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The bleeding source of hematochezia is unknown without performing colonoscopy. We sought to identify whether colonoscopy is a risk-stratifying tool to identify etiology and predict outcomes and whether presenting symptoms can differentiate the etiologies in patients with hematochezia. This multicenter retrospective cohort study conducted at 49 hospitals across Japan analyzed 10,342 patients admitted for outpatient-onset acute hematochezia. Patients were mostly elderly population, and 29.5% had hemodynamic instability. Computed tomography was performed in 69.1% and colonoscopy in 87.7%. Diagnostic yield of colonoscopy reached 94.9%, most frequently diverticular bleeding. Thirty-day rebleeding rates were significantly higher with diverticulosis and small bowel bleeding than with other etiologies. In-hospital mortality was significantly higher with angioectasia, malignancy, rectal ulcer, and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Colonoscopic treatment rates were significantly higher with diverticulosis, radiation colitis, angioectasia, rectal ulcer, and postendoscopy bleeding. More interventional radiology procedures were needed for diverticulosis and small bowel bleeding. Etiologies with favorable outcomes and low procedure rates were ischemic colitis and infectious colitis. Higher rates of painless hematochezia at presentation were significantly associated with multiple diseases, such as rectal ulcer, hemorrhoids, angioectasia, radiation colitis, and diverticulosis. The same was true in cases of hematochezia with diarrhea, fever, and hemodynamic instability. This nationwide data set of acute hematochezia highlights the importance of colonoscopy in accurately detecting bleeding etiologies that stratify patients at high or low risk of adverse outcomes and those who will likely require more procedures. Predicting different bleeding etiologies based on initial presentation would be challenging.

BackgroundCapsule endoscopy can be used to identify the early stage of small bowel Crohn’s disease (CD). We evaluated significant small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) findings that can lead to early diagnosis of CD.MethodsWe retrospectively accumulated clinical and SBCE data of 108 patients (63 with and 45 without CD). Types of small bowel mucosal injuries, including erosion, ulceration, and cobblestone appearance, and the alignment of diminutive lesions were compared between patients with and without CD. Inter- and intra-observer agreement in the determination of lesions was assessed in 25 pairs of SBCE from the two groups.ResultsUnder SBCE, cobblestone appearance (33% vs. 2%, p < 0.0001), longitudinal ulcers (78% vs. 20%, p < 0.0001), and irregular ulcers (84% vs. 60%, p < 0.01) were more frequently found in patients with CD. Linear erosion (90% vs. 38%, p < 0.0001) and irregular erosion (89% vs. 64%, p < 0.005) were also more frequent in patients with CD. Furthermore, circumferential (75% vs. 9%, p < 0.0001) and longitudinal (56% vs. 7%, p < 0.0001) alignment of diminutive lesions, mainly observed in the 1st tertile of the small bowel, was more frequent in patients with CD. Good intra-observer agreement was found for ulcers, cobblestone appearance, and lesion alignment. However, inter-observer agreement of SBCE findings differed among observers.ConclusionsCircumferential or longitudinal alignment of diminutive lesions, especially in the upper small bowel, may be a diagnostic clue for CD under SBCE, while inter-observer variations should be cautiously considered when using SBCE.

This study investigated clinicopathological factors associated with the visibility of early gastric cancer and the efficacy of linked color imaging. Patients with early gastric cancer who underwent endoscopic treatment between April 2021 and July 2022 were enrolled. All cases underwent white light imaging and linked color imaging. Three experts evaluated lesion visibility using a visual analog scale. A mean score ≥3 on white light imaging was defined as \"good visibility\", and <3 as \"poor visibility\". We extracted patient information and endoscopic and pathological data for the lesion and background mucosa, analyzed factors associated with the visibility of early gastric cancer, and compared visibility between white light imaging and linked color imaging. Ninety-seven lesions were analyzed, with good visibility in 49 and poor visibility in 48. Multivariate analysis revealed small lesion size (odds ratio 1.89) and presence of endoscopic intestinal metaplasia (odds ratio 0.49) as significantly associated with the poor visibility of early gastric cancer. Mean visibility score was significantly higher for linked color imaging (P<0.001). Mean score for linked color imaging was significantly higher in the poor visibility group (P<0.001), but not significantly different in the good visibility group (P = 0.292). Mean score was significantly higher with linked color imaging in cases with endoscopic intestinal metaplasia (P = 0.0496) and lesions <20 mm in diameter (<10 mm, P = 0.002; 10-20 mm, P = 0.004). Lesion size and endoscopic intestinal metaplasia are associated with the visibility of early gastric cancer in white light imaging. Linked color imaging improves visibility of gastric cancer with these factors.

Linked color imaging (LCI) was developed to detect gastrointestinal neoplasms. The current study aimed to determine whether the use of LCI, compared with white-light imaging (WLI), can improve the miss rates of colorectal polyp. A multicenter, randomized back-to-back study was conducted in 16 Japanese endoscopy units. Patients were randomized according to examination: tandem colonoscopy with WLI followed by LCI (WLI-LCI group) and with LCI followed by WLI (LCI-WLI group). The detected polyps were evaluated according to location, size, morphology, and histopathological diagnosis. The primary outcome was polyp miss rate per patient (PMR-PP) in total colonoscopy. The secondary outcome was adenoma detection rate (ADR) during the first assessment in each group. The full analysis set comprised 327 participants, and 320 were included in either two groups. The PMR-PPs were 9.3% and 20.6% in the LCI-WLI and WLI-LCI groups, respectively. Regarding location, the PMR-PP of LCI was significantly lower than that of WLI in the transverse and descending colons and rectum. In terms of diminutive adenomas (< 5 mm), the ADR of LCI (38.2%) was significantly higher than that of WLI (29.1%). LCI was superior to WLI in terms of polyp miss rate particularly in the transverse and descending colons and rectum.

Background Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a well-known complication of ulcerative colitis (UC), but it is rare to encounter patients requiring both living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and proctocolectomy. We report a case of elective two-stage surgery involving proctocolectomy performed after LDLT for a patient with early colon cancer concurrent with PSC-related UC. To our knowledge, this is the first report of concurrent cancer successfully treated with both LDLT and proctocolectomy. Case presentation A 32-year-old Japanese man with colon cancer associated with UC underwent restorative proctocolectomy at 3 months after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for PSC. He was diagnosed with PSC and UC when he was a teenager. Conservative therapy was initiated to treat both PSC and UC. He had experienced recurrent cholangitis for years; therefore, a biliary stent was placed endoscopically. However, his liver function progressively deteriorated. Colonoscopic surveillance revealed early colon cancer; hence, surgical treatment was considered. PSC progressed to cirrhosis and portal hypertension; hence, LDLT was performed before restorative proctocolectomy. Three months after LDLT, we performed restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch–anal anastomosis. The postoperative course was uneventful. The patient was well, with good liver and bowel functions and without tumor recurrence, more than 1 year after proctocolectomy. Conclusions With strict patient selection and careful patient management and follow-up, elective proctocolectomy may be performed safely and effectively after LDLT for concurrent early colon cancer with PSC-related UC. There are no previous reports of the use of both LDLT and proctocolectomy for the successful treatment of PSC-related UC and concurrent cancer.

Background Intramucosal and minute submucosal (M-SM1; <500 μm in depth) differentiated gastric cancers, which have a negligible risk of lymph node metastasis, are the targets for endoscopic resection. However, there have been few reports about the endoscopic distinction between these cancers and cancers with deeper submucosal invasion (SM2; ≥500 μm in depth). The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the differences in the endoscopic features between M-SM1 and SM2 cancers, and to develop a simple scoring model to predict the depth of these early gastric cancers. Methods We analyzed 853 differentiated early gastric cancers treated endoscopically or surgically as a derivation group. Endoscopic images were reviewed to determine the relationship between depth of invasion and the following endoscopic features: tumor location, macroscopic type, tumor size, and endoscopic findings (remarkable redness, uneven surface, margin elevation, ulceration, and enlarged folds). Secondly, we created a depth-predicting model based on the obtained data and applied the model to 211 validation samples. Results On logistic regression analysis, tumor size more than 30 mm, remarkable redness, uneven surface, and margin elevation were significantly associated with deeper submucosal cancers. A depth-predicting score was created by assigning 2 points for margin elevation and tumor size more than 30 mm, and 1 point for each of the other endoscopic features. When validation lesions of 3 points or more were diagnosed as deeper submucosal cancers, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy as evaluated by three endoscopists were 29.7-45.9, 93.1-93.7, and 82.5-84.8%, respectively. Conclusions The depth-predicting score could be useful in the decisions on treatment strategy for differentiated M-SM1 early gastric cancers.

BackgroundSmall bowel stricture is one of the most common complications in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD). Endoscopic balloon dilatation (EBD) is a minimally invasive treatment intended to avoid surgery; however, whether EBD prevents subsequent surgery remains unclear. We aimed to reveal the factors contributing to surgery in patients with small bowel stricture and the factors associated with subsequent surgery after initial EBD.MethodsData were retrospectively collected from surgically untreated CD patients who developed symptomatic small bowel stricture after 2008 when the use of balloon-assisted enteroscopy and maintenance therapy with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) became available.ResultsA total of 305 cases from 32 tertiary referral centers were enrolled. Cumulative surgery-free survival was 74.0% at 1 year, 54.4% at 5 years, and 44.3% at 10 years. The factors associated with avoiding surgery were non-stricturing, non-penetrating disease at onset, mild severity of symptoms, successful EBD, stricture length < 2 cm, and immunomodulator or anti-TNF added after onset of obstructive symptoms. In 95 cases with successful initial EBD, longer EBD interval was associated with lower risk of surgery. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that an EBD interval of ≤ 446 days predicted subsequent surgery, and the proportion of smokers was significantly high in patients who required frequent dilatation.ConclusionsIn CD patients with symptomatic small bowel stricture, addition of immunomodulator or anti-TNF and smoking cessation may improve the outcome of symptomatic small bowel stricture, by avoiding frequent EBD and subsequent surgery after initial EBD.

BackgroundWhile angioectasia is an important cause of acute hematochezia, relevant clinical features remain unclear. This study aims to reveal risk factors, clinical outcomes, and the effectiveness of therapeutic endoscopy for patients with acute hematochezia due to angioectasia.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study was conducted at 49 Japanese hospitals between January 2010 and December 2019, enrolling patients hospitalized for acute hematochezia (CODE BLUE-J study). Baseline factors and clinical outcomes for angioectasia were analyzed. ResultsAmong 10,342 patients with acute hematochezia, 129 patients (1.2%) were diagnosed with angioectasia by colonoscopy. The following factors were significantly associated with angioectasia: chronic kidney disease, liver disease, female, body mass index < 25, and anticoagulant use. Patients with angioectasia were at a significant increased risk of blood transfusions compared to those without angioectasia (odds ratio [OR] 2.61; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.69–4.02). Among patients with angioectasia, 36 patients (28%) experienced rebleeding during 1-year follow-up. The 1-year cumulative rebleeding rates were 37.0% in the endoscopic clipping group, 14.3% in the coagulation group, and 32.8% in the conservative management group. Compared to conservative management, coagulation therapy significantly reduced rebleeding risk (P = 0.038), while clipping did not (P = 0.81). Multivariate analysis showed coagulation therapy was an independent factor for reducing rebleeding risk (hazard ratio [HR] 0.40; 95% CI 0.16–0.96).ConclusionsOur data showed patients with angioectasia had a greater comorbidity burden and needed more blood transfusions in comparison with those without angioectasia. To reduce rebleeding risk, coagulation therapy can be superior for controlling hematochezia secondary to angioectasia.

Background The anatomical reference points used to endoscopically diagnose Barrett's esophagus (BE) differ between Japan and other countries. The esophageal gastric junction (EGJ) is defined as the distal limit of the lower esophageal longitudinal or palisade vessels in Japan, but as the proximal margin of the gastric folds (Prague C&M criteria). The aim of this study was to prospectively compare endoscopic BE diagnoses using the Japanese and Prague C&M criteria. Methods Two endoscopists examined 110 consecutive patients [73 male, 37 female; age, 66.5 ± 8.7 (mean ± standard deviation) years]. Post-gastrectomy, post-esophagectomy, and post-chemoradiotherapy esophageal cancer patients were excluded as subjects. Results EGJ identification rates were 95% (104/110) and 86% (95/110) using the Japanese and Prague C&M criteria, respectively (p = 0.039). Among the 110 patients, 43 (39%) and 29 (26%) were diagnosed as having endoscopic BE using the respective criteria (p = 0.044). In atrophic gastritis and reflux esophagitis cases, there was no significant difference in EGJ identification rates between the Japanese and Prague C&M criteria. However, the ratio of endoscopic BE diagnosis using the Japanese criteria was significantly higher than that using the Prague C&M criteria in atrophic gastritis cases (p = 0.03). Conclusions There was a significant difference in endoscopic BE diagnostic results between the Japanese and Prague C&M criteria. In the Japanese population, the Japanese criteria may be more suitable for the definition of EGJ and for the diagnosis of endoscopic BE than the Prague C&M criteria.