1,721,207 research outputs found
The interaction between smoking, alcohol and the gut microbiome
The gastrointestinal microbiome is a complex echosystem that establishes a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relation with the host, being rather stable in health, but affected by age, drugs, diet, alcohol, and smoking. Alcohol and smoking contribute to changes in the stomach and affect H pylori-related disorders including the risk of gastric cancer. In the small intestine and in the colon alcohol causes depletion of bacteria with anti-inflammatory activity, eventually resulting in intestinal damage with “leaky gut”. These changes contribute to hepatic damage in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver disease and have been associated with other disorders. Lactobacillus GG and A. muciniphila exert a protective effect in this setting. Smoking leads to modifications of the gut microbiome linked with a protective effect toward ulcerative colitis and deleterious for Crohn's disease. The exact cause-effect relation between alcohol and smoking and changes of the gastrointestinal microbiome needs further exploration with high throughput methodologies, and controlled studies are necessary to define the role of microbiome modulation on the immune response and systemic activation of pro-inflammatory pathways
Endoscopic ultrasonography of the upper gastrointestinal tract: Take a look at the pancreas!
Slow-pull compared to suction technique for EUS-guided sampling of pancreatic solid lesions: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Background and study aims Current ESGE guidelines suggest employing the suction (SU) technique for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided sampling of pancreatic solid lesions. Nonetheless, recent randomized controlled trials (RCT) have reported that the slow-pull (SP) technique has similar diagnostic accuracy with possibly less blood contamination. However, these results are heterogeneous and limited to small cohorts. The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare adequacy, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the SU and SP techniques for EUS-guided sampling of solid pancreatic lesions.Methods A computerized bibliographic search was restricted to RCTs. Pooled effects were calculated using a random-effects model and expressed in terms of pooled sensitivity and specificity and OR (95 % CI) for adequacy and accuracy.Results Overall, seven RCTs were included, for a total of 475 patients (163 lesions sampled with SU, 164 with SP and 148 by both). The adequacy was similar (OR = 0.98) without heterogeneity (I (2) = 0 %), but a high degree of blood contamination was more common with SU than SP (pooled rate 27.6 % vs 19.7 %). A non-significant superiority of SP in terms of pooled accuracy (OR = 0.82; 95 % CI 0.36-1.85) was recorded, with moderate heterogeneity (I (2) = 52.4 %). The SP technique showed a slightly higher pooled sensitivity compared to SU (88.7 % vs 83.4 %), while specificity was similar (97.2 % SP vs 96.9 % SU), with considerable heterogeneity.Conclusion The current meta-analysis reveals non-superiority of SU over SP, while SP results in reduced blood contamination. If the 5 % accuracy difference favouring SP is true, with alfa error = 0.05 and beta = 0.20, a RCT of 982 patients per arm is needed to confirm significance
Patient-reported experience measure in pancreatobiliary endoscopy: a systematic review to highlight areas for improvement
Increasing attention is paid to measure patient's experience using specific patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) as tool to assess the overall quality of care provided. The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the United European Gastroenterology have recognized the measure of quality of endoscopy facilities as a priority to provide an adequate service. However, although some studies included patient satisfaction measurement, specific PREMs for gastrointestinal endoscopy are limited, especially in the field of pancreatobiliary endoscopy, with heterogeneous methods and results. This study is aimed at systematically reviewing the literature to summarize the available PREMs for pancreatobiliary endoscopy and to highlight areas of implementation
Patient Reported Experience Measure in Endoscopic Ultrasonography: The PREUS Study Protocol
The evaluation of the patient’s experience is becoming increasingly important as a better patient experience can improve the quality of the health service delivered. Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are self-report assessment tools provided to patients about their experience during any health event. There are few PREM instruments in the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy, and none is specific for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). This study aims to develop a questionnaire to evaluate the experience of patients undergoing EUS, identifying and prioritizing the factors related to the patient’s experience. The study will consist of several phases: (A) tool creation; (B) face and content validity; (C) ranking: to evaluate the relevance of the identified questions in the previous phase; (D) questionnaire creation and validity testing. The final output will be the production of a specific tool that can be used to measure patients’ experience during EUS. This questionnaire may become a relevant part of actions taken to measure the quality of care provided to patients undergoing EUS. Furthermore, correlation between health care providers’ and patients’ views of the relevance of the included items will allow optimization of empathetic and psychological aspects
Italian registry of families at risk of pancreatic cancer: AISP Familial Pancreatic Cancer Study Group
Pancreatic cancer is one of the main causes of cancer-related death worldwide, with a survival rate around 9%. In Italy 13,500 new cases of pancreatic cancer occurred in 2019. It is estimated that at least 5% have a hereditary background. Surveillance is advisable for healthy individuals with specific genetic syndromes with or without family history of pancreatic cancer or members of families with multiple cases of pancreatic cancer, irrespective of genetic syndromes. In 2010 the Italian Association for the Study of the Pancreas (AISP) defined criteria to include individuals in such surveillance programs with the first-round results published in 2019. In order to include other categories at high-risk and increase the diagnostic yield of surveillance, these criteria have recently been modified. The present position paper presents the updated criteria of the Italian Registry of Families at Risk of Pancreatic Cancer (IRFARPC) with their diagnostic yield calculation. Also, AISP priority projects concerning: (a) increasing awareness of citizens and primary care physicians through a dedicated App; (b) increasing access to germline testing to personalize surveillance; (c) measuring psychological impact of surveillance; (d) investigating the role of risk-modifiers and (e) evaluating the cost-effectiveness and ability to save lives of the program are briefly presented
Does chronic consumption of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors affect survival after surgical resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma?
Results of non-operative management for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms with an indication for surgery: A meta-analysis
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