Abhilash Perisetti

Colorectal cancer screening use among insured adults: Is out-of-pocket cost a barrier to routine screening?

AIM To describe the characteristics of adults who needed to see a doctor in the past year but could not due to the extra cost and assess the impact of limited financial resources on the receipt of routine fecal occult blood test, sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy for colon cancer screening among insured patients. METHODS Data obtained from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System included 215436 insured adults age 50-75 years. We computed frequencies, adjusted odds ratios (aORs), and 95%CIs using SAS v9.3 software. RESULTS Nine percent of the study population needed to see a doctor in the past year but could not because of cost. The numbers were significantly higher among those aged 50-64 (P < 0.0001), Non-Hispanic Whites (P < 0.0001), and those with a primary care physician (P < 0.0001) among other factors. Adjusting for possible confounders, aORs for not seeing the doctor in the past year because of cost were: stool occult blood test within last year aOR = 0.88; 95%CI: 0.76-1.02, sigmoidoscopy within last year aOR = 0.72; 95%CI: 0.48-1.07, colonoscopy within the last year aOR = 0.91; 95%CI: 0.81-1.02. CONCLUSION We found that the limited financial resources within the past 12 mo were significantly associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) non-screening. Patients with risk factors identified in this study should adhere to CRC guidelines and should receive financial help if needed.

Mushroom Poisoning Mimicking Painless Progressive Jaundice: A Case Report with Review of the Literature

Mushroom poisoning is common in the United States. The severity of mushroom poisoning may vary, depending on the geographic location, the amount of toxin delivered, and the genetic characteristics of the mushroom. Though they could have varied presentation, early identification with careful history could be helpful in triage. We present a case of a 69-year-old female of false morel mushroom poisoning leading to hepatotoxicity with painless jaundice and biochemical pancreatitis.

Gastric Volvulus: A Rare Entity Case Report and Literature Review

Gastric volvulus is a rare entity defined as an abnormal rotation of the stomach around itself. It is a diagnosis of exclusion; the clinical index of suspicion is always low and is mostly diagnosed on imaging or on the surgery table. When it occurs, it is an emergency due to the risk of strangulation and consequent gangrene of the stomach. Mesentero-axial (MA) gastric volvuli constitute one-third of all cases. Here, we are present an interesting case of acute MA gastric volvulus diagnosed with imaging and treated subsequently.

Pure Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Gallbladder Masquerading as a Hepatic Mass

Gallbladder (GB) carcinomas are adenocarcinomas (AC) in the majority of cases. Adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) and pure squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the gallbladder are rarely encountered and comprise 1-3% of gallbladder cancer cases. Pure squamous cell carcinoma of the gallbladder is rarer with less than 1% of the incidence. Most of the published literature is based on case reports and case series. The survival rates of ASC and SCC of the gallbladder are significantly lower (mean of five months) compared to the AC of the gallbladder (mean survival of 11.4 months). Most of these lesions are advanced at presentation, rendering them unresectable and resulting in a poor prognosis. However, if the lesions are diagnosed at an early stage, they could potentially be resectable. We report one such rare case of pure SCC GB presenting as a hepatic mass. The patient subsequently underwent resection of the gallbladder and liver mass with complete recovery and is currently planned for chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Metastatic duodenal germ cell tumor diagnosed with endoscopic ultrasound

Testicular tumors are the most common solid tumors reported in young males aged 15–35 years [1, 2]. These tumors frequently metastasize to retroperitoneal lymph nodes, but only 5% of these tumors seed the gastrointestinal (GI) tract [3, 4], with the duodenum being the least common site (1.4%) [4]. Local extension from the retroperitoneal lymph node into the GI tract is the common method of spread. We report on a 44-year-old man with symptoms of gastric outlet obstruction. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen showed a bilobed retroperitoneal mass of 7×5 cm compressing the duodenum, suspicious for duplication cyst (▶Fig. 1a, b). Esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed a subepithelial nearobstructive mass in the second portion of the duodenum, which appeared cystic on palpation with closed forceps (▶Fig. 1 c). Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) showed a 7×5.4 cm solid cystic mass (▶Fig. 1d). Fine-needle biopsy (FNB) with a 22-gauge needle (▶Fig. 1 e) revealed poorly differentiated epithelioid carcinoma, with unknown primary. Given the patient’s age, testicular tumor was a highly likely differential diagnosis. The patient underwent pancreas-sparing duodenal resection. Histology showed a mixed germ cell tumor with unusual presence of cartilage (▶Fig. 1 f). Ultrasound of the testes showed a 1.7 cm E-Videos

Endoscopic Dissolution of Gastric Lipoma with Argon Plasma Coagulation

A 47-year-old patient presented from outside the hospital for evaluation of iron deficiency anemia (IDA). The endoscopic workup suggested a gastric antral subepithelial lesion with an overlying arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) revealed the lesion to be a lipoma. Given the patient’s anemia and blood transfusion requirements, the AVM was treated with argon plasma coagulation (APC). During this treatment, desiccation of fat was noted with a significant decrease in the size of the subepithelial lesion (the gastric lipoma). While the APC therapy was intended for management of the overlying AVM, it resulted in the partial dissolution of the gastric lipoma, proving to be a potential diagnostic and therapeutic tool.