Sang Heon Cho

Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori in South Korea

Background:u2002 Helicobacter pylori‐associated gastrointestinal diseases have been widely recognized. The aims of this study were to investigate the interval change of seropositivity of H. pylori between 1998 and 2005 in Korean adult population and to find the factors related to H. pylori infection.

Differentiating Small Polyp Histologies Using Real-Time Screening Colonoscopy With Fuji Intelligent Color Enhancement

BACKGROUND & AIMSnThere are limited data describing the performance of Fuji Intelligent Color Enhancement (FICE, EC 590 ZW; Fujinon Inc, Saitama, Japan) for differentiating polyp histologies during screening colonoscopy. We evaluated the ability of an endoscopist to diagnose small polyp histology during a screening colonoscopy using FICE.nnnMETHODSnA prospective study was performed on 763 consecutive, asymptomatic subjects who were undergoing screening colonoscopy. Pit patterns and vascular patterns were used to predict the histology of 525 polyps (mean size, 4.5 ± 2.2 mm, 315 adenomas) of less than 10 mm using FICE with high magnification and without. The performances of the FICE analyses were calculated and compared with the results from the histopathology.nnnRESULTSnThe overall accuracy achieved by FICE with high magnification in the diagnosis of adenomas of less than 10 mm (87.0%) was significantly greater than that achieved without high magnification (80.4%; P < .05). Moreover, the improvement of accuracy attained when using high-magnification FICE was most pronounced and significant compared without using high-magnification FICE in the diagnosis for diminutive polyps (≤5 mm; 85.4% vs 79.1%; P < .05). Among all types of adenomas, the sensitivity of FICE was lowest for sessile serrated adenomas (38.5% vs 89.4%; P < .01), even when FICE was used with high magnification.nnnCONCLUSIONSnFICE with high magnification is better for differentiating the histology of small polyps during screening colonoscopy than FICE without high magnification, especially for diminutive polyps. Large-scale studies are needed to improve the identification of serrated adenomas and small diminutive polyps using FICE.

Is Metabolic Syndrome One of the Risk Factors for Gallbladder Polyps Found by Ultrasonography during Health Screening

BACKGROUND/AIMSnWe conducted this study to identify the risk factors for finding gallbladder polyps (GBP) in Korean subjects during health screening, and to determine the nature of the association between the presence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and the development of GBP METHODS: A total of 1,523 subjects were enrolled, comprising 264 with GBP (81 women and 183 men) and 1,259 controls (696 women and 563 men with normal GB). Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), insulin, fasting blood sugar (FBS), lipids, liver enzymes, hepatitis B antigens (HBs Ag), and hepatitis C antibodies (HCV Ab) were measured. MS was considered to be present when three or more of the NCEP-ATPIII (National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III) criteria were satisfied. Insulin resistance was calculated by homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Independent risk factors were analyzed by logistic regression analysis.nnnRESULTSnUnivariate analysis revealed that the risk factors for GBP were age, sex, WC, smoking history, BP, BMI, FBS, serum lipids, HOMA-IR score, and MS. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk factors for GBP were presence of MS (Odds Ratio (OR)=2.35, 95%Confidence Interval (CI)=1.53-3.60), being male (OR=2.34, 95%CI=1.72-3.18), HOMA-IR score>2.5 (OR=1.64, 95%CI=1.19-2.26), and higher WC (OR=1.4, 95%CI=1.05-1.88). MS was present in 20.8% and 5.9% of GBP patients and controls, respectively, and was the highest risk factor for GBP.nnnCONCLUSIONSnMS, male, insulin resistance, and abdominal obesity are probably risk factors for GBP, with MS appearing to be strongly associated with GBP in Koreans.