WHO has launched an investigation into an outbreak of severe hepatitis in children from multiple countries. Adenovirus was detected in many of the cases and has been cited as a potential cause, but more questions than answers remain. A story on the outbreak and an exclusive Q&A with John W. Ward, MD, director of the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination, about the search for answers were two of the top stories in gastroenterology last week.
Author: Praveen Suthrum
Providers missed 15% of esophageal motility disorders that should have been diagnosed during upper endoscopy, according to a new single-center review (Esophagus 2022 Jan 17. doi:10.1007/s10388-021-00903-4). The investigators also found that use of transnasal endoscopy was associated with a nearly five-fold higher likelihood of a missed EMD diagnosis. Complementing endoscopy with an esophagram reduced the odds of a missed EMD by 75%.
Patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and symptoms of a common mental health disorder are more likely to have adverse outcomes, according to a study in Gastroenterology. The cross-sectional study assessed the influence of psychological factors and clinical or biochemical disease activity on the prognosis of IBD. Researchers enrolled eligible participants aged 16 years and older, who had a radiological, endoscopic, or histological diagnosis of Crohn disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC), from November 2012 to June 2015. Prospective longitudinal follow-up occurred from September 2014 to November 2021.
Shreveport, La.-based physician-owned GI clinic GastroIntestinal Specialists is investing almost $1.5 million for employee salary raises, the Shreveport Times reported May 26. The package includes a minimum $3 per hour raise for the practice’s current 165 full-time employees that will take effect in June, the report said. The practice is also raising starting wages for new employees.
Antibiotic use in people 60 years of age and older is associated with the development of inflammatory bowel disease, according to a new study presented at Digestive Disease Week 2022. “When you look at older adults, and this is patients or individuals 60 years and older, this is actually one of the most rapidly growing populations of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. So, it’s quite important to really understand what’s driving this,” said Adam Faye, MD, MS, an assistant professor of medicine and population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, in New York City, at a press briefing discussing…
About 7% of the U.S. population – including those with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities – experience symptoms like belly pain, diarrhea, and chronic fatigue when they eat gluten. The only known treatment is a gluten-free diet, which can be a big challenge because even many “gluten-free” products include trace amounts of the troublesome proteins. That contamination can take place at any point, from farm to fork, says Luis Tortajada-Genaro, PhD, a researcher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. New gluten-detecting technology is advancing to enable better control and more safety.
Many biopharmaceutical companies have discussed how the pandemic has changed clinical trials. However, study sites have also implemented strategies to bring studies into a new realm. In this interview, Aasma Shaukat, MD, MPH, study co-lead, professor of medicine, and director of outcomes research for the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at New York University Langone Health discusses the site perspective.
Kevin Harlen interviews fellow Tar Heel Dr. Spencer Dorn about innovation in health care and several start up companies that are changing the way GI physicians treat and monitor patients. Dr. Dorn is a gastroenterologist, professor, and vice chair of medicine for care innovation at the UNC School of Medicine, where he focuses on how to bring people together to provide better and more efficient care and utilize resources to improve lives.
When I first became an attending, I was struck by how difficult it was to teach endoscopy effectively. As a fellow, I saw the various teaching styles of my attendings, and it was easy to pick out the best teachers from the group. But when the roles switched, and suddenly I was the supervising faculty member, it was hard to recall exactly what those teachers were doing to create an optimal learning environment in the endoscopy suite.
Scientific interest in the gut microbiome has spiked in recent years, and it’s a buzzy topic in the wellness industry. After all, the trillions of bacteria and other organisms populating our intestines, known as the gut flora, have the potential to preserve our health and improve our mood. Research suggests that our gut bugs play a vital role in a range of conditions, including obesity, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and cardiovascular disease.