Esofagotomía y cierre primario por cuerpo extraño en esófago superior / Esophagotomy and primary closure due to foreign body in the upper esophagus

RESUMEN Los cuerpos extraños en el esófago son un problema frecuente en urgencias, debido la mayoría de las veces a ingestión accidental. Presentamos el caso de una paciente femenina de 50 años, sin antecedentes patológicos, que consulta por presentar la ingesta de prótesis dental mientras almorzaba, con posterior disfagia, odinofagia y dolor cervical. Se le realizan radiografías y tomografía computarizada (TC) donde se evidencia imagen radiopaca en esófago cervical. Se interconsulta con el Servicio de Gastroenterología, dada la imposibilidad de extracción de la prótesis por vía endoscópica. Se realiza luego cervicotomía lateral izquierda de emergencia, con esofagotomía, extracción del cuerpo extraño y cierre primario del esófago. La obstrucción del esófago por cuerpos extraños puede ocasionar muchas complicaciones. La consecuente demora en el tratamiento puede llevar a un marcado aumento de la mortalidad. Por eso, en este caso, se prioriza la cirugía ante un riesgo elevado de perforación y hemorragia.

ABSTRACT Esophageal foreign bodies are a common problem in the emergency department, usually due to accidental ingestion. We report the case of a 50-year-old otherwise healthy female patient who sought medical care due to dysphagia, odynophagia and cervical pain after swallowing a partial denture while having lunch. The patient underwent X-rays and a computed tomography (CT) scan which showed a radiopaque image in the upper esophagus. After a failed attempt to remove the denture through endoscopy, surgery was decided via a left lateral emergency cervicotomy with esophagotomy, foreign body removal and primary closure of the esophagus. Esophageal obstruction due to foreign bodies may cause many complications. Treatment delays may result in increased mortality. Thus, in this case we prioritized surgery due to high risk of perforation and bleeding.

Jejunal Diverticula Causing a Life-Threatening Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Case Report

A jejunal diverticulum is a rare and usually asymptomatic disease. More commonly it is usually seen as incidental findings on radiological studies or during surgery. Complications such as bleeding, perforation, abscess formation, obstruction, malabsorption, blind loop syndrome, volvulus, and intussusception may warrant surgical intervention. Herein, we report a case of a 62-year old woman presenting with massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding, she was pale, clammy and hemodynamically unstable, she was initially resuscitated with IV fluids and whole blood, urgent upper endoscopy was normal, colonoscopy revealed sigmoid colon ulcerative lesion with histopathological evidence of adenocarcinoma, there was bleeding coming from upwards. After staging of the tumor, the decision was then made to proceed to exploratory laparotomy with a pre-operative plan of segmental colectomy. Intra-operatively segmental sigmoid colectomy was performed with end to end anastomosis, during formal laparotomy we found 2 giant diverticula in the proximal jejunum, small bowel resection and end to end anastomosis was done with the good postoperative outcome. The aim of this study was to draw attention to jejunal diverticula and their serious complications such as bleeding.

Air Embolism during Upper Endoscopy: A Case Report

Air embolism is a rare complication of upper endoscopy and potentially causes life-threatening events. A 67-year-old man with a history of surgery of cardiac carcinoma and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor underwent painless upper endoscopy because of tarry stools. During the procedure, air embolism developed, which caused decreased pulse oxygen saturation and delayed sedation recovery. He recovered with some weakness of the left upper limb in the intensive care unit without hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The etiology, clinical manifestations, and treatments of air embolism are discussed based on the literature reports. Although air embolism is uncommon in endoscopic examinations, the patients’ outcomes could be improved if clinicians are alert to this potential complication, and promptly start proper diagnostic and therapeutic measures.

Issue in late diagnosis of gastric cancer / Монголын Анагаах Ухаан

Introduction@#Gastric cancer is still one of the most leading causes of mortality in the world. The highest mortality rate of gastric cancer is estimated in Mongolia. South Korea and Japan, where leading the incidence of gastric cancer, mortality rates are observed in 51th and 31nd rank respectively. In Mongolia, gastric cancer is the second leading site, after liver cancer.@*Goal@#We aimed to determine the cause of late diagnosis of gastric cancer and to evaluate supply of upper endoscopy devices and human resource for gastric cancer in the general hospital of provinces and districts. @*Materials and Methods@#In this study, 84 patients suffering from gastric cancer (42 patients in III, IV TNM stage; 42 patients in I, II TNM stage)were investigated in National Cancer Center, Mongolia. A survey questionnaire which included age, gender, education, income, risk factors and clinical questions was detected from all patients. And we conducted study of supply of upper endoscopy devices and human resource for gastric cancer in general hospitals of from 21 provinces and general hospitals of 6 districts by questionnaire. @*Results@#Seventy three(86.9%) patients were over 50 years old and the highest rates of gastric cancer were in group of 61-70 years (40.5%). From the results, the reason to visiting hospital was significantly different between two groups. 55.1% of patients suffering from early-stage gastric cancer were voluntarily diagnosed by upper endoscopy. In contrary, 55.8% of patients suffering from late-stage gastric cancer have visited the hospital due to worsening symptoms or dysphagia and vomiting. Factors such as age, gender, education, employment status and income had no significant effect on late diagnosis of gastric cancer. In totally 24(89%)general hospitals out of 27 had upper endoscopy devices and 22 (81.5%) hospitals had endoscopist. Although 75% of total general hospitals conduct annual cancer screening, 64% of them do not perform the endoscopy in annual screening.@*Conclusion@#In our country, late diagnosis of gastric cancer is related to the attitudes of patients for preventing and screening disease. Therefore, it is important to improve the health education of the population and to develop healthy, right attitudes and practices. And the study revealed that general hospitals have insufficient for upper endoscopy devices and human resource.

Clinical and endoscopic characteristics of fundic gland polyps / 中国内镜杂志

Objective To analyze the clinical and endoscopic characteristics of fundic gland polyps (FGPs).Methods A case-control study was carried out at the Afifliated Beijing Shijitan Hospital of Capital Medical University from 2008 to 2015. The patients who accepted an upper endoscopy and found the gastric polyps for the ifrst time (diagnosed by pathology) were included in the study. Then, we analyzed the clinic and pathological characteristics of FGPs and non-FGPs.Results During the study period, 867 patients were enrolled, and 319 (36.8%) patients had FGPs. Compared the cases with the controls, the size of FGPs was smaller, an average is (0.40 ± 0.15) cm, single accounted for 67.7%, and 88.1% of FGPs were located at fundus and body. Helicobacter pylori infection of the cases detected was found in 6.1%, less than non-FGPs. There were statistically signiifcant differences observed in these aspects. From 2008 to 2015, the proportion of FGPs in gastric polyps and the detection rate of FGPs are both gradually elevated.Conclusions FGPs are the common gastric polyps, and its detection rate is gradually elevated. Most of the FGPs are mainly located at fundus and body, and single. Helicobacter pylori infection detected in the patients who have FGPs is rare.

Pressão inspiratória máxima e sua relação com sintomas e fatoresassociados a doença de refluxo gastroesofágico

A doença do refluxo gastroesofágico é o retorno do conteúdo gástrico através do esfíncter esofágico inferior independentemente da sua etiologia, manifestando-se por sintomas (típicos ou atípicos) ou dano tecidual. O diafragma é o principal músculo respiratório e a sua parte crural um dos componentes fundamentais da barreira antirefluxo. As contrações deste são relacionadas às mudanças na pressão da junção esofagogástrica que normalmente são relacionadas com a respiração. Estudos apontamevidências de déficit diafragmático na doença de refluxo gastroesofágico que pode ser melhorado com treinamento diafragmático. A pressão inspiratória máxima é um método simples de avaliar a força inspiratória determinada pelo diafragma. A partir deste contexto, surgiu a hipótese de que os sintomas da doença de refluxo gastro esofágico podem se associar à pressão inspiratória máxima...

The gastroesophageal reflux disease is the return of gastric contents through the lower esophageal sphincter regardless of etiology, manifesting itself by symptoms (typical or atypical) or tissue damage. The diaphragm is the main respiratory muscle and its crural part one of the fundamental components of the antireflux barrier. Contractions of this are related to changes in pressure of the gastroesophageal junction that are usually related to breathing. Studies show evidence of diaphragmatic weaknessin gastroesophageal reflux disease that can be improved with diaphragmatic training. The maximalinspiratory pressure is a simple method to evaluate the inspiratory force determined by diaphragm. From this context, the hypothesis that the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease may be associated with the maximal inspiratory pressure...

Gastric Metastatis of Renal Cell Carcinoma Presenting as Polyps.

Metastatic tumors of the stomach are very rare, with an incidence of 0, 2%- 0, 7% in the autopsy series. Malignant melanoma, carcinomas of breast, esophagus and lung are the most frequent primary tumor sites. The present case describes a 57-year-old woman who presented to the gastroenterology department with epigastric pain, nausea and vomiting for two months. Examinations revealed gastric metastasis of Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Perforación durante la endoscopia ¿qué hacer, qué no hacer? / Perforation in endoscopy. what to do, what not to do?

Iatrogenic perforation during endoscopy is associated to significant morbidity and mortality, and presents a high incidence due to the increasing number of endoscopic procedures and the frequency of complex therapeutic procedures. Evidence available to decide which is the best strategy to manage patients with iatroenic perforation is scarce, mainly due to rare occurrence of this complication. The European Society of Gastroenterology (ESGE) published their “Position Statement on Diagnosis and management of iatrogenic endoscopic perforations” including recommendations for developing a strategy for the prevention and management of iatrogenic perforations in the gastrointestinal tract. Among the multiple recommendations, the following have shown a reduction in the morbi-mortality rate: implementing a written protocol on the management of these complications; including information on their location, and initial endoscopic management; carrying out a CT if signs or symptoms are present; attempting endoscopic closure, depending on the type of perforation, its size and endoscopic expertise; change to CO2 insufflation; derivation of luminal contents and decompression of pneumoperitoneum or pneumothorax; and finally, considering additional management based on successful closure of the perforation and on the patient’s clinical condition, as well as early surgical resolution if no endoscopic closure is performed or if the procedure fails in patients with poor clinical condition.

La perforación iatrogénica durante los procedimientos endoscópicos se asocia a significativa morbilidad y mortalidad y presenta una incidencia creciente por el alto número exploraciones endoscópicas y la realización cada vez más frecuente de procedimientos terapéuticos complejos. La evidencia disponible para decidir cuál es la mejor estrategia para manejar a los pacientes con una perforación iatrogénica es escasa, principalmente debido a lo inhabitual de esta complicación. La Sociedad Europea de Endoscopia Gastrointestinal (ESGE) publicó su “Declaración de Posición de Diagnóstico y Manejo de Perforaciones Endoscópicas Iatrogénicas” en la que formula diversas recomendaciones para desarrollar una estrategia de prevención y manejo de perforaciones iatrogénicas del tubo digestivo. Dentro de las principales recomendaciones, las siguientes han demostrado una reducción en la morbimortalidad: implementar un protocolo escrito sobre el manejo de estas complicaciones; incluir en el informe datos sobre su tamaño, localización y manejo endoscópico inicial; la realización de una tomografía computada ante síntomas o signos sugerentes; intentar el cierre endoscópico, dependiendo del tipo de perforación, su tamaño y la experiencia endoscópica disponible; el cambio a insuflación con CO2; la derivación del contenido luminal y la descompresión del neumoperitoneo o neumotórax a tensión; y finalmente, basar el manejo adicional en el éxito estimado del cierre y en la condición clínica del paciente, considerando la resolución quirúrgica precoz en caso de no realizar un cierre endoscópico o falla de éste y/o en pacientes con deterioro clínico.

Comparison between the Effectiveness of Oral Phloroglucin and Cimetropium Bromide as Premedication for Diagnostic Esophagogastroduodenoscopy: An Open-Label, Randomized, Comparative Study

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Suppression of gastrointestinal (GI) peristalsis during GI endoscopy commonly requires antispasmodic agents such as hyoscine butylbromide, atropine, glucagon, and cimetropium bromide. This study examined the efficacy of oral phloroglucin for the suppression of peristalsis, its impact on patient compliance, and any associated complications, and compared it with intravenous or intramuscular cimetropium bromide administration. METHODS: This was a randomized, investigator-blind, prospective comparative study. A total of 172 patients were randomized into two groups according to the following medications administered prior to upper endoscopy: oral phloroglucin (group A, n=86), and cimetropium bromide (group B, n=86). The numbers and the degrees of peristalsis events at the antrum and second duodenal portion were assessed for 30 seconds. RESULTS: A significantly higher number of gastric peristalsis events was observed in group A (0.49 vs. 0.08, p<0.001), but the difference was not clinically significant. No significant difference between both groups was found in the occurrence of duodenal peristalsis events (1.79 vs. 1.63, p=0.569). The incidence of dry mouth was significantly higher with cimetropium bromide than with phloroglucin (50% vs. 15.1%, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Oral phloroglucin can be used as an antispasmodic agent during upper endoscopy, and shows antispasmodic efficacy and adverse effects similar to those of cimetropium bromide.

Hemorragia digestiva alta no variceal: ¿en quiénes no debemos retrasar la endoscopia? / Non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding: when endoscopy should not be delayed?

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a frequent cause of hospital admissions and morbimortality. Endoscopy helps to identify the etiology, allows some treatment possibilities and provides prognostic information to predict the risk of rebleeding in these patients. The optimal timing for endoscopy is unclear and controversial due to the lack of prospective-randomized studies. Nowadays, we can use clinical and endoscopic scores (Blatchford and Rockall scores) that help to predict low and high risk patients for clinical intervention. In health centers that are not able to perform urgent endoscopy, these scores can determine which patients would benefit from an urgent endoscopy and determine low risk patients, who could be discharged with a deferred endoscopy. In general, several consensuses recommend the classification of the risks and perform endoscopy during the first 24 hours. In some cases, for example, hemodynamic unstable patients or with serious comorbidities, and those with active hematemesis or fresh bloody nasogastric tube, the recommendation is to perform the endoscopy during the first 12 hours of admission.

La hemorragia digestiva alta es una causa frecuente de hospitalización y de morbimortalidad. La endoscopia nos permite determinar la etiología, así como la posibilidad de realizar tratamiento y determinar el riesgo de resangrado del paciente. El tiempo adecuado y oportuno para realizar la endoscopia sigue siendo controversial, debido a la escasez de estudios prospectivos y randomizados. Se dispone hoy en día de scores clínicos y endoscópicos (Score de Blatchford y Rockall) que permiten estratificar a los pacientes en bajo y alto riesgo de intervención clínica. En centros en que no se dispone de endoscopia de urgencia, estos scores permiten determinar qué pacientes se beneficiarán con endoscopia precoz y, por sobretodo,permiten clasificar a pacientes de bajo riesgo, en que se podría en algunos casos indicar el alta, incluso con endoscopia diferida. En general, los distintos consensos recomiendan estratificar los riesgos mediante estos scores y realizar la endoscopia durante las primeras 24 h. En casos como pacientes hemodinámicamente inestables o con serias comorbilidades, y aquellos con hematemesis franca o sangrado activo por sonda nasogástrica, se recomienda realizar la endoscopia antes de las 12 h.

Sistematización de un programa de entrenamiento en endoscopia digestiva alta diagnóstica en ambiente simulado y curvas de aprendizaje en pacientes reales / Systematization of a UGE training program for diagnosis in a simulation-based setting and learning curves in real patients

Introduction: Upper endoscopy (UE) is one the most common diagnostic medical procederes. While UE is safe, it is not free of complications. Structured training programs could help to ensure technical quality and adequate safety standars. Objective: To describe a standardized training program in diagnostic UE in a simulated and a clinical environment. Methods: Gastroenterology residents of the following areas: pediatrics, adults, digestive surgery, and family medicine, without previous experience in UE, were trained in a simulated environment followed by a stage of supervised clinical practice. The achievement of 4 pre-established key-goals in UE were assessed (esophageal intubation, pylorus trespassing, second portion of the duodenum trespassing, and gastric retroversion), and learning curves were constructed. Results: Eight residents completed the simulated training sessions, followed by 130 UE performed during their clinical training. Initially, the most difficult goal to be achieved was the esophageal intubation with only 12.5 percent during the first 10 sessions, and it was statistically significant compared to the other endoscopic goals (gastric retroversion: 63.8 percent second portion of the duodenum trespassing: 46.3 percent; and pylorus trespassing: 62.5 percent p < 0.001). The learning curves were flat between 80 to 90 UE for the 4 endoscopic goals, and no complications were observed in 1,040 procedures. Conclusion: The endoscopic program reduces the training time in a manner that is efficient and safe for the patient. Simulation models could be useful to improve the trainees’ performance in more difficult stages in their training process.

Introducción: La endoscopía digestiva alta (EDA) diagnóstica es uno de los procedimientos médicos más solicitados en la práctica clínica habitual y si bien es una técnica segura no está exenta de complicaciones. Programas de entrenamiento estructurados podrían ayudar a garantizar un procedimiento de calidad y con adecuados estándares de seguridad. Objetivo: Describir un programa estandarizado de entrenamiento en EDA diagnóstica en un ambiente simulado y clínico. Métodos: residentes de los programas de gastroenterología adultos, pediátrica, cirugía digestiva y medicina familiar, sin experiencia en EDA, fueron sometidos a un programa de entrenamiento simulado, seguido de una etapa de práctica clínica supervisada. Se evaluó el cumplimiento de 4 hitos preestablecidos (intubación esofágica, paso del píloro, paso a la segunda porción duodenal y retrovisión) y se confeccionaron curvas de aprendizaje. Resultados: Ocho residentes completaron la etapa de simulación y realizaron 130 EDA durante la etapa clínica. Inicialmente el hito más difícil de cumplir fue la intubación esofágica, logrado sólo en el 12,5 por ciento en las primera 10 sesiones, existiendo una diferencia estadísticamente significativa con los otros hitos (retrovisión: 63,8 por ciento paso a la segunda porción duodenal: 46,3 por ciento y paso del píloro: 62,5 por ciento; p < 0,001). El aplanamiento de la curva de aprendizaje fue alcanzado entre la endoscopía 80 y 90 de forma comparable para los 4 hitos, sin complicaciones en 1.040 procedimientos. Conclusión: El programa de entrenamiento reduce el tiempo de entrenamiento de manera eficiente y segura para los pacientes. Modelos de simulación podrían servir para mejorar el rendimiento en etapas de mayor dificultad.

Recent Advances in Noncardiac Chest Pain in Korea

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most common cause of noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) and is present in up to 60% of patients with NCCP in Western countries. In Korea, after a reasonable cardiac evaluation, GERD is reported to underlie 41% of NCCP cases. Typical reflux symptoms are frequent in Korean patients suffering from NCCP. Therefore, a careful history of the predominant symptoms, including heartburn and acid regurgitation, is relatively indicative of the GERD diagnosis in Korea. In Korea, in contrast to Western countries, patients aged 40 years and over who have been diagnosed with NCCP but who are without alarming features should undergo endoscopy to exclude gastric cancer or peptic ulcers because of the higher prevalence of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancers in the region. In a primary care setting, in the absence of any alarming symptoms, a symptomatic response to a trial of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) is sufficient for the presumptive diagnosis of GERD. In addition, the optimal duration of a PPI test may be at least 2 weeks, as GERD symptoms tend to be less frequent or atypical in Korean patients than in patients from Western countries. In patients diagnosed with GERD-related NCCP, long-term therapy (more than 2 months) with double the standard dose of a PPI is required to alleviate symptoms. Esophageal dysmotility is relatively uncommon, and pain modulators seem to offer significant improvement of chest pain control in non-GERD-related NCCP. Most traditionally available tricyclics or heterocyclics have many undesirable effects. Therefore, newer drugs with fewer side effects (for example, the serotonin - norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) may be needed.

Insuficiencia renal crónica terminal y hemodiálisis: Alteraciones endoscópicas e histológicas del tracto gastrointestinal

Objetivos: Determinar la frecuencia de alteraciones endoscópicas e histológicas del tracto digestivo en pacientes con IRC-T en hemodiálisis. Determinar la relación entre la presencia de síntomas y los hallazgos endoscópicos. Métodos: Estudiamos 55 pacientes con IRC-T en hemodiálisis en protocolo pretrasplante renal y 55 pacientes de la consulta de gastroenterología. Se realizó EDS y colonoscopia, con toma de biopsia independientemente de la presencia o no de lesiones. Se utilizó el X2 para las variables cualitativas con un valor de p<0.05, se realizó el cálculo del 95% intervalo de confianza. Resultados: De los 110 pacientes 70% presentó alteraciones en la EDS, de éstos 44.5% eran pacientes con IRC-T y 25.5% eran controles. La diferencia fue estadísticamente significativa (p<0.0001). El hallazgo histológico más frecuente fue gastritis crónica activa. Predominaron los cambios inflamatorios de la mucosa sobre la enfermedad ulcerosa. No hubo diferencia significativa en la EDI. Los pólipos de colon y adenomas tubulares fueron más frecuentes en los pacientes con IRC-T. Conclusiones: Las lesiones gastrointestinales son más frecuentes en pacientes con IRC-T. Es necesaria la realización de estudios endoscópicos pre-transplante renal.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of endoscopic and histological changes in the digestive tract in patients with CRF-T in hemodialysis treatment and, to determine the relationship between the presence of symptoms and endoscopic findings. Methods: 55 patients in hemodialysis were studied with T-IRC on pre - kidney transplant protocol and, 55 patients from the gastroenterology unit. Upper endoscopy (UE) and colonoscopy with biopsy samples were performed, regardless of the presence of injuries. X2 was used for qualitative variables with a p-value <0.05, with 95% confidence interval. Results: Of 110 patients 70% had UE abnormalities, of which 44.5% were IRC - T patients and 25.5% were controls. The difference was statistically significant (p <0.0001). The most common histological finding was active chronic gastritis. Inflammatory changes of the mucosa predominated over ulcerative disease. There were no significant differences regarding colonoscopy. Colon polyps and tubular adenomas were more common in patients with CRF-T. Conclusions: Gastrointestinal lesions are more common in patients with CRF-T. Endoscopic evaluation in Pre - renal transplant patients are necessary.

Upper gastrointestinal tract findings in patients with noncardiac chest pain / 대한내과학회지

Noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) is defined as recurring angina-like retrosternal chest pain of noncardiac origin. Although gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is recognized as the most frequent cause of this disorder, the pathophysiology remains to be elucidated fully. In Western countries, upper endoscopy has limited value in the differential diagnosis of NCCP because most of the mucosal findings detected are consistent with GERD. By contrast, in Korea the prevalence of gastric or duodenal ulcers in NCCP patients ranges from 17.9 to 20.7%. Considering this high prevalence and the different treatment strategies for GERD and peptic ulcer disease, upper endoscopy should be included in the initial work-up for NCCP in Korean patients.

Hallazgos endoscópicos en pacientes con síntomas cardinales de enfermedad de reflujo gastroesofágico

La enfermedad de reflujo gastroesofágico (ERGE) es una enfermedad recurrente relacionada con el flujo retrógrado del contenido gástrico al esófago, con o sin daño tisular a dicho nivel. La Hernia Hiatal (HH) se asocia con ERGE, y se ha relacionado con grados severos de la enfermedad (Esofagitis Erosiva Severa y Esófago de Barrett). Objetivo: Describir la presencia y las alteraciones a nivel de la mucosa esofágica reportadas endoscópicamente en los pacientes que consultan con síntomas de ERGE al servicio de Gastroenterología del Hospital Vargas. Pacientes y métodos: estudio descriptivo de corte transversal, en el cual se evaluaron hallazgos endoscópicos de pacientes que acudieron con síntomas de ERGE a las consultas del servicio de gastroenteologia del Hospital Vargas entre enero-mayo de 2007. Resultados: de 674 pacientes encuestados, 204 pacientes (59 hombres y 145 mujeres)presentaron síntomas de ERGE, a 60 de ellos se les realizó videogastroscopia de manera aleatoria, reportando 23,33% (14 pacientes) con ERGE erosiva, 1,66% (1paciente) con tu submucoso de esófago, 6,66% con esófago Barret y 75% (45 pacientes) sin alteraciones esofágicas. 23 (38,33%) con hernia hiatal, 8 de ellos con esofagitis erosiva. Conclusiones: Nuestro trabajo confirma el valor de la endoscopia digestiva superior en la evaluación de pacientes con síntomas cardinales de ERGE.

Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a recurrent disease related with retrograde progression of gastric contents to the esophagus with or without mucosal damage at this level. Hiatal hernia is associated with GERD and it has been related with severe grades of the disease (severe erosive esophagitis and BarrettÊs esophagus). Aims: to describe the presence of endoscopic features in GERD patientss with cardinals symptoms attended at the Gastroenterology Division of the Vargas Hospital in Caracas. Patients and Methods: this was a descriptive, transversal cohort study in which endoscopic findings in patients with GERD symptoms were evaluated, at the Gastroenterology Service, between January and May 2007. Results: of 674 patients interviewed, 204 patients (59 men and 145 women) presented GERD symptoms; to 60 of them an upper endoscopy randomly was performed. 23,33% (14 patients) had erosive GERD, 1,66% (1 patient) a submucous esophageal tumor, 6,66 % with BarrettÊs esophagus and 75% (45 patients) without esophageal changes, 23 (38,33%) with hiatal hernia, 8 of them with erosive esophagitis. Conclusion: our study supports the importance of performing an upper endoscopy in patients with cardinals symptoms of GERD.

The Incidence of Gastro-Esophageal Disease for the Patients with Typical Chest Pain and a Normal Coronary Angiogram

BACKGROUND: Although patients may present with typical chest pain and exhibit ischemic changes on the cardiac stress test, they are frequently found to have a normal coronary angiogram. Thus, we wanted to determine which procedures should be performed in order to make an adequate diagnosis of the cause of chest pain. METHODS: 121 patients (males: 42, 34.7%) who had a normal coronary angiogram with typical chest pain were included in this study. All the patients underwent upper endoscopy, Bernstein's test and esophageal manometry. RESULTS: Among the 121 patients, clinically stable angina was noted in 107 (88.4%). Stress testing was done in 82 (67.8%); it was positive in 52 (63.4%). Endoscopic findings were erosive gastritis in 18 (14.8%), gastric ulcer in 4 (3.3%), duodenal ulcer in 5 (4.1%), and reflux esophagitis in 16 (13.2%). Positive results were observed on Berstein's test for 68 patients (56.2%); 59 (86.8%) of them had non-erosive reflux disease. On the esophageal manometry, 35 (28.9%) of these patients had motility disorders. Nutcracker esophagus was observed in 27 patients (22.3%), nonspecific esophageal motility disorder was observed in 5 (4.1%), and hypertensive lower esophageal sphincter was observed in 3 (2.5%). Among the 52 patients with positive cardiac stress testing and a negative coronary angiogram (this clinically corresponded to microvascular angina), 46 patients (85.1%) showed abnormal findings on the gastro-esophageal studies. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, 85.1% of the patients with microvascular angina revealed positive results of gastric or esophageal disease. In spite of any existing evidence of microvascular angina or cardiac syndrome X, it would be more advisable to perform gastro-esophageal studies to adequately manage chest pain.

The upper endoscopy in upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage of children.

Between 1992-1994, 20 children aged 3 months to 16 years who were admitted to Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital with problems of hematemesis and melena underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy. Thirteen children developed bleeding before admission and underlying diseases in 3 of these were chronic renal failure, pulmonary TB and malignant mesenchymoma. The main causes of hemorrhage in this group were gastritis (5 cases), esophagitis (3 cases) and esophageal varices (2 cases). The underlying disease of 7 children with hemoeehage during hospitalization were blood disease, SLE with renal failure and gastroesophageal reflux. The esophagitis, candida esophagitis, and gastric esosion were the etiologies of bleeding. Nine children needed blood transfusion and one had further investigations including meckel scan, tagged red cell scan and colonoscopy. Four patients died due to sepsis. The endoscopy had the value of establishing the etiology of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in 19 cases.