Sook Hee Chung

Impact of tumor location on clinical outcomes of gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection

AIM To determine whether there is a correlation between the location of the lesion and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) outcome. METHODS From January 2008 to December 2010, ESD of 1443 gastric tumors was performed. En bloc resection rate, complete resection rate, procedure time and complication rate were analyzed according to the tumor location. RESULTS The rates of en bloc resection and complete resection were 91% (1318/1443) and 89% (1287/1443), respectively. The post-ESD bleeding rate was 4.3%, and perforation rate was 2.7%. Tumors located in the upper third of the stomach were associated with a longer procedure time and significantly higher rates of incomplete resection, piecemeal resection, and perforation than tumors below the upper third of the stomach. Posterior wall lesions had significantly longer procedure times and higher rates of incomplete resection and piecemeal resection than lesions in other locations. In multivariate analysis, posterior wall lesions and upper third lesions were significantly associated with incomplete resection and perforation, respectively. In post-ESD bleeding analysis, location was not a significant related factor. CONCLUSION More advanced endoscopic techniques are required during ESD for lesions located in the upper third or posterior wall of the stomach to decrease complications and improve therapeutic outcomes.

Usefulness of measuring serum procalcitonin levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Background/Aims The relationships between serum procalcitonin, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and intestinal Behçet’s disease (BD) have not been completely determined. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of measuring serum procalcitonin levels to assess disease activity and infection stage in patients with IBD and intestinal BD. Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 129 patients with IBD and intestinal BD for whom serum procalcitonin and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured between January 2006 and February 2013. Results The median serum procalcitonin levels in the IBD and intestinal BD with septic shock or sepsis (n=8), with localized infection (n=76), and without infection (n=45) were 3.46 ng/mL (range, 0.17 to 63.66 ng/mL), 0.22 ng/mL (range, 0.05 to 140.18 ng/mL), and 0.07 ng/mL (range, 0.00 to 31.50 ng/mL), respectively (p=0.001). The serum CRP levels in the IBD and intestinal BD patients did not differ according to the infection stage. Variations in serum procalcitonin levels were not observed in the IBD and intestinal BD patients with different disease activities. Conclusions Serum procalcitonin levels may not be affected by IBD and intestinal BD activity itself, although they may be affected by concomitant infection. Serum procalcitonin measurements could be more useful than CRP in determining the infection stage that reflects the severity of infection in IBD and intestinal BD patients.

Similar clinical characteristics of familial and sporadic inflammatory bowel disease in South Korea.

AIM To investigate differences of clinical characteristics and disease courses between familial and sporadic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. METHODS We obtained clinical data on Crohns disease (CD) (n = 691) and ulcerative colitis (n = 1113) from a tertiary referral medical center between 2005 and 2012. Seventeen patients (2.5%) with CD and 27 patients (2.4%) with ulcerative colitis (UC) were identified as having a familial history of IBD, including the first and second degree relatives. For each control case, three times the number of age-, sex-, and diagnosis year-matched CD and UC patients, without a family history of IBD, were randomly selected in this case control study. RESULTS There were no significant differences in age or main symptom at diagnosis, extraintestinal manifestation, location/extent, behavior of disease activity, number of hospitalizations, number of operations, operation type, number of relapses, or oral medical treatment between familial and sporadic CD and UC patients. Median (min-max) follow-up periods after diagnosis of familial CD and sporadic CD patients were 84 (24-312) and 36 (8-240) mo, respectively (P = 0.008). Familial CD patients more frequently used anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antibodies compared to sporadic CD patients (17.6% vs 0%, P = 0.014). CONCLUSION In conclusion, a family history of IBD does not seem to be an important predictive factor affecting clinical characteristics or disease course even if there is a more frequent use of anti-TNF antibodies in familial CD patients compared to sporadic CD patients.

Vaccination and Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background/Aims Vaccinations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are recommended to prevent infectious diseases. However, there are few reports of vaccination in IBD patients in Korea. The frequency of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is high despite its uncertain effectiveness. This study aimed to identify the rates of vaccination and use of CAM in patients with IBD. Methods A total of 219 patients attended an education session for IBD patients held at Severance Hospital on March 23, 2013. We conducted a survey on vaccination and CAM use in IBD patients; 120 patients completed the questionnaire. Results The influenza vaccination rate was 44.2% and pneumococcal vaccination rate was 4.2%. Thirty-one (66%) patients were aware of the importance of vaccination. The vaccination rate was higher in patients who were aware of the importance of vaccination compared with that in patients who were unaware of the importance of vaccination (70.1% vs. 41.7%, P=0.004). The rate of CAM use was 30.0%. The most commonly used CAMs were oral products: vitamins (33.3%), red ginseng (25.0%), and probiotics (19.4%). Conclusions Awareness of the importance of vaccination and actual vaccination rates were low in IBD patients. Despite insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of CAMs in IBD patients, many patients used CAMs. We believe that repeated education and promotion of vaccination are important. Further large-scale studies to investigate the efficacy and safety of CAMs are warranted in patients with IBD.

Intestinal Behcet's disease appearing during treatment with adalimumab in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis.

Behçets disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting multiple organ systems, such as the skin, joints, blood vessels, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract. Intestinal BD is characterized by intestinal ulcerations and gastrointestinal symptoms. The medical treatment of intestinal BD includes corticosteroids and immunosupressants. There have been several reports of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) blockers being successful in treatment of refractory intestinal BD. Here, we report on a patient who was diagnosed with intestinal BD despite treatment with the fully humanized TNF-α blocker (adalimumab) for underlying ankylosing spondylitis. This patient achieved clinical remission and complete mucosal healing through the addition of a steroid and azathioprine to the adalimumab regimen.

Comparison of double pants with single pants on satisfaction with colonoscopy

AIM To increase satisfaction and diminish anxiety and shame during colonoscopy, we developed novel double pants (NDP) which consist of doubled fabrics with an inner hole. The aim of study was to compare satisfaction, anxiety and shame between NDP and conventional single pants (CSP). METHODS Total 160 consecutive examinees were randomly divided into NDP and CSP group. Before colonoscopy, questionnaires identifying state and trait anxiety were completed. After colonoscopy, questionnaires for overall satisfaction (Group Health Association of America 9) and pants-specific satisfaction (5-20), state anxiety (20-80), and shame (6-24) were interviewed. RESULTS Pants-specific satisfaction scores regarding willingness to repeat colonoscopy using same pants (3.3 ± 0.8 vs 2.1 ± 0.9, P < 0.001) and recommendation of same pants to other people (3.3 ± 0.7 vs 2.0 ± 1.0, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in NDP than CSP groups. State anxiety (33.0 ± 7.0 vs 35.4 ± 6.9, P = 0.028) and shame (6.6 ± 1.5 vs 8.1 ± 3.2, P = 0.001) after colonoscopy was lower in NDP group compared with CSP group. CONCLUSION The NDP contribute to increase satisfaction and decrease anxiety and shame after colonoscopy.

Factors Predictive of High-Risk Adenomas at the Third Colonoscopy after Initial Adenoma Removal

Evaluating predictive factors for high-risk adenomas at the third colonoscopy based on two prior colonoscopies may help evaluate high-risk adenoma at the third colonoscopy. We analyzed clinical data of 131 patients at Severance Hospital from January 1997 to January 2011. All of them underwent two subsequent colonoscopies after removal of adenomas during an initial colonoscopy. Among 20 patients with high-risk adenoma at the first and second colonoscopies, 10 (50%) patients had high-risk adenoma at the third colonoscopy. Among the 67 patients who had high-risk adenoma only once at the first or second colonoscopy, 15 (22.4%) patients had high-risk adenoma at the third colonoscopy but among the 44 patients without high-risk adenoma at the first and second colonoscopies, only 1 (2.3%) patient had high-risk adenoma at the third colonoscopy (P < 0.001). A multivariate time dependent covariate Cox regression analysis confirmed that high-risk adenoma at the first and/or second colonoscopy (HR, 9.56; 95% CI, 2.37-38.54; P = 0.002) was independent predictor of high-risk adenoma at the third colonoscopy. Given these findings, data from two prior colonoscopies, not one prior examination, may help identify high-risk populations at the third colonoscopy who require careful colonoscopic surveillance.

HLA-C∗01 is a risk factor for Crohn's disease

Background:A dysregulated mucosal immune response to the intestinal environment in a genetically susceptible host is hypothesized to be critical to the pathogenesis of Crohns disease (CD). Therefore, we examined CD-susceptibility genes involved in the immune response through a genome-wide association study and consecutive genotyping of human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors. Methods:An initial genome-wide association study was performed with 275 CD patients and 2369 controls from a Korean population. To validate the loci identified in the genome-wide association study, replication genotyping was performed in a different cohort of 242 CD patients and 1066 controls. Finally, high-resolution genotyping of HLA and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor was performed. Results:Four susceptibility loci, a promoter region in tumor necrosis factor (ligand) superfamily member (TNFSF15) and 3 independent regions in HLAs, showed significant associations with CD. Among them, rs114985235 in the intergenic region between HLA-B and HLA-C showed the strongest association, with an increased risk of CD (P = 8.71 × 10−23; odds ratio, 2.25). HLA typing in this region showed HLA-C*01 to be responsible for the association of CD among 43 HLA-B and HLA-C genotypes identified in the Korean population. However, the interaction of HLA-C with killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor had little effect on the development of CD. Conclusions:We newly identified HLA-C*01 as a prominent CD-susceptibility HLA allotype in the Korean population. In addition, these results confirm that genetic variations in immune response genes, such as HLAs and TNFSF15, are important host factors for the pathogenesis of CD.