Yusuke Sekino

Factors predicting the presence of small bowel lesions in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding

To identify the predictive factors for the presence of small bowel lesions in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB).

An Epidemiologic Survey of Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction and Evaluation of the Newly Proposed Diagnostic Criteria

Background and Aims: Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is an intractable disease in which clinical symptoms of intestinal obstruction appear without mechanical cause. No clear diagnostic criteria have been established; therefore, we proposed diagnostic criteria to facilitate the diagnosis of this rare disease and aim to evaluate their usefulness and validity. Materials andMethods: A questionnaire was sent to 378 institutions belonging to the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology between December 2009 and February 2010. We summarized the returned data and performed a statistical analysis. Results: A total of 160 cases were included, and 141 cases (88.1%) fulfilled the criterion of disease duration of >6 months, 157 cases (98.1%) the criterion of the clinical symptoms of abdominal pain and/or bloating and 154 cases (96.2%) fulfilled the criterion of imaging findings. Eventually, 138 cases (86.3%) fulfilled all criteria. Conclusions: The proposed diagnostic criteria were useful, with a high sensitivity of 86.3% for Japanese patients. Improved recognition of CIPO and practical use of the criteria are desired. The criteria should be appropriately modified by additional researchers to make them more practical and internationally applicable.

Optimal Approach for Small Bowel Capsule Endoscopy Using Polyethylene Glycol and Metoclopramide with the Assistance of a Real-Time Viewer

Aim: Capsule endoscopy is limited by the poor image quality of the distal bowel and incomplete small bowel transit. The aim of this study was to establish an optimal medication protocol for capsule endoscopy performed using a real-time viewer. Methods: A total of 80 patients were prospectively recruited. The patients were randomized into two groups: the ‘conventional group’ (without any preparation) and the ‘real-time group’ (in which a real-time viewer was attached). At 60 min after swallowing the capsule, if the capsule hadreached the small bowel, 500 ml of polyethylene glycol was administered; if the capsule was still located in the stomach, 10 mg of metoclopramide was given intramuscularly, followed by 500 ml of polyethylene glycol solution. Results: The completion rate was significantly higher in the real-time group as compared with that in the conventional group (72.5 vs. 90.0%). Our protocol yielded a significantly improved image quality of the distal small bowel [image quality score = 1.6 vs. 3.0 (max 4.0)]. The detection rate of lesions in the distal small bowel was higher in the real-time group than in the conventional group. Conclusions: The present study clearly showed that our protocol yielded an improved completion rate and also improved image quality.

aPKCλ/ι is a beneficial prognostic marker for pancreatic neoplasms

Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease. Overall survival is typically 6 months from diagnosis. Determination of prognostic factors in pancreatic cancer that would allow identification of patients who could potentially benefit from aggressive treatment is important. However, until date, there are no established reliable prognostic factors for pancreatic cancer patients. Herein, we propose a beneficial biomarker which is significantly correlated with the prognosis in pancreatic cancer patients. Atypical protein kinase C λ/ι (aPKCλ/ι) is overexpressed and has been implicated in the progression of several cancers. We tested the expression levels of aPKCλ/ι in two types of pancreatic neoplasm, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs), by immunohistochemistry. Examination of the aPKCλ/ι expression levels in surgically resected specimens of PDCA (n = 115) demonstrated that the expression levels of aPKCλ/ιin PDAC had prognostic implications, independent of the Tumor-Node-Metastasis classification and World Health Organization tumor grade. In the case of IPMNs (n = 46) also, the expression levels of aPKCλ/ιin IPMN were found to be of prognostic importance, independent of the World Health Organization histological grade or morphological type. Interestingly, high expression levels of aPKCλ/ι were significantly correlated with a worse histological grade (p = 0.010) and advanced stage of the tumor (p = 0.0050) in IPMN patients. These findings suggest that high expression levels of aPKCλ/ι could be involved in the malignant transformation of IPMNs. Based on these observations, we propose the expression level of aPKCλ/ι as a prognostic marker common to different types of pancreatic neoplasms.

Comparison of intragastric balloon therapy and intensive lifestyle modification therapy with respect to weight reduction and abdominal fat distribution in super-obese Japanese patients

This study compared the impacts of intragastric balloon (IGB) therapy and intensive lifestyle modification therapy on abdominal fat distribution. Sixteen extremely obese Japanese patients were assigned to an intensive lifestyle modification therapy group with educational hospitalisation (8 patients) or an IGB therapy group (8 patients) and were followed up for 6 months. The main outcome measures were the differences at 6 months, relative to the baseline values, in the visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area (SFA), and liver volume as measured using computed tomography. At 0 month, the body weights (BWs) were 121.3±19.0 kg and 127.1±24.4 kg and the VFAs were 299±55 cm2 and 257±56 cm2 in the intensive lifestyle modification therapy group and the IGB therapy group, respectively. No statistically significant differences in the baseline characteristics were observed between these two groups. At 6 months, no difference in the changes in BW from the baseline value (-11.5 [-16.4, -6.6] kg vs. -11.2 [-18.9, -3.4] kg) was seen between the two groups. However, a statistically significant difference in the change in the VFA (-66 [-87, -44] cm2 vs. -22 [-70, 26]cm(2) [P=0.027]) was observed; no significant changes in the SFA or liver volume were seen. In conclusion, IGB therapy was as effective as intensive lifestyle modification therapy for weight reduction but was less effective with respect to the improvement in abdominal visceral fat accumulation and liver steatosis in super-obese Japanese patients.

Effects of Histamine-2 Receptor Antagonists and Proton Pump Inhibitors on the Rate of Gastric Emptying: A Crossover Study Using a Continuous Real-Time C Breath Test (BreathID System).

Background/Aims The effects of Histamine-2 receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors on the gastrointestinal motility have not yet been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of intravenous bolus administration of famotidine and omeprazole on the rate of gastric emptying using the continuous 13C breath test (BreathID system, Exalenz Bioscience Ltd, Israel). Methods Twelve healthy male volunteers participated in this randomized, 3-way crossover study. After fasting overnight, the subjects were randomly assigned to receive 20 mg of famotidine, 20 mg of omeprazole or 20 mL of saline alone by intravenous bolus injection before a test meal (200 kcal per 200 mL, containing 100 mg of 13C-acetate). Gastric emptying was monitored for 4 hours after the ingestion of test meal by the 13C-acetic acid breath test performed using the BreathID system. Results No significant differences in the calculated parameters, namely, the T1/2, Tlag, GEC, β and κ, were observed among the 3 test conditions. Conclusions The study revealed that intravenous administration of gastric acid suppressant drugs had no significant influence on the rate of gastric emptying in comparison with that of saline alone as a placebo. Our results indicating the absence of any effect of either famotidine or omeprazole on accelerating the rate of gastric emptying suggest that both medications can be administered safely to patients suffering from hemorrhagic peptic ulcers who need to be kept nil by mouth from the viewpoint of possible acceleration of gastrointestinal motility in the clinical setting.

Comparative Study of 2 Different Questionnaires in Japanese Patients: The Quality of Life and Utility Evaluation Survey Technology Questionnaire (QUEST) Versus the Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire (FSSG)

Background/Aims The aim of this study was to examine the convenience of the quality of life and utility evaluation survey technology (QUEST) questionnaire and the frequency scale for the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (FSSG) questionnaire as self-assessment diagnostic instrument. Methods This was a two-way crossover study conducted over 6 weeks from September 2010 to November 2010. The subjects were 60 consecutive patients admitted to the Hiratsuka city hospital with a gastrointestinal condition, regardless of the coexistence of heartburn. They were assigned to fill in both the QUEST and FSSG questionnaires in random order. We analyzed the time taken to complete the questionnaires, whether subjects asked any questions as they filled in the questionnaire, and the questionnaire scores. Results Comparison of the QUEST and the FSSG revealed significant differences in the completion time (196.5 vs. 97.5 seconds, respectively; P < 0.0001) and in whether subjects asked any questions (37 vs. 15 subjects, respectively; P < 0.0001). Completion time in QUEST scores of ≥ 4 was lower than < 4 (170.5 vs. 214.0 seconds, respectively; P = 0.022), and the QUEST score was significantly higher without questions than with question (3 vs. 1 points, respectively; P = 0.025). Conclusions This study revealed that the FSSG questionnaire may be easier for Japanese subjects to complete than the QUEST questionnaire.

Characteristics of the Small Bowel Lesions Detected by Capsule Endoscopy in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) is one of the common complications in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially those who are on maintenance hemodialysis (HD). However, little is known about the characteristics of the small-bowel lesions in these patients, or of the factors that could predict the presence of such lesions. Therefore we enrolled a total of 42 CKD patients (including 19 HD patients and 23 non-HD patients), and compared the incidence of the small-bowel lesions among two groups. Furthermore, to identify predictive factors for the presence of small-bowel lesions, we performed multivariate logistic-regression-analyses. The incidence of small-bowel vascular lesions was significantly higher in CKD patients than in age-and-sex matched non-CKD patients (P < 0.001). On the other hand, there was any significant difference of the incidence of small-bowel lesions between HD and non-HD patients. In CKD patients, past history of blood transfusion (OR 5.66; 95% CI 1.10–29.1, P = 0.04) was identified as an independent predictor of the presence of vascular lesions, and history of low-dose aspirin use (OR 6.00; 95% CI 1.13–31.9, P = 0.04) was identified as that of erosive/ulcerated lesions. This indicated that proactive CE examination would be clinically meaningful for these patients.

Clinical associations and risk factors for bleeding from colonic angiectasia: a case-controlled study.

Aim  A case‐controlled study was performed to investigate the association of colonic angiectasia with other conditions and to identify risk factors for bleeding.

Autoimmune pancreatitis associated with pancreatic cyst: how can we manage it?

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) with cyst formation (ACF) is often refractory to corticosteroid treatment (CST).