Tomosuke Hirasawa

Assessment of Atrophic Gastritis Using the OLGA System

Background:  An international group of gastroenterologists and pathologists (Operative Link for Gastritis Assessment (OLGA)) proposed the staging system of atrophy. The aim of this study was to assess the severity of atrophic gastritis using the OLGA system.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection of esophageal lymphangioma: a case report with a review of the literature

Esophageal lymphangioma is a very rare disease. We report a case of esophageal lymphangioma successfully treated with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), which yielded definitive histological diagnosis and symptom relief. ESD offers a better option for definitive diagnosis as well as complete resection of large esophageal lymphangiomas with flat configuration.

Diagnosis of gastric antral vascular ectasia by transnasal flexible spectral imaging color enhancement

The endoscopic appearance of gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) can be easily misinterpreted as inflammatory changes of gastric mucosa. We report on a case of GAVE that had been missed by conventional transnasal endoscopy but was diagnosed by flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) with a transnasal endoscope. A 45-year-old woman with severe anemia presented with a 1-month history of increasing fatigue. She was previously diagnosed as having acute antral gastritis by conventional transnasal endoscopy (EG 530N2) because of the presence of reddish mucosal changes on the entire antral rugal fold. However, the FICE images produced using a combination of new processor system (VP4450) and new small-caliber endoscope (EG 530NW), did not show reddish mucosal changes on the entire rugal fold, but gave a clear image of dilated vessels associated with GAVE distinct from the surrounding normal mucosa on the same fold. These findings are useful to differentiate GAVE from ordinary gastritis. The lesions of GAVE were managed with a combination of focal pulse and spray-painting techniques to obliterate the bulk of the disease in two sessions of argon plasma coagulation therapy. Three months later, the patient recovered from iron deficiency anemia with an oral medication of iron tablets.

Risk factors for nasal bleeding in patients undergoing transnasal gastrointestinal endoscopy

Transnasal endoscopy is widely used in screening for upper gastrointestinal lesions because of less associated pain. Nasal bleeding is the most severe adverse effect, but specific risk factors have not been identified. The aim of this study is to identify risk factors for nasal bleeding during transnasal endoscopy. Nasal bleeding occurred in 160/3035 (5.3%) of patients undergoing transnasal endoscopy as part of health checkups. Patient data were retrospectively evaluated including anthropometric, medical, and life‐style parameters with multiple logistic regression analysis. Multiple logistic regression revealed that nasal bleeding was significantly associated with age in decades [odds ratio/10 years 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63–0.97, p = 0.027], female gender (2.15, 95% CI 1.48–3.12, p < 0.001), a history of previous upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (0.55, 95% CI 0.36–0.82, p = 0.004), and chronic/allergic rhinitis (0.60, 95% CI 0.36–0.98, p = 0.043). Other factors including the use of antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant drugs were not significantly associated with nasal bleeding. Female and young patients are significantly associated with an increased risk of bleeding from transnasal endoscopy, but antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant medications and a history of chronic/allergic rhinitis may not be associated.

7223 Peripheral venous endotoxin levels in patients with esophageal varices during the course of a new form of endoscopic variceal ligation.

Purpose: This study mainly investigated the following: (1) comparison of peripheral venous endotoxin levels in cirrhotic patients with varices before modified endoscopic esophageal variceal ligation (EVL) (“intensive ligation” method: a radical obliterative approach to the treatment of esophageal varices); (2) whether modified EVL affected peripheral venous endotoxin levels in these patients during the course of this therapy. Methods: Twenty patients were treated with modified EVL. The endotoxin level was detected using a new modification of a chromogenic substrate assay (Endospec-SP test) before and after EVL therapy. The normal range of endotoxin was considered 3.0 pg/dl or less. Students t test was used. The level of significance was p