Mostafa Ibrahim

Evaluation of Fujinon intelligent chromo endoscopy-assisted capsule endoscopy in patients with obscure gastroenterology bleeding

AIM To investigate the potential benefit of Fujinon intelligent chromo endoscopy (FICE)-assisted small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) for detection and characterization of small bowel lesions in patients with obscure gastroenterology bleeding (OGIB). METHODS The SBCE examinations (Pillcam SB2, Given Imaging Ltd) were retrospectively analyzed by two GI fellows (observers) with and without FICE enhancement. Randomization was such that a fellow did not assess the same examination with and without FICE enhancement. The senior consultant described findings as P0, P1 and P2 lesions (non-pathological, intermediate bleed potential, high bleed potential), which were considered as reference findings. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS Inter-observer correlation was calculated using kappa statistics. Sensitivity and specificity for P2 lesions was calculated for FICE and white light SBCE. RESULTS In 60 patients, the intra-class kappa correlations between the observers and reference findings were 0.88 and 0.92 (P2), 0.61 and 0.79 (P1), for SBCE using FICE and white light, respectively. Overall 157 lesions were diagnosed using FICE as compared to 114 with white light SBCE (P = 0.15). For P2 lesions, the sensitivity was 94% vs 97% and specificity was 95% vs 96% for FICE and white light, respectively. Five (P2 lesions) out of 55 arterio-venous malformations could be better characterized by FICE as compared to white light SBCE. Significantly more P0 lesions were diagnosed when FICE was used as compared to white light (39 vs 8, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION FICE was not better than white light for diagnosing and characterizing significant lesions on SBCE for OGIB. FICE detected significantly more non-pathological lesions. Nevertheless, some vascular lesions could be more accurately characterized with FICE as compared to white light SBCE.

Endoscopic treatment of acute variceal hemorrhage by using hemostatic powder TC-325: a prospective pilot study

BACKGROUND Current standard of care of acute variceal bleeding (AVB) combines hemodynamic stabilization, antibiotic prophylaxis, pharmacological agents, and endoscopic treatment. The latter may be challenging in an emergency setting with active bleeding that interferes with visualization. OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness of a pre-established delivery protocol of a hemostatic powder to control AVB originating from the esophagus or the gastroesophageal junction. DESIGN Prospective, 2-center study. SETTING Two tertiary-care referral university hospitals. PATIENTS Nine patients who received endoscopic hemostatic powder for actively bleeding varices. INTERVENTIONS Endoscopic hemostasis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT Primary hemostasis and rebleeding rates. RESULTS Nine consecutive patients with confirmed AVB underwent treatment within 12 hours of hospital admission. Bleeding stopped during the endoscopy performed with application of 21 g of hemostatic powder from the cardia up to 15 cm above the gastroesophageal junction. No rebleeding was observed in any of the patients within 24 hours. No mortality was observed at 15-day follow-up. LIMITATIONS Small sample size. CONCLUSION Hemostatic powder has the potential to temporarily stop AVB. ( CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT01783899.)

Video capsule endoscopy: Perspectives of a revolutionary technique

Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) was launched in 2000 and has revolutionized direct endoscopic imaging of the gut. VCE is now a first-line procedure for exploring the small bowel in cases of obscure digestive bleeding and is also indicated in some patients with Crohns disease, celiac disease, and polyposis syndrome. A video capsule has also been designed for visualizing the esophagus in order to detect Barretts esophagus or esophageal varices. Different capsules are now available and differ with regard to dimensions, image acquisition rate, battery life, field of view, and possible optical enhancements. More recently, the use of VCE has been extended to exploring the colon. Within the last 5 years, tremendous developments have been made toward increasing the capabilities of the colon capsule. Although colon capsule cannot be proposed as a first-line colorectal cancer screening procedure, colon capsule may be used in patients with incomplete colonoscopy or in patients who are unwilling to undergo colonoscopy. In the near future, new technological developments will improve the diagnostic yield of VCE and broaden its therapeutic capabilities.

Management of acute variceal bleeding using hemostatic powder

Background and objectives This study aimed to test the safety and efficacy of Hemospray® for emergency control of acute variceal bleeding (AVB) due to portal hypertension in cirrhotic patients. Patients and methods This single-arm, prospective trial, conducted at two hospitals in Belgium and Egypt, included patients admitted to the emergency room with hematemesis and/or melena and known or suspected liver cirrhosis. All patients received urgent hemodynamic stabilization, octreotide (50 mcg bolus then 25 mcg/hour for 24 hours) and intravenous ceftriaxone (1 g/hour). Endoscopy to confirm AVB and Hemospray® application (if indicated) was performed within six hours of admission. Patients were kept under observation for 24 hours and underwent second endoscopy and definitive therapy (band ligation and/or cyanoacrylate injection in cases of gastric varices) the next day. Results Thirty-eight patients were admitted for suspected AVB, and 30 of these had confirmed AVB (70% male; mean age 59.5 years (range, 32.0–73 years)). Child-Pugh class C liver disease was present in 53.4%. Esophageal varices were observed in 83.4% of patients, gastric varices in 10%, and duodenal varices in 6.6%. Spurting bleeding at the time of endoscopy was observed in 43.4%. One patient developed hematemesis six hours after Hemospray® application and underwent emergency endoscopic band ligation. No major adverse events or mortalities were observed during 15-day follow-up. Conclusion Hemospray® application was safe and effective at short-term follow-up for emergency treatment of AVB in cirrhotic patients.

How good is fine needle aspiration? What results should you expect?

Tissue acquisition plays a key role before treatment decision in most of oncological pathologies but also in several benign diseases. By offering tissue sampling, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has become an essential tool in the diagnostic processes. One of the reasons for the success of the technique is related to its excellent diagnostic performance. The diagnostic accuracy of EUS-FNA is above 80% for most of the usual indications. These performances are however dependent on some factors related to both the disease and patients medical history but also related to medical staff expertise. Endoscopist needs to know how to reach a lesion but also how to efficiently acquire good tissue samples. This review aims to report general recommendations available in the literature for high quality EUS-FNA. Sample processing and sample interpretation also influence diagnostic accuracy of FNA. This paper includes a discussion on sample processing and benefits of the on-site pathology examination. It also provides the results reported in the literature of sample adequacy and diagnostic performance of EUS-FNA for most common indications: Pancreatic diseases, sub-mucosal lesion, mucosal thickenings, lymph nodes, cystic lesion and free fluids.

Novel Imaging Enhancements in Capsule Endoscopy

Video capsule endoscopy that was launched 10 years ago has become a first-line procedure for examining the small bowel. The most common indications for capsule endoscopy are obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, Crohns disease, polyposis syndromes, and evaluation of patients with complicated celiac disease. The ideal capsule should improve the quality of the image and have a faster frame rate than the currently available one. There should be a therapeutic capsule capable of performing a biopsy, aspirating fluid, delivering drugs, and measuring the motility of the small bowel wall. Another major leap forward would be the capability of remote control of capsules movement in order to navigate it to reach designated anatomical areas for carrying out a variety of therapeutic options. Technology for improving the capability of the future generation capsules almost within grasp and it would not be surprising to witness the realization of these giant steps within the coming decade. In this review we will focus on the current clinical applications of capsule endoscopy for imaging of the small bowel and colon and will additionally give an outlook on future concepts and developments of capsule endoscopy.

Transluminal or Percutaneous Endoscopic Drainage and Debridement of Abscesses After Bariatric Surgery: a Case Series

Background and AimsSince redo surgery is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality after bariatric surgery in case of leakage, we sought to evaluate whether endoscopic drainage and debridement of collections following bariatric surgery is an efficient step-up approach to the management of these complications.MethodsFrom 2007 to 2011, we retrospectively studied our cohort of nine cases treated by endoscopic drainage and debridement of abdominal abscesses secondary to postbariatric surgery leaks performed via the transluminal or percutaneous route.ResultsThree patients were treated by percutaneous endoscopic debridement of abscesses knowing that their leak was already closed by other endoscopic means and that their collection did not improve despite external drain in place. Six patients were treated by transluminal endoscopic drainage to perform necrosectomy as a first-line option or after failure of improvement after endoscopic treatment. The number of sessions required ranged from 1 to 3. Most severe patients had rapid improvement of their hemodynamic and respiratory conditions. In eight of the nine patients, we were able to close the fistula by stent, fistula plugs, or a macroclip. Resolution of collections was seen in seven out of nine patients, but two required further surgery.ConclusionsEndoscopic necrosectomy via the transluminal or percutaneous route is a feasible option in postbariatric surgery patients with necrotic abscesses not adequately managed by the classical combination of percutaneous drainage and stenting. Further wide-scale studies are needed to compare this non-surgical method with surgical necrosectomy in postbariatric surgery patients.

Early application of haemostatic powder added to standard management for oesophagogastric variceal bleeding: a randomised trial

Background Acute variceal bleeding (AVB) requires early therapeutic management by experienced endoscopists that often poses logistical challenges for hospitals. We assessed a different management concept with early application of haemostatic powder—which does not require high endoscopic expertise—added to conventional management in a randomised trial. Methods Cirrhotic patients with AVB received standard medical therapy and were randomised to either immediate endoscopy with haemostatic powder application within 2 hours of admission, followed by early elective endoscopy on the next day, that is, within 12–24 hours of admission for definitive treatment (study group) or to early elective endoscopy only (control group). In both groups, failures to achieve clinical haemostasis until the time of early elective endoscopy underwent rescue endoscopy with attempted conventional haemostasis. Primary outcome was endoscopic haemostasis at the elective endoscopy. Results Of 86 randomised patients with AVB, 5/43 in the study group required rescue endoscopy for failure of controlling spurting bleeding (n=4) after powder application or for early bleeding recurrence in one patient who died before repeating rescue endoscopy. In the control group, 13/43 patients required rescue endoscopic haemostasis for failure of clinical haemostasis (12%vs30%, p=0.034). In the remaining patients, early elective endoscopic haemostasis was achieved in all 38 patients in the study group, while all remaining 30 patients in the control group had fresh gastric blood or (10%) spurting bleeding at early elective endoscopy with successful haemostasis in all of them. Six-week survival was significantly improved in the study group (7%vs30%, p=0.006). Conclusion The new concept of immediate powder application improves early clinical and endoscopic haemostasis. This simplified endoscopic approach may have an impact on early and 6-week survival. Trial registration number NCT03061604.

New Developments in Managing Variceal Bleeding

Liver cirrhosis is the end stage of chronic liver disease, independent of etiology, and is characterized by accumulation of fibrotic tissue and conversion of the normal liver parenchyma into abnormal regenerative nodules. Complications include portal hypertension (PH) with gastroesophageal varices, ascites, hepatorenal syndrome, hepatic encephalopathy, bacteremia, and hypersplenism. The most life-threatening complication of liver cirrhosis is acute variceal bleeding (AVB) which is associated with increased mortality that, despite recent progress in management, is still around 20% at 6 weeks. Combined treatment with vasoactive drugs, prophylactic antibiotics, and endoscopic techniques is the recommended standard of care for patients with acute variceal bleeding. There are many promising new modalities including the combination of coil and glue injection for management of bleeding or non-bleeding gastric varices and hemostatic powder application, that requires minimal expertise, when performed early after admission of a cirrhotic patient with AVB and overt hematemesis acting as a bridge therapy till definitive endoscopic therapy can be performed in hemodynamically stable conditions and without acute bleeding.