Ajay K Jain, Amit K Bundiwal, Suchita Jain, Praveen Agrawal, Deepika Jain, Shohini Sircar
{"title":"Evaluation of liver and splenic stiffness by acoustic radiation force impulse for assessment of esophageal varices.","authors":"Ajay K Jain, Amit K Bundiwal, Suchita Jain, Praveen Agrawal, Deepika Jain, Shohini Sircar","doi":"10.1007/s12664-023-01456-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12664-023-01456-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In routine clinical practice, assessment of portal hypertension (PHT) among patients with liver cirrhosis is done by a upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGIE); however, its invasive nature limits its use. Recent advances in ultrasound imaging make it possible to evaluate the tissue stiffness of the liver and spleen reflecting the severity of underlying fibrosis. Liver stiffness and spleen stiffness can be used to predict the presence of esophageal varices/PHT among cirrhotic patients.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To predict the presence or absence of esophageal varices by measuring the stiffness of the liver and spleen by ultrasonography (USG)-based acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study included 90 subjects with liver cirrhosis. Liver and splenic stiffness were measured along with the USG abdomen, UGIE and aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Liver and spleen stiffness were significantly higher in cirrhotic patients compared to chronic hepatitis B. The best cut-off value of liver stiffness (LS) obtained by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 2.16 m/s for predicting esophageal varices (AUROC 0.78, p 0.0002). The best cut-off value of splenic stiffness (SS) obtained by the ROC curve was 3.04 m/s for predicting esophageal varices (AUROC 0.698, p 0.0274). When both LS and SS were taken together, the accuracy in predicting esophageal varices increased to 92.22%. An equation to predict \"esophageal varices = (0.225 LS + 0.377SS) - 0.555\" was derived.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>LS and SS values of ≥ 2.16 m/s and 3.04 m/s, respectively, predict esophageal varices independently; however, combined assessment is better with 92% accuracy.</p>","PeriodicalId":13404,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Gastroenterology","volume":" ","pages":"163-170"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71481090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Role of serum endotoxin, FGF19, TLR2, TNF-α, IL-12 and IL-10 in NAFLD-associated T2DM pathogenesis: Insights into Th1 bias and protective mechanisms.","authors":"Snigdha Jyoti Das, Barsha Pathak, Sangit Dutta, Sujoy Bose, Purabi Deka Bose","doi":"10.1007/s12664-024-01597-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12664-024-01597-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in non-obese patients is pathophysiologically distinct, exhibiting common immunological link with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aims to delineate the role of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)-mediated immuno-modulation along with its association with fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) and its ligand fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) in the pathogenesis of NAFLD without or with T2DM.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>Blood samples were collected from patients with NAFLD (n = 90), NAFLD with T2DM (n = 90) and healthy cohorts (n = 90) with consent and clinical records. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELIZA) and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) were used to analyze messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), protein expression and gene polymorphism.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The molecular genetic analysis revealed the prevalence of variant allele(A) in FGFR4 gene in both cases compared to controls. The mRNA expression of FGF19 and TLR2 exhibited significant upregulation in NAFLD without T2DM compared to NAFLD with T2DM. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) showed upregulation in both disease cohorts compared to control while IL-10 showed significant downregulation in NAFLD with T2DM compared to the other two cohorts. Correlation analysis between FGF19 and TLR2 revealed significant positive association in both NAFLD with and without T2DM. The Th1:Th2 ratio showed significant upregulation in NAFLD with T2DM compared to NAFLD without T2DM.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In conclusion, elevated serum endotoxin levels appear to contribute to NAFLD and T2DM development. Upregulated FGF19 seems to be protective against developing T2DM in NAFLD patients. Higher TLR2, TNF-α and IL-12 expression in NAFLD without T2DM suggests a Th1 bias in its pathogenesis, while reduced IL-10 in NAFLD with T2DM implies a more skewed Th1 state in this condition.</p>","PeriodicalId":13404,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Gastroenterology","volume":" ","pages":"171-180"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141081331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The influence of stress, coping mechanisms and psychological symptoms on inflammatory bowel disease activity: A retrospective case-control analysis.","authors":"Javad Shokri Shirvani, Seyed Taher Hashemi Petrodi, Hoda Shirafkan, Shirin Shahrokhi, Mahbobeh Faramarzi","doi":"10.1007/s12664-024-01714-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12664-024-01714-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Psychological stress is widely recognized as a key factor that can initiate or aggravate symptoms in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This research was aimed at examining the influence of stressors, coping mechanisms and psychological symptoms on disease activity in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective case-control research was performed with 138 patients diagnosed with IBD (76 with CD and 62 with UC). The participants were categorized into case groups (active disease: 31 CD, 38 UC) and control groups (inactive disease: 31 CD, 38 UC), with matching on demographic and clinical characteristics. Each participant completed several assessments such as the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (SCCAI), the Harvey-Bradshaw index (HBI), the Life Distress Inventory (LDI), the Symptom Checklist (SCL-25) and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS-21).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Participants experiencing active disease reported higher levels of life stress, with mean scores of 65.42 ± 8.88 in CD and 65.42 ± 8.88 in UC, in comparison with 45.97 ± 13.23 and 41.79 ± 13.49, respectively, in those with inactive disease. Additionally, psychological symptoms were more prevalent in both CD group (57.00 ± 12.71 vs. 47.39 ± 14.65) and the UC group (57.80 ± 9.82 vs. 40.05 ± 11.23) with active disease. Patients with active disease were more likely to employ coping strategies centered on avoidance, emotional responses and tasks than those without disease activity. Logistic regression analysis identified life stress (p < 0.001, 95% CI = [1.06-1.18], B = 1.24) and emotion-focused coping strategies (p < 0.001, 95% CI = [1.26-1.88], B = 1.54) as notable predictors of disease activity, whereas task-focused coping emerged as a protective factor (p < 0.029, 95% CI = [1.68-1.98], B = 1.81).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This research underscores the critical role of managing stress and adopting effective coping mechanisms in reducing the likelihood of disease flare-ups in IBD subjects. Healthcare providers should prioritize integrating these approaches into treatment protocols for IBD management.</p>","PeriodicalId":13404,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Gastroenterology","volume":" ","pages":"220-228"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143188836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bacterial resistance profile and its association with poor outcome among cirrhosis patients attending a tertiary care referral center in northern India.","authors":"Gerlin Varghese, Ashima Jamwal, Deepika Sarawat, Surender Singh, Nidhi Tejan, Sangram Singh Patel, Chinmoy Sahu","doi":"10.1007/s12664-024-01712-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12664-024-01712-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objective: </strong>The epidemiological connections, predisposing factors and clinical outcomes of infections by drug-resistant bacteria in cirrhosis are poorly documented. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the risk factors, complications and patterns of bacterial resistance among these patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective observational study was conducted from March 1, 2021, to July 31, 2023, at a tertiary care centre in Uttar Pradesh. Patients of cirrhosis aged ≥ 18 years with microbial infection were included in the study. Samples, as indicated, were sent to the microbiology lab for culture and sensitivity. The patient's clinical history, details regarding bacterial culture and antibiotic sensitivity results were extracted from the hospital information system (HIS) and entered into an excel sheet. Univariate analysis of the variables was done and the statistical significance of these variables was determined using the p-value. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the study period, 765 patients were diagnosed with cirrhosis, of which 248 (32%) had a positive bacterial culture report. Among them, 206 (83.1%) patients recovered and were discharged in stable condition. Among the cirrhotic patients, the most common infection was spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (49.5%), followed by bacteremia (39.1%), lower respiratory tract infections (6.4%), urinary tract infections (2.9%) and skin and soft tissue infections (2%). Escherichia coli (28%) was the most common gram-negative bacteria. Multidrug-resistant organism infections were seen in 134 (54%) patients. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) infection (31.4%) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) infection (22.6%) were significantly associated with poor outcomes among these patients. Carbapenem-resistant organisms (22.6%) were the predominant resistant patterns seen among the gram-negative isolates in cirrhosis patients. The mortality rate among these cirrhotic patients with bacterial infection was 16.9%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>MDR and XDR bacterial infections in cirrhotic patients are an emerging threat that has a detrimental effect on prognosis. Thus, it is critical to assess strategies to prevent the development of antibiotic resistance in cirrhosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":13404,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Gastroenterology","volume":" ","pages":"198-207"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143373826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A systematic review of fully circumferential inlet patches (heterotopic gastric mucosa): More complicated than regular inlet patches.","authors":"Daniel L Cohen, Anton Bermont, Haim Shirin","doi":"10.1007/s12664-025-01738-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12664-025-01738-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Inlet patches (IP) are usually small islands of ectopic gastric mucosa found in the proximal esophagus, but rare cases of large, fully circumferential IP (FCIP) have been reported. To better understand the clinical course of patients with FCIP, we sought to perform a systematic review of all published cases.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic review of cases of FCIP was performed according to Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines after thorough searches of PubMed and journal databases for appropriate cases. No restrictions were placed as to article type, country of origin or publication year.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Total 30 cases of FCIP from 27 articles were identified. These included patients from 10 different countries published between 1985 and 2024. The mean age was 55.7 with 82.1% men and a mean circumferential IP length of 3.4 cm. A majority of patients were symptomatic with dysphagia and/or a history of food impactions (72.4%). Most cases involved complications from the IP, including a benign stricture/ring/web (20, 66.7%), adenocarcinoma (4, 13.3%) or ulcers/erosions (2, 6.7%). The benign strictures were usually treated by dilation together with anti-secretory medication (10, 50%) or just dilation or medication. The adenocarcinoma cases were treated by surgery (two cases) or endoscopic resection (two cases), while the ulcer cases were treated medically. All cases with follow-up reported a good clinical outcome.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patients with FCIP are frequently symptomatic with dysphagia or food impactions and often have complications, including a stricture/ring or cancer. Despite this, they have good clinical outcomes. Given the risk of malignancy, endoscopic surveillance may be warranted.</p>","PeriodicalId":13404,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Gastroenterology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143752473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Masked hypertension in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.","authors":"Görkem Yıldız, Gürbey Söğüt","doi":"10.1007/s12664-025-01745-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12664-025-01745-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and masked hypertension (mHT) exhibits shared characteristics, including factors such as anxiety and stress. Consequently, the aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of mHT in patients with IBS.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Patients diagnosed with IBS in 2020-2023 were re-evaluated using the Rome IV criteria. Patients who did not have sustained HT, as evidenced by repeated in-office blood pressure (BP) measurements and who did not meet the exclusion criteria (chronic renal failure, heart failure, diabetes, cerebrovascular events, pregnancy or puerperium) were included in the study group. A control group was also constituted with the same number of age and gender-matched healthy individuals. The participants were connected to a 24-hour ambulatory BP monitor and the results were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Total 128 participants, including 64 IBS patients and 64 healthy individuals, were included in our study. The age (36.9 ± 7.3 years; 37.3 ± 7.7 years) and gender (62.5% female; 62.5% female) distributions and the baseline clinical characteristics of the study and control groups were similar. The in-office systolic BP measurements of the IBS patients were significantly higher than those of the control group (124.7 ± 5.4 mmHg compared to 121.8 ± 5.2 mmHg, p = 0.02). The IBS patients also had a higher frequency of mHT (n = 21, 32.8% compared to n = 10, 15.6%, p = 0.02), higher 24-hour daytime systolic BP (127.5 ± 7.6 mmHg compared to 124.8 ± 5.22 mmHg, p = 0.02) and higher nighttime diastolic BP (62.2 ± 7.5 mmHg compared to 59.6 ± 6.1 mmHg, p = 0.03) than the control group. The study group included all four sub-types of IBS: diarrhea-dominant (IBS-D), constipation-dominant (IBS-C), mixed type (IBS-M) and unclassified (IBS-U). It was determined that 57.9% of the IBS-C patients, 27.8% of the IBS-M patients, 23.5% of the IBS-D patients and 10% of the IBS-U patients in the study group had mHT.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating a relationship between IBS and mHT. The frequency of mHT was higher among patients with IBS compared to healthy controls (p = 0.02). Studies on larger patient groups are needed to evaluate the frequency of mHT for the IBS sub-types.</p>","PeriodicalId":13404,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Gastroenterology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143700290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Partha Pal, Zaheer Nabi, Mohan Ramchandani, Kanapuram Pooja, Rajesh Gupta, Manu Tandan, D Nageshwar Reddy
{"title":"Endoscopic stricturotomy for inflammatory bowel disease strictures in anatomically challenging locations (deep small bowel, duodenum, anal canal and pouch): A case series with technical review (with videos).","authors":"Partha Pal, Zaheer Nabi, Mohan Ramchandani, Kanapuram Pooja, Rajesh Gupta, Manu Tandan, D Nageshwar Reddy","doi":"10.1007/s12664-025-01754-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12664-025-01754-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13404,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Gastroenterology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143624370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Merna Adel Aziz, Hala Mohsen Abdullatif, May S Soliman, Sawsan Okasha, Nevian Nabil, Mariam Mahmoud Balah, Hanaa El-Karaksy
{"title":"A comprehensive clinical and microbiological study on the diagnosis and management of cholangitis in patients with biliary atresia undergoing kasai portoenterostomy.","authors":"Merna Adel Aziz, Hala Mohsen Abdullatif, May S Soliman, Sawsan Okasha, Nevian Nabil, Mariam Mahmoud Balah, Hanaa El-Karaksy","doi":"10.1007/s12664-024-01721-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12664-024-01721-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Kasai-portoenterostomy (KPE) is the initial attempt to restore the bile flow and salvage the native liver in biliary atresia (BA) patients. Cholangitis is a frequent complication after KPE and adequate treatment impacts the long-term outcome. The aim of our study is to assess the severity of cholangitis episodes in a cohort of BA patients post KPE, identify the causative agents, using several diagnostic methods, as well as to assess the tolerability and efficacy of our antimicrobial protocol.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This analytical retrospective observational study, conducted at Pediatric Hepatology Unit, Cairo University Pediatric Hospital, included infants and children with cholangitis post-KPE enrolled over 30 months. Clinical data collection, basic laboratory investigations inflammatory markers, B-D glucan, blood culture, 16SrDNA, 18SrDNA were performed in all enrolled patients. Cholangitis episodes were treated with intravenous antibiotics according to our antimicrobial protocol that has been implemented in conjunction with the antimicrobial stewardship committee.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This study included 30 post-KPE patients, who experienced 47 episodes of cholangitis. Twenty-five episodes of cholangitis were culture positive cholangitis (positive blood culture and/or PCR results and/or liver biopsy). Klebsiella Variicola and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the most prevalent pathogens in 13 and seven cultures, respectively. Meropenem was the most successful antibiotic in the eradication of infection in 11(23.4%) episodes. Culture positive cholangitis showed increased incidence of sepsis and worse outcome in comparison to culture negative cholangitis. The severity of cholangitis was classified into 16 patients (34%) with infection, 28 (60%) sepsis, one (2%) severe sepsis and two (4%) septic shock.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Almost half of cholangitis episodes were culture-positive; the commonest pathogen was Klebsiella, showing more severe sepsis and worse outcome.</p>","PeriodicalId":13404,"journal":{"name":"Indian Journal of Gastroenterology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143614810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}