Effect of Sending Educational Video Clips via Smartphone Mobile Messenger on Bowel Preparation before Colonoscopy

BACKGROUND/AIM: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of sending educational video clips via smartphone mobile messenger (SMM) on enhancing bowel preparation before colonoscopy. METHODS: This was a prospective, endoscopist-blinded, randomized controlled study. Patients in the SMM group received two video clips sent via SMM that explained the diet and regimen for bowel preparation, whereas those in the control group did not receive any video clips. We compared the quality of bowel preparation between the two groups, which was assessed by an endoscopist using the Ottawa scale. RESULTS: Between August and November 2014, 140 patients in the SMM group and 141 patients in the control group underwent colonoscopic examination. The total Ottawa score of the SMM group was significantly lower than that of the control group (5.47±1.74 vs. 5.97±1.78, p=0.018). These results were particularly prominent in the younger age group; the total Ottawa score of patents in the SMM group aged <40 years was significantly lower than that of patients in the control group aged <40 years (5.10±1.55 vs. 6.22±2.33, p=0.034). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that sending educational video clips via SMM could result in better bowel preparation, especially in the younger age group.

The Influence of Iron Deficiency on Helicobacter pylori Eradication

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Helicobacter pylori is a distinctive pathogen that lives in the gastric mucosa and is a well known risk factor of gastric adenocarcinoma. Iron deficiency aggravates the development of H. pylori-induced premalignant and malignant lesions in a cagA-dependent manner, enhancing H. pylori virulence. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between iron deficiency and H. pylori eradication rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants who received 7 days of first-line triple therapy with serum iron level measured in parallel were retrospectively investigated between 2005 and 2014. H. pylori eradication was confirmed by the rapid urease test or 13C-urea breath test at least 4 weeks after completion of triple therapy. Iron deficiency was defined as either a serum iron level less than 50 µg/dL or a serum ferritin level less than 12 ng/mL. RESULTS: A total of 194 patients received 7 days of first-line triple therapy along with parallel serum iron level measurements over the 10-year period. The mean average age was 53.3 years (range, 21~86 years), and 135 patients (69.6%) were male. The overall H. pylori eradication rate was 83.5%. Proportions of eradication success with ferritin level less than 12 ng/mL and iron less than 50 µg/dL were 90.5% and 88.6%, respectively. However, there was no statistical difference in eradication rates according to iron deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Iron deficiency might not be related with H. pylori eradication rates in this study. Further large-scale studies are needed to confirm this result.

A Case of Gallbladder Perforation Complicated by Acalculous Cholecystitis due to Non-Typhoidal Salmonella / 대한내과학회지

Salmonella infections can cause a variety of diseases, but acute acalculous cholecystitis complicated by gallbladder perforation occurs very rarely in adults. Here, we report a case of acute acalculous cholecystitis with gallbladder perforation after non-typhoidal group D Salmonella infection. A 71-year-old man was admitted with fever, chills, and watery diarrhea. Blood cultures taken on admission were positive for non-typhoidal group D Salmonella. The patient subsequently developed acute acalculous cholecystitis, and abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography revealed gallbladder perforation. Because of other medical problems, cholecystectomy could not be performed. The patient's symptoms and signs were not resolved, even after parenteral antibiotic injection and percutaneous cholecystostomy. Despite meticulous supportive care, the patient died after progression to multiple organ dysfunction.

Entecavir-induced Tubulointerstitial Nephritis / 대한신장학회지

Acute interstitial nephritis is an important cause of acute kidney injury and most often induced by drug therapy. Entecavir is a potent antiviral agent approved for chronic hepatitis B. The antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B management is important because it reduces viral replication and liver injury, prevents development of complications, such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and thus improves patient's survival. The advantage of entecavir is its safety profile, particularly in patients with renal dysfunction. Although doses of entecavir are needed to be adjusted for patients with renal dysfunction, there has been no known renal toxicity of the drug itself. Here we report a patient with chronic hepatitis B and normal renal function who developed acute kidney injury due to tubulointerstitial nephritis after 10 months of entecavir therapy. Renal biopsy showed not only acute changes of interstitial nephritis such as marked cortical infiltration with lymphoplasma cells and neutrophils, mesangial matrix expansion, eosinophilic granular casts and degenerative epithelial cells within tubular lumen but also chronic changes, minimal tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis. After immunosuppressant therapy with steroids and mycofenolate mofetil, the patient's renal function improved.

Prediction of compensated liver cirrhosis by ultrasonography and routine blood tests in patients with chronic viral hepatitis / 대한간학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Liver biopsy is a standard method for diagnosis of liver cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis. Because liver biopsy is an invasive method, non-invasive methods have been used for diagnosis of compensated liver cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis. The current study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of ultrasonography and routine blood tests for diagnosis of compensated liver cirrhosis in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. METHODS: Two hundred three patients with chronic viral hepatitis who underwent liver biopsy were included in this study and ultrasonography and routine blood tests were analyzed retrospectively. Ultrasonographic findings, including surface nodularity, parenchyma echogenecity, and spleen size, were evaluated. The diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography and routine blood tests were examined. RESULTS: Discriminant analysis with forward stepwise selection of variables showed that liver surface nodularity, platelet count, and albumin level were independently associated with compensated liver cirrhosis (p95% specificity: platelet count 1.3; and surface nodularity. If at least one of the four variables exists in a patient with chronic viral hepatitis, we can predict liver cirrhosis with 90% specificity and 61% sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that four variables (platelet count 1.3, and surface nodularity) can be used for identification of liver cirrhosis in patients with chronic viral hepatitis with high specificity.