Barrett’s esophagus: Review of natural history and comparative efficacy of endoscopic and surgical therapies

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is the precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Progression to cancer typically occurs in a stepwise fashion through worsening dysplasia and ultimately, invasive neoplasia. Established EAC with deep involvement of the esophageal wall and/or metastatic disease is invariably associated with poor long-term survival rates. This guides the rationale of surveillance of Barrett’s in an attempt to treat lesions at an earlier, and potentially curative stage. The last two decades have seen a paradigm shift in management of Barrett’s with rapid expansion in the role of endoscopic eradication therapy (EET) for management of dysplastic and early neoplastic BE, and there have been substantial changes to international consensus guidelines for management of early BE based on evolving evidence. This review aims to assist the physician in the therapeutic decision-making process with patients by comprehensive review and summary of literature surrounding natural history of Barrett’s by histological stage, and the effectiveness of interventions in attenuating the risk posed by its natural history. Key findings were as follows. Non-dysplastic Barrett’s is associated with extremely low risk of progression, and interventions cannot be justified. The annual risk of cancer progression in low grade dysplasia is between 1%-3%; EET can be offered though evidence for its benefit remains confined to highly select settings. High-grade dysplasia progresses to cancer in 5%-10% per year; EET is similarly effective to and less morbid than surgery and should be routinely performed for this indication. Risk of nodal metastases in intramucosal cancer is 2%-4%, which is comparable to operative mortality rate, so EET is usually preferred. Submucosal cancer is associated with nodal metastases in 14%-41% hence surgery remains standard of care, except for select situations.     

Direct insertion of an ultra‐slim upper endoscope for cholangioscopy in patients undergoing choledochoduodenostomy

Direct peroral cholangioscopy (POC) using an ultra‐slim upper endoscope is one modality of POC for intraductal endoscopic evaluation and treatment of the bile duct. Choledochoduodenostomy (CDS) is one modality of biliary bypass surgery that provides a new route to the bile duct. We carried out direct POC using an ultra‐slim upper endoscope without the use of accessories in 10 patients (four sump syndromes, three bile duct strictures and three intrahepatic duct stones) previously undergoing surgical CDS. Direct POC was successful in all patients. The use of an intraductal balloon catheter was required in one patient for advancement of the endoscope into the bile duct. Distal bile ducts with sump syndromes were cleared using baskets and water irrigation under direct POC. Cholangiocarcinoma was diagnosed in one patient with hilar bile duct stricture after cholangioscopic evaluation and a targeting forceps biopsy under direct POC. Intrahepatic duct stones were successfully extracted after intraductal fragmentation under direct POC. Oozing bleeding occurred during intraductal lithotripsy but stopped spontaneously. Direct POC using an ultra‐slim upper endoscope without the assistance of accessories can easily be carried out in patients undergoing CDS.     

Estimation of phase signal change in neuronal current MRI for evoke response of tactile detection with realistic somatosensory laminar network model

Magnetic field generated by neuronal activity could alter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signals but detection of such signal is under debate. Previous researches proposed that magnitude signal change is below current detectable level, but phase signal change (PSC) may be measurable with current MRI systems. Optimal imaging parameters like echo time, voxel size and external field direction, could increase the probability of detection of this small signal change. We simulate a voxel of cortical column to determine effect of such parameters on PSC signal. We extended a laminar network model for somatosensory cortex to find neuronal current in each segment of pyramidal neurons (PN). 60,000 PNs of simulated network were positioned randomly in a voxel. Biot–savart law applied to calculate neuronal magnetic field and additional phase. The procedure repeated for eleven neuronal arrangements in the voxel. PSC signal variation with the echo time and voxel size was assessed. The simulated results show that PSC signal increases with echo time, especially 100/80 ms after stimulus for gradient echo/spin echo sequence. It can be up to 0.1 mrad for echo time = 175 ms and voxel size = 1.48 × 1.48 × 2.18 mm³. With echo time less than 25 ms after stimulus, it was just acquired effects of physiological noise on PSC signal. The absolute value of the signal increased with decrease of voxel size, but its components had complex variation. External field orthogonal to local surface of cortex maximizes the signal. Expected PSC signal for tactile detection in the somatosensory cortex increase with echo time and have no oscillation.     

Assessing perceived quality of primary care under hospital-township health centre integration: A cross-sectional study in China

Since the new round of health care reform in 2009, the vertical integration of hospitals and primary health institutions has become widely implemented in China as an efficient method for improving quality of primary care. This study aimed to answer the following questions: (a) What is the perceived quality of township health centres (THCs) under integration? (B) What differences could be observed among the three typical integration models, namely, private hospital-THC integration, public hospital-THC integration, and loose collaboration? Two rounds of cross-sectional surveys were conducted from November 2016 to June 2018. The Chinese version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool was used to evaluate perceived quality of sample THCs, and 1118 adult patients were interviewed in total. Multiple linear regressions were employed to compare the quality scores between two survey rounds and among different integration models after controlling for potential confounders. The results revealed that the quality of care significantly improved under private hospital-THC integration as observed by comparing two survey rounds, while no change or slight changes were observed in the other two models. The difference observed among the three models was that the perceived quality of THCs integrated with private hospitals was worse than that of THCs integrated with public hospitals and THCs under loose collaboration, while no significant difference was observed between public hospital-THC integration and loose collaboration. Increased attention should be given to highlighting the tight integration between hospitals and THCs and the different roles played by private and public hospitals in the current reform.     

Epidemiologic Characteristics of Work-related Eye Injuries and Risk Factors Associated with Severe Eye Injuries: A Registry-based Multicentre Study

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Work-related eye injuries have been reported with a variety of epidemiologic and clinical characteristics. We aimed to identify epidemiologic characteristics of work-related eye injuries and risk factors associated with severe injury in a large metropolitan city.     

Quality of oral anticoagulation control in Chinese patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: a prospective controlled study

Abstract

Objective

The sex, age, medical history, treatment, tobacco use, race risk (SAMe-TT₂R₂) Score; the sex, age, medical history, treatment, tobacco use, genotype combination (SAMe-TT₂G₂) Score; and the so-called modified SAMe-TT₂R₂ scores have been proposed to predict the anticoagulation quality for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). The data from a prospective controlled study is used to validate the SAMe-TT₂R₂ and SAMe-TT₂G₂ scores in Chinese NVAF patients treated with warfarin and to evaluate the association of factors with time in therapeutic range (TTR) to predict the quality of oral anticoagulation control.