR was divided into 4 categories (low, moderate, high, and very high). The definition of complete mucosal healing (MH) was based on the Mayo endoscopic subscore of 0. Clinical remission (CR) was defined as no rectal bleeding and no abnormally high stool frequency (<3 times per day). Results The percentage of MH was 26.4%. High AGR and very high AGR were significantly positively correlated with CR (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 5.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.52–14.18 and adjusted OR, 4.97; 95% CI, 2.14–12.04) and complete MH (adjusted OR, 4.03; 95% CI, 1.56–11.51 and adjusted OR, 5.22; 95% CI, 1.97–14.89), respectively after adjustment for confounding factors (P for trend=0.001). Only in the low C-reactive protein (CRP) group (≤0.1 mg/dL), very high AGR was significantly positively correlated with complete MH but not CR (adjusted OR, 4.38; 95% CI, 1.06–21.77; P for trend=0.017). In the high CRP group, no correlation between AGR and complete MH was found. Conclusion Among Japanese patients with UC, AGR may be independently positively correlated with complete MH. In particular, among UC patients with low CRP, AGR might be a useful complementary marker for complete MH

Easy surveillance of muscle volume decline in chronic liver disease patients using finger‐circle (yubi‐wakka) test

Abstract Background Muscle atrophy (MA) and muscle strength decline are important clinical features in chronic liver disease (CLD) patients. An easy to perform MA screening method without need for special equipment would be helpful. We evaluated the usefulness of the previously reported finger‐circle test as screening for MA in CLD patients. Methods We retrospectively enrolled 358 Japanese CLD outpatients (70.8 ± 10.2 years, male/female = 234/124) who had undergone a computed tomography examination from December 2017 to March 2018, of whom 137 had chronic hepatitis, 169 had liver cirrhosis Child–Pugh A, and 52 had liver cirrhosis Child–Pugh B/C. Bilateral psoas muscle area at the middle of the third lumber vertebra (L3) was evaluated with computed tomography findings, which was performed as a screening of hepatocellular carcinoma, using a previously reported parameter for MA [psoas index (PI): total psoas muscle area (cm2)/height (m)2] [mean PI ± standard deviation (SD) of male patients: 6.50 ± 1.13 cm2/m2 and those of female patients: 4.30 ± 0.90 cm2/m2]. We then evaluated the correlation between MA and finger‐circle test results in these patients. Results The mean PI values for finger‐circle test results Bigger, Just‐fits, and Smaller were 5.64 ± 1.34, 5.00 ± 1.25, and 4.83 ± 1.46 cm2/m2, respectively, in male patients (P < 0.001) and 4.31 ± 1.06, 3.93 ± 0.97, and 3.42 ± 0.94 cm2/m2, respectively, in female patients (P = 0.001). We found that a finger‐circle test result in male patients other than Bigger (Just‐fits and Smaller) predicted a decline in psoas muscle area of L3 to PI 5.25 cm2/m2 (sensitivity/specificity 0.619/0.667, area under the curve 0.654, 95% confidence interval 0.583–0.724), which was approximately mean minus 1 SD (5.37 cm2/m2). On the other hand, a Smaller test result in female patients predicted a decline in psoas muscle area of L3 to PI 3.33 cm2/m2 (sensitivity/specificity 0.740/0.583, area under the curve 0.698, 95% confidence interval 0.583–0.813), approximately mean minus 1 SD (3.40 cm2/m2). Conclusions The finger‐circle test is an easy to perform and effective screening method for predicting earlier stage of MA in CLD patients without the need for special equipment