双气囊小肠镜在不完全性小肠梗阻中的诊疗作用

目的:评价双气囊小肠镜(DBE)在诊断和治疗小肠不全性梗阻中的临床应用价值.方法:2004-04/2011-09,对107例不完全性小肠梗阻患者进行了DBE检查,并选择部分患者进行DBE镜下治疗.结果:107例不完全性肠梗阻患者共接受DBE检查189例次(经口检查122例,经肛门检查67例,其中双侧对接检查45例).共有98例明确了梗阻原因,诊断率为91.6%(98/107).对其中64例患者(56例为发现小肠巨大息肉的Peutz-Jeghers综合征患者,8例为良性小肠狭窄患者)共进行了175例次镜下治疗:包括小肠息肉切除167例次,扩张治疗8例次.50例患者(78.1%,息肉切除45例,扩张治疗5例)经内镜治疗后肠梗阻症状消失或缓解.189例次DBE检查或治疗过程中出现3例小肠穿孔,2例引起血色素下降的消化系出血,严重并发症发生率2.7%(5/189).结论:DBE对不完全性小肠梗阻患者具有较高的诊断率,并能对部分患者提供镜下治疗,避免了不必要的外科手术,在不完全小肠梗阻的诊断和治疗中具有重要临床应用价值.     

Double balloon enteroscopy: A 7-year experience at a tertiary care Centre

BackgroundDouble Balloon Enteroscopy (DBE) provides the opportunity not only to investigate but also apply endoscopic therapeutic interventions for small intestinal disturbances. The aim of this study is to assess the indications, diagnosis, therapeutic interventions, complications and safety in clinical practise of DBE procedures that have been performed in our clinic.Material-methodsThe data of patients who had undergone DBE procedure in our clinic between October 2007 and December 2014 were retrospectively investigated. All features including indications, findings, histopathological results, applied interventions and complications due to procedure were noted.ResultsA total of 297 patients, 160 (53,9%) male and 137 (46,1%) female were enrolled in the study. Total number of procedures for these 297 patients were 372 [256 (68,8%) oral and 116 (31,2%) anal]. Mean age of the patients was 46,9 (14–94) years. The most common indications were; obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding (28,3%), iron deficiency anaemia (17,5% ) and abnormal findings in a prior imaging study (13,8%), respectively. The rate of new diagnosis with DBE was 11.8%, where the rate for confirmation of a possible diagnosis was 16.2%, rate of endoscopic treatment with definite diagnosis was 11%, rate for ruling out possible diagnosis or showing normal findings was 34.7% and rate for insufficient or unsuccessful procedures was 26.3%. Ulcers, inflammation and erosions (13%), polyposis syndromes (9.8%) and vascular pathologies (7.4%) were the most common endoscopic findings.ConclusionOur study shows that DBE has high efficacy for diagnosis and ability to perform treatment of small intestinal disturbances with safety.     

推进式双气囊电子小肠镜在小肠疾病诊断中的评估

目的 评价推进式双气囊电子小肠镜(double-balloon push enteroscopy，DBE)在小肠疾病诊断中的价值。方法 总结22例疑小肠疾病DBE检查的临床资料，上述患者均经胃镜、肠镜、X线钡餐、小肠钡剂灌肠和血管造影等检查未发现异常。结果 22例共行DBE检查26例次(15例次接受了口侧进镜，11例次接受了肛侧进镜)，每侧进镜术程平均80min。DBE检查共发现异常14例，检出率为63．6％。其中不明原因消化道出血10例，DBE检出病变6例；腹痛和(或)呕吐待查7例，DBE检出病变5例；慢性腹泻待查4例，DBE检出病变2例；不明原因不完全性肠梗阻1例，DBE检出病变1例。口侧进镜患者，术中多数出现恶心、消化液自口经外套管口溢出，偶尔出现一过性轻微腹痛；肛侧进镜患者无明显不适及反应，未出现出血、穿孔等并发症。结论 DBE作为一种新型小肠疾病检查手段，明显优于传统的检查方法，可重复直视操作下观察病灶，通过活检对病变进行定性检查，具有安全、可控性、直视和图像清晰等优点，在诊断小肠疾病方面更具有优越性。     

Examining the whole bowel,double balloon enteroscopy: Indications,diagnostic yield and complications

Double balloon enteroscopy(DBE) is an advanced type of endoscopic procedure which brings the advantage of reaching the whole small bowel using anterograde or the retrograde route. This procedure is both diagnostic and interventional for a variety of small intestinal diseases, such as vascular lesions, tumors, polyps and involvement of inflammatory bowel diseases.Main indication is the diagnosis and treatment of mid-gastrointestinal bleeding according to the recent published data all over the world. The complication rates seem to be higher than conventional procedures but growing experience is lowering them and improving the procedure to be safe and well tolerated. This review is about the technique, indications, diagnostic importance and complications of DBE according to the literature growing since 2001.     

Double‐balloon endoscopy in clinical practice: Where are we now?

Double‐balloon endoscopy (DBE) was developed in 2000 for the diagnosis and treatment of small bowel diseases. Although use rates still differ between Eastern and Western countries, DBE quickly reached a broad global diffusion. Together with capsule endoscopy (CE), DBE represented ‘a revolution’ for the management of small bowel diseases because of its therapeutic capabilities. At present, the main indications for DBE in clinical practice are obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, Crohn's disease and familial polyposis. In the setting of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, DBE seems to have similar diagnostic performances as capsule endoscopy, but it allows for a more definitive diagnosis and the treatment of identified lesions. The main contribution of DBE in the management of Crohn's disease patients is its therapeutic capabilities. Indeed, several recently published studies have suggested that endoscopic dilation of small bowel strictures can delay or, in the near future, could even replace surgical interventions. Also, for patients with familial polyposis syndromes, DBE can represent a viable alternative to small bowel surgery. The complication rate of DBE appears to be low; major complications, such as pancreatitis, bleeding and perforation, have been reported in approximately 1% of all diagnostic DBE whereas the complication rate for therapeutic procedures is about 5%.     

Enteroscopy

Until the end of the 20th century, push enteroscopy (PE) was the most commonly used method for the endoscopic investigation of the small bowel. However, PE has been almost completely replaced by double balloon enteroscopy (DBE). Undoubtedly the major endoscopic breakthrough of the last decade, DBE has contributed to the better diagnosis and understanding of diseases of the small bowel, opening-up this obscure part of the gastrointestinal tract to visualisation. Modern diagnostic and therapeutic DBE allows for a deeper and more thorough evaluation of the small bowel than PE, enabling the detection of more pathological lesions. In addition, DBE has for the first time enabled endoscopists to observe the entire small intestine, and has provided endoscopic interventions such as cauterisation of bleeding lesions, polypectomy, placement of small bowel stents, and foreign-body extraction.     

Push-and-pull enteroscopy using the double-balloon technique/double-balloon enteroscopy

Push-and-Pull enteroscopy/Double balloon enteroscopy (PPE/DBE) allows enteroscopy of the entire small bowel, or at least a substantial part of it. The complication rate is acceptably low. Severe complications such as pancreatitis and perforation were encountered in the literature in approximately 1% of all diagnostic PPE/DBEs. It can be expected that the complication rate of therapeutic PPE/DBEs is higher, comparable with the conventional endoscopy. The diagnostic yield is high, at approximately 75%, as is the therapeutic yield. The option of carrying out endoscopic therapy (in approximately 40%–50% of cases in the Western hemisphere) is an important aspect. Angiodysplasias are the main bleeding source, at least in Western countries. Using the PPE/DBE device, endoscopic treatments such as endoscopic hemostasis using injection and argon plasma coagulation, polypectomy, endoscopic resection, balloon dilation, and foreign-body extraction have become feasible even in the small intestine and can generally be performed safely and without relevant technical problems. Medical therapy can be started in up to 20% of cases—e.g., after a new or changed diagnosis of Crohn's disease. Surgical therapy is required in 10–20% of cases, due to malignant tumors or complex stenoses, for example. The main indication is mid-gastrointestinal bleeding.     

Diagnosis and treatment of small bowel diseases are advanced by capsule endoscopy and double-balloon enteroscopy

In 2001, new endoscopic procedures for the small bowel, capsule endoscopy (CE) and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE), were introduced into regular clinical practice. These methods were significant breakthroughs for imaging examination of the small bowel. The methods have different characteristics with regard to their approach into the target organ; however, common to both is the feature of enabling rapid total observation of the small bowel. CE is the first safe, non-invasive well-tolerated procedure and can be performed in any condition. The examination time is about 8 h and the patient can spend the time freely. CE can demonstrate active bleeding or neoplasm in the small bowel, which other modalities cannot detect. DBE, which was developed by Yamamoto, employs two balloons combined with an overtube and allows deeper insertion into the small bowel, and can be a modality for examination of the entire small bowel with combined oral and anal approaches. This modality enables biopsy specimens to be taken, polyps to be resected and hemostatic procedures to be performed throughout the small bowel. The understanding of small bowel disease is being extended by using CE and DBE for diagnosis. CE is considered to be superior for the first examination of the small bowel and DBE is useful for detailed examination and endoscopic therapy. Further clinical study of unknown small bowel disorders using these two modalities and algorithms for the management of small bowel disorders are required.     

Double balloon enteroscopy: a 3-year experience at a tertiary care center

Background/Aims: To evaluate the indications, diagnostic yield, therapeutic interventions, complications and safety of double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) in clinical practice. Methodology: The medical records of the patients who underwent DBE at the Turkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Hospital between October 2007 and January 2010 were examined to note the demographic data, indications for the examination, results of previous non-invasive small bowel imaging and endoscopic procedures and the results of DBE including findings, endoscopic interventions, complications and pathological reports. Results: A total of 139 procedures were performed in 118 patients. DBE was performed 81 times through mouth and 26 times through anus and additionally both approaches were used 16 times in the same patients. Panenteroscopy was successfully performed in 13 of 16 patients (87.5%) in whom it was attempted. The most common indication was obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (28.8%). DBE had an overall diagnostic and/or therapeutic contribution in 63 (53.4%) patients. The main pathologies detected on DBE were polyps (12.7%), infammation (10.7%) and vascular lesions (3.4%). Complications were recognized in four cases (3.4%) but no major complication occured. Conclusions: Our retrospective analysis showed that DBE is a useful, safe and well-tolerated method with a diagnostic and therapeutic impact for the management of small bowel diseases.     

双气囊电子小肠镜临床应用初探

目的探讨小肠疾病检查新方法——双气囊电子小肠镜的操作、诊断效果、适应证等问题。方法应用双气囊电子小肠镜对13例疑诊小肠疾病的患者进行双气囊小肠镜检查。分别从口侧或肛侧进镜，利用外套管、内镜前端的双气囊交替充气、放气和交替滑进，推进小肠镜进入小肠检查。记录检查范围、时间、耐受性及病变等。结果13例患者共行小肠镜检查19例次(11例次接受了口侧进镜，8例次接受了肛侧进镜)，每侧进镜术程平均80min。从口侧进镜均达第3～6组小肠，从肛侧进镜达4～6组小肠。发现空肠良性问质瘤1例、空肠淋巴瘤1例、回肠溃疡狭窄及憩室2例、空肠息肉2例、空肠糜烂2例。口侧进镜患者，术中多数出现恶心、消化液自口及外滑管口溢出，偶尔出现一过性轻微腹痛；肛侧进镜患者无明显不适及反应；未出现出血、穿孔等并发症。结论双气囊小肠镜是一种新型小肠疾病检查手段，平均2～3h可检查完所有小肠，进镜迅速。于操作直视下观察病变，通过活检对病变进行定性检查。病变检出率明显优于小肠钡剂造影，具有安全、可控性、直视、图像清晰等优点，适用于无肠粘连及严重脏器功能不全的小肠疾病患者。     

Current state of double balloon endoscopy: The latest approach to small intestinal diseases

Recent developments of capsule endoscopy and double balloon endoscopy (DBE) have made endoscopic examination of the entire small bowel practical, and changed the diagnostic algorithm for small bowel diseases. Double balloon endoscopy uses two balloons, one attached to the tip of the endoscope and another at the distal end of an overtube. By using these balloons to grip the intestinal wall, the endoscope can be inserted further without forming redundant loops of intestine. Total inspection by DBE is usually achieved by combination of sequential oral and anal intubations; success rates are reported to be 40–80%. Indications for DBE include scrutiny for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, small bowel tumor, small bowel stricture and following up evaluation of previously diagnosed small bowel diseases. Because DBE has an accessory channel and good maneuverability in the distal small intestine, it enables endoscopic treatment, including hemostasis, balloon dilation, polypectomy, mucosal resection, retrieval of foreign bodies and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (in the case of post-operative anastomoses). Double balloon endoscopy is also useful for cases of difficult colonoscopy, providing success rates of total colonoscopy between 88–100%. Although it has been a few years since its development, the usefulness of DBE is now well recognized. This challenging procedure has become popular rapidly and is currently used in many countries.     

Characteristic endoscopic features of portal hypertensive enteropathy

BACKGROUND: Double-balloon endoscopy (DBE) and capsule endoscopy have opened up a new field of investigation regarding the small intestine. Although DBE has been widely used for diagnosis and treatment of different lesions in the small intestine, there is a paucity of information regarding endoscopic features of the small intestine in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). METHODS: Endoscopic images of the small intestine were taken in 21 patients with LC by DBE (EN-450P5/20 or EN-450T5/W). Biopsy specimens were taken from various parts of the small intestine and examined microscopically. Different endoscopic features of the small intestine were compared in relation to the clinical parameters of these patients. RESULTS: Erythema and telangiectasia were observed in five patients (24%) and one patient (5%), respectively. In eight patients (38%), the small intestinal mucosa was edematous, and the intestinal villi of these patients were swollen and rounded, resembling herring roe. The patients with a herring roe appearance in the small intestine had advanced LC (Child's classification B and C), and all of them also had portal hypertensive gastropathy and portal hypertensive colopathy. In comparison with patients without a herring roe appearance in the small intestine, patients with a herring roe appearance had a significantly increased spleen volume (P<0.05) and decreased platelet counts (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although preliminary, this study indicated that DBE may be useful for detecting different types of endoscopic lesions in patients with LC. A herring roe appearance seems to be one of the characteristic features of portal hypertensive enteropathy. However, further study will be required to develop insights about its pathogenesis.     

Usefulness of positron emission tomography in primary intestinal follicular lymphoma

Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) and video capsule endoscopy are useful for the diagnosis of lymphoma in the small intestine. However, DBE cannot be safely performed in cases with passage disturbance due to wall thickening and stenosis. Additionally, video capsule endoscopy cannot be performed in such cases because of the risk of retention. Here, we report 4 cases of primary follicular lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract that could be detected using 18F-fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET-CT). The endoscopic findings of these 4 cases included lesions with wall thickening, which comprised macroscopically clusters of nodules, dense clusters of whitish granules or small nodules, fold thickening and ulcers with irregular margins that occupied the whole lumen with edematous mucosa. All patients fulfilled the World Health Organization grade 1 criteria. 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET-CT can help predict the risks that may result from certain endoscopic examinations, such as DBE and video capsule endoscopy.     

单气囊小肠镜在小肠疾病诊治中的价值

目的评价单气囊小肠镜(Single balloon enteroscope,SBE)在小肠疾病诊断和治疗中的安全性及临床价值。 方法对2012年1月1日～2014年6月1日期间在我院行SBE检查的患者的临床资料进行回顾性分析,总结检查完成情况、操作时间、内镜诊断以及并发症发生情况等。 结果138例患者共行157次SBE检查。经口检查77例次;经肛检查80例次;经口联合经肛检查14例。共99例发现病变,疾病检出率为71.7%(99/138)。经口进镜检查平均用时45.5 min,经肛进镜检查平均用时50.3 min。所有患者检查过程中生命体征处于安全范围,无心脑血管并发症发生,无剧烈腹痛及出血、穿孔等并发症出现。 结论SBE可以安全,高效的完成小肠疾病的诊治,相信随着临床经验的积累,SBE会在小肠疾病的诊断中发挥更大的作用。     

Endoscopic interventions in the small bowel using double balloon enteroscopy: feasibility and limitations

BACKGROUND: Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is a new endoscopic tool that not only allows diagnostic workup of small bowel diseases, but also makes it possible to carry out therapeutic interventions. However, for a variety of reasons, endoscopic therapy appears to be more difficult to carry out deep in the small bowel than in the upper or lower gastrointestinal tract. AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acute technical success and acute complication rate of DBE. PATIENTS: Between June 2003 and July 2006, 353 patients (152 women, 201 men; mean age 60.3 +/- 17.1 yr) with suspected or known small bowel disease underwent 635 consecutive DBE procedures. The majority of the patients were suffering from midgastrointestinal bleeding (N = 210, 60%). The overall diagnostic yield was 75% (265/353) for relevant lesions in the small bowel. The overall therapeutic yield was 67% (236/353). METHODS: Endoscopic therapy was performed in 59% of these patients (139/236). All therapeutic interventions were done in an inpatient manner. The majority of the procedures were carried out with the patients under conscious sedation (N = 130, 73%); sedation with propofol was administered in 37 (20.8%) and with a combination of propofol and meperidine in 11 (6.2%) investigations. RESULTS: A total of 178 therapeutic procedures was carried out. A median of 270 cm of the small bowel was visualized using the oral route and a median of 150 cm using the anal route. The investigation time averaged 78 +/- 30 minutes. The endoscopic treatments included argon plasma coagulation (APC, 102 treatment sessions), injection therapy (N = 2), a combination of APC and injection (N = 6), polypectomies (N = 46), dilation therapy (N = 18), and foreign-body extraction (N = 3). In 6/178 cases (3.4%), polypectomy (N = 2), dilation (N = 3), and implantation of a self-expanding metal stent (N = 1) could not be performed successfully for technical or anatomical reasons. Severe treatment-associated complications occurred in six of the 178 therapeutic procedures (3.4%) and 4/139 patients (2.9%), consisting of bleeding (N = 2) and perforation (N = 3) during and after polypectomy of large polyps (>3 cm in size), as well as one case of segmental enteritis after APC. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic therapeutic interventions can be performed safely even in the more difficult conditions of the small bowel in the majority of patients. Polypectomy of large polyps appears to be the procedure associated with the highest risk.     

Treatment Decision for Potential Bleeders in Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleeding During Double-Balloon Enteroscopy

Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is an effective tool for diagnosing and treating obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. The aim is to describe how outcomes differ with patient setting (with DBE diagnosis and intervention, with DBE diagnosis but without intervention, and without DBE diagnosis), and thus demonstrate the value of endoscopic intervention when encountering potential bleeder during DBE. From November 2003 to January 2008, 90 patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding presented with DBE at our tertiary referral center. A total of 113 DBE procedures were carried out. Overall diagnostic yield was 75.6% (68/90). Endoscopic intervention was performed in 58 (85.3%) of the 68 patients with potential bleeder. The 90 patients were divided into three settings: with endoscopic diagnosis and intervention (n = 58), with endoscopic diagnosis but without intervention (n = 10), and without endoscopic diagnosis (n = 22). Rebleeding rates for the three groups were 22.4%, 60%, and 22.7%, respectively. For the 35 patients diagnosed with vascular lesions, the rebleeding rates in patients with and without endoscopic intervention, were 38.5% (10/26) and 66.7% (6/9), respectively. One (0.9%) severe adverse event occurred during the 113 procedures, and the patient died. DBE is an effective tool for diagnosing and treating obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. DBE involves relatively safe procedures and has an acceptable complication rate. When potential bleeders are encountered during the procedure, especially for vascular lesions, therapeutic intervention should be attempted, since the intervention-related complication rate is acceptable, and such intervention can reduce the rebleeding rate and enhance the cost-effectiveness of DBE.     

Investigation of small bowel in pediatric Crohn's disease

Investigation of the small bowel has been traditionally a challenge for pediatric gastroenterologists due to its location, anatomical tortuosity, and invasiveness of the available techniques. Recently, there has been a remarkable improvement in imaging and endoscopic tools aimed at exploring successfully the small intestine in inflammatory bowel disease. The former are represented by ultrasonography (either alone or with administration of oral contrast agents) and by magnetic resonance: both have provided accurate methods to detect structural bowel changes, diminishing patient discomfort and precluding radiation hazard. The use of traditional radiologic techniques such as fluoroscopy have been markedly reduced due to radiation exposure and inability to depict transmural inflammation or extraluminal complications. Among the novel endoscopic tools, capsule endoscopy and balloon-assisted enteroscopy have tremendously opened new diagnostic and therapeutic perspectives, by allowing the direct visualization of small intestinal mucosa and, through enteroscopy, histological diagnosis as well as therapeutic interventions such as stricture dilation and bleeding treatment. These endoscopic techniques should always be preceded by imaging of the intestine in order to identify strictures. This review describes the most recent progress with the employment of novel imaging and endoscopic methodologies for investigating the small bowel in children with suspected or established Crohn's disease.     

ENDOSCOPIC BALLOON DILATATION USING DOUBLE‐BALLOON ENDOSCOPY IS A USEFUL AND SAFE TREATMENT FOR SMALL INTESTINAL STRICTURES IN CROHN'S DISEASE

Background: Endoscopic balloon dilatation (EBD) is a therapeutic option for intestinal strictures of Crohn's disease (CD). Double‐balloon endoscopy (DBE) enables EBD to be performed even for deep‐situated strictures of the small intestine. The aim of this study was to clarify the efficacy and safety of EBD using DBE for small bowel strictures in patients with CD. Patients and Methods: The subjects comprised 25 patients with CD who underwent EBD using DBE for small intestinal strictures for which a colonoscope or gastrointestinal scope could not be inserted. All subjects had obstructive symptoms due to strictures that were confirmed using small intestinal enteroclysis. They were observed for at least 6 months after the initial EBD. The short‐term success rate of EBD using DBE, the complication rate and the long‐term outcome were investigated. Results: This procedure was successful with regard to short‐term dilatation in 18 of the 25 CD patients (72%). Long strictures measuring more than 3 cm were seen in six out of seven (85.7%) of the unsuccessful EBD cases, compared with two out of 18 (11.1%) of the successful EBD cases (P = 0.001). Complications were encountered in two of the 25 patients (8%). The cumulative surgery‐free rate for all the subjects was 83% and 72% at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Conclusion: EBD using DBE is a useful and safe procedure for small intestinal short strictures in CD patients. We conclude that this procedure is a therapeutic option that should be attempted before resorting to surgical therapy.     

Intestinal obstruction and perforation--the role of the gastroenterologist

Intestinal obstruction belongs to highly severe conditions in gastroenterology, namely from the viewpoint of quick and correct diagnosis as well as at determining rational and effective therapy. Etiological multifactorial characteristics leading to processes resulting in mechanical or dynamic obstruction of the intestine, often referred to as paralytic ileus, are undoubtedly serious factors influencing the accuracy of diagnosis and therapeutic approach. Digestive endoscopy is a mandatory method in the diagnosis of intestinal obstructions. Diagnostic endoscopy, colonoscopy in the involvement of the large intestine or enteroscopy in the case of incomplete obstruction of the small intestine are the methods indicated in the majority of obstructive intestinal lesions. Besides their diagnostic importance, they also enable an effective therapeutic approach which may immediately follow the diagnostic intervention. Besides endoscopy that--due to the nature of performance--belongs to invasive methods, the diagnosis of obstructive intestinal processes is unthinkable without the use of non-invasive imaging methods. Abdominal ultrasound examination, a widely applied method, provides--under optimal examination conditions--information, e.g., about the width of the intestinal lumen or about the intestinal wall thickness; however, the specificity of investigation is not always sufficient. Both specificity and sensitivity of exploration are increased by a plain X-ray of the abdomen supplementing the ultrasound examination. Better results are achieved when the abdominal cavity is inspected by means of spiral CT examination that is nowadays not fashionable but highly effectively applied in the modification of the so-called CT enteroclysis or CT colonography. The usage of magnetic resonance (e.g. virtual colonography) is similar, but its efficacy is lower than that of CT examination. From a gastroenterologist's perspective, endoscopic examination is the fundamental diagnostic and therapeutic method. However, endoscopic examination is initially limited by the cardiopulmonary state of the patient--in a number of cases, first the cardiopulmonary condition must be stabilized, dysbalance of water and mineral state must be restored, and only then can endoscopic investigation be carried out. The application of enteroscopy in small intestine disorders is only suitable in cases where air must be aspirated from the region of the stomach and mainly small intestine as it happens, for example, in acute intestinal pseudo-obstruction. The success of complex conservative therapy in these states is reached in 80% of the cases. In acute and complete intestinal obstruction, a surgical treatment performed in time is the only method. In these cases, the importance of identification of obstruction and timing of the intervention performance from the viewpoint of the patient's survival is explicitly the principal and life-saving concern. In acute intestinal obstructions developing in patients with malignant affection of the intestine, it is necessary to choose--according to the obstruction location and general state of the patient--either urgently performed surgery or palliative endoscopic intervention which is the reduction of the intestinal lumen of the growing tumor mass and following insertion of a drain. This method also concerns lesions localized in the left half of the abdominal cavity, i.e. in the region of the rectosigmoid and descending part of the colon. Most patients in whom acute intestinal obstruction developed on the basis of malignant disease are risk and polymorbid subjects, and acute surgical intervention may be either impracticable or highly stressing. In such cases it is therefore helpful to insert a drain and to bridge the obstructed area after restoring the cardiopulmonary state including adjustment of the aqueous and mineral environment. Later, the performance of an elective surgical intervention is safer. Another alternative before inserting a drain is the dilatation of the stenotic site by means of a balloon, followed by stenting. Up until today, various types of intestinal drains have been introduced--they have always been self-expanding metallic stents. Just the application of self-expanding stents in patients with malignant intestinal obstruction and the endoscopic possibility of dilatations of benign intestinal obstructions with dilatation balloons are the most significant therapeutic contributions of digestive endoscopy in these states.     

Results of the 2nd part Scientific Workshop of the ECCO (II): Measures and markers of prediction to achieve, detect, and monitor intestinal healing in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The healing of the intestine is becoming an important objective in the management of inflammatory bowel diseases. It is associated with improved disease outcome. Therefore the assessment of this healing both in clinical studies and routine practice is a key issue. Endoscopy for the colon and terminal ileum and computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging for the small bowel are the most direct ways to evaluate intestinal healing. However, there are many unsolved questions about the definition and the precise assessment of intestinal healing using these endoscopic and imaging techniques. Furthermore, these are relatively invasive and expensive procedures that may be inadequate for regular patients' monitoring. Therefore, biomarkers such as C-reactive protein and fecal calprotectin have been proposed as surrogate markers for intestinal healing. Nevertheless, the sensitivity and specificity of these markers for the prediction of healing may be insufficient for routine practice. New stool, blood or intestinal biomarkers are currently studied and may improve our ability to monitor intestinal healing in the future.