Suture pulley countertraction method reduces procedure time and technical demand of ESD

Post written by Hiroyuki Aihara, MD, PhD, from the Developmental Endoscopy Lab, Harvard Medical School, and Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The lack of reliable countertraction in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) contributes to its technical demand and increased procedure time. In our previous ex vivo study, we …

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Utility of video capsule endoscopy for longitudinal monitoring of Crohn’s disease activity in the small bowel

Post written by Gil Y. Melmed, MD, from the F Widjaja Inflammatory Bowel and Immunobiology Research Institute, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA. We aimed to determine the utility of using video capsule endoscopy for serial evaluations of Crohn’s disease activity. While the literature has demonstrated good correlation between WCE and colonoscopy at …

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Editor’s Choice: The emerging role of histologic disease activity assessment in ulcerative colitis

GIE Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Michael Wallace, highlights this article from the December issue “The emerging role of histologic disease activity assessment in ulcerative colitis” by Rish K. Pai, MD, PhD, et al.  The decision about when to start and stop therapy for ulcerative colitis is increasingly made based on colonoscopy and histological assessment of activity ("treat …

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Fully covered SEMSs to dilate persistent pancreatic strictures in chronic pancreatitis

Post written by Andrea Tringali, MD, PhD, from the Digestive Endoscopy Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli - IRCCS, Catholic University, and CERTT, Centre for Endoscopic Research, Therapeutics and Training - Catholic University, Rome, Italy. Pancreatic duct drainage by ERCP and insertion of plastic stents is effective in the treatment of pain related to chronic …

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New-generation full-spectrum endoscopy versus standard forward-viewing colonoscopy

Post written by Toyoki Kudo, MD, PhD, from the Digestive Disease Center, Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital, Yokohama, Japan. Although colonoscopy is the gold standard for detection of colorectal adenomas, some adenomas are missed. Full-spectrum endoscopy (FUSE) allows for observation with a 330° angle of view, which is expected to decrease the miss rate. However, …

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Focal cryoballoon versus radiofrequency ablation of dysplastic Barrett’s esophagus

Post written by Sanne N. van Munster, MD, from the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, and the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This study is a comparison of endoscopic cryoballoon ablation and radiofrequency ablation for eradication of Barrett’s-related neoplasia. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the standard …

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Successful liver-directed gene delivery by ERCP-guided hydrodynamic injection

Post written by Vivek Kumbhari, MD, from the Department of Medicine and Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The success of gene-targeted therapy depends on 2 fundamental steps; the first being the intracellular delivery and the second is the genetic modification of the target cells. The first step …

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Technical feasibility of ESD for local failure after chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy

Post written by Keiichiro Nakajo, MD, from the Department of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan. In this retrospective, single-center study, enrolling almost 600 consecutive patients treated with endoscopic submucosal resection (ESD) for superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the patient cohort was stratified into 3 groups as follows: group A, salvage …

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Use of diphenhydramine as an adjunctive sedative for colonoscopy

Post written by Salman Nusrat, MD, from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. The primary aim of our study was to evaluate if the addition of diphenhydramine to routinely used sedatives will decrease the amount of fentanyl and midazolam used during colonoscopy in patients …

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Liquid nitrogen spray cryotherapy for dysphagia palliation in patients with inoperable esophageal cancer

Post written by Toufic Kachaamy, MD, from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. Dysphagia palliation in non-operable esophageal cancer patients is dependent on local expertise with no clear modality favored over others. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines considers multiple modalities such as stenting, external beam radiation, brachytherapy, photodynamic therapy, cryotherapy, …

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