Mucosal Schwann cell hamartoma: a benign and little-known entity.

Dear editor, 50 years-old female with personal history of mutation of the gene BRCA1 and previous prophylactic double anexectomy consulted for rectal bleeding without pain since two weeks. A blood test was performed, with hemoglobin levels of 13.1g/dl and without iron deficiency. In the anal inspection there were neither external hemorrhoids nor anal fistulas, so a colonoscopy was requested. In the colonoscopy, all the colon mucosa was normal but, in the rectal retroflexion, apart from internal engorged hemorrhoids, surrounding the 50% of the anal opening an erythematous and indurated mucosa was found (figure 1). Biopsies were taken. The pathology report informed of proliferation of spindle-shaped cells exclusively in the lamina propria with eosinophilic cytoplasm and unclear cell borders (figure 2). Not nuclear atypia or mitotic activity were observed. On immunohistochemistry, S-100 protein was strongly positive (figure 3) and CD34, SMA, EMA and c-kit were negative. These results are concordant with the diagnosis of Schwann cells in the context of a mucosal Schwann cell hamartoma (MSCH). Given that these lesions seem to not have malignant potential, the patient was discharged without control colonoscopies. The episodes of rectorrhagia were attributed to the presence of internal hemorrhoids. Discussion: MSCH are benign and intramucosal tumors with a mesenchymal origin. They are most commonly located in the distal colon, but they were also found in the gallbladder, the esophagogastric union and in the antrum. They are observed most frequently in middle aged women (around 60 years-old) and they are generally asymptomatic. They are presented as polyps between 1 and 6mm, but in other cases they appeared as small whitish nodules, protruding lesions with normal superficial mucosa or even they were found in random biopsies of the colon. The MSCH are a rare entity with an unknown prevalence. Less than 100 cases are described in the literature. It is essential the differentiation between this entity and the Schwanomas or the gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Schwanomas are rare in the colon, they are well circumscribed (in contrast with the MSCH) and they are not limited to the lamina propria. GIST are more frequently located in the stomach and they are positive for c-kit. MSCH are not associated with hereditary syndromes such as neurofibromatosis and, in contrast with Schwanomas or GIST, they do not require surveillance because they are benign.

Mucosal Schwann cell hamartoma: a benign and little-known entity

Dear editor, 50 years-old female with personal history of mutation of the gene BRCA1 and previous prophylactic double anexectomy consulted for rectal bleeding without pain since two weeks. A blood test was performed, with hemoglobin levels of 13.1g/dl and without iron deficiency. In the anal inspection there were neither external hemorrhoids nor anal fistulas, so a colonoscopy was requested. In the colonoscopy, all the colon mucosa was normal but, in the rectal retroflexion, apart from internal engorged hemorrhoids, surrounding the 50% of the anal opening an erythematous and indurated mucosa was found (figure 1). Biopsies were taken. The pathology report informed of proliferation of spindle-shaped cells exclusively in the lamina propria with eosinophilic cytoplasm and unclear cell borders (figure 2). Not nuclear atypia or mitotic activity were observed. On immunohistochemistry, S-100 protein was strongly positive (figure 3) and CD34, SMA, EMA and c-kit were negative. These results are concordant with the diagnosis of Schwann cells in the context of a mucosal Schwann cell hamartoma (MSCH). Given that these lesions seem to not have malignant potential, the patient was discharged without control colonoscopies. The episodes of rectorrhagia were attributed to the presence of internal hemorrhoids. Discussion: MSCH are benign and intramucosal tumors with a mesenchymal origin. They are most commonly located in the distal colon, but they were also found in the gallbladder, the esophagogastric union and in the antrum. They are observed most frequently in middle aged women (around 60 years-old) and they are generally asymptomatic. They are presented as polyps between 1 and 6mm, but in other cases they appeared as small whitish nodules, protruding lesions with normal superficial mucosa or even they were found in random biopsies of the colon. The MSCH are a rare entity with an unknown prevalence. Less than 100 cases are described in the literature. ... (AU)

Is Occupation a Risk Factor for Developing Inflammatory Bowel Disease? A Case-Control Study.

Background and aims: The role of occupation is uncertain in the onset of inflammatory bowel diseases. The aim of this study is to identify if there is a role of occupation in these diseases. Materials and methods: A case-control study with incident cases with inflammatory bowel diseases was designed. Cases and controls were recruited simultaneously and controls followed a sex and age frequency matching with cases. A detailed questionnaire was completed by all the participants. To analyze the results, a logistic regression was used. A subgroup analysis was performed for each inflammatory bowel disease. Results: A total of 141 patients with incident inflammatory bowel disease (80 ulcerative colitis, 55 Crohn's disease, and 6 unclassified colitis) and 114 controls were included. There were no statistically significant differences in type of work, working hours, contact with animals, or physical activity at work between inflammatory bowel disease patients and controls. After stratifying results according to type of IBD, there were no statistically significant differences either. Conclusions: There seems to be no risk for inflammatory bowel disease onset regarding the type of work, working hours, contact with animals, or sedentariness.

The impact of obesity on postoperative complications and short-term survival after liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Obesity is considered a risk factor for perioperative complications, but its effect on patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT) remains unclear. This study was conducted to analyze the impact of obesity on early morbidity and mortality risk following LT. METHODS: A multicenter study of outcomes in patients submitted to LT between 2009 and 2019 was conducted. Recipients were stratified into obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and nonobese patients (BMI < 30 kg/m2). Early postoperative complications were compared and 30-day and 1-year patient and graft survival were assessed by Kaplan-Meier method. Primary graft nonfunction (PGNF) was defined as the presence of total bilirubin > 10 mg/dl, INR > 1.6 or ALT > 2000 U/l within the first week after LT. RESULTS: A total of 1608 patients were included after applying exclusion criteria, nonobese (1149, 71.46%) and obese patients (459, 28.54%). There were no significant differences in age, sex, Model for End-stage Liver Disease, Charlson comorbidity score, ethnicity, waiting list time and ischemia time. There were significantly higher rates of vascular (17.58% vs 23.53%, P = 0.021) and biliary complications (27.68% vs 35.73%, P = 0.006) and PGNF (11.40% vs 12.20%, P = 0.021) in obese patients. There was a significantly increased risk for long-term graft failure; however, there was no significant difference in patient survival after LT. CONCLUSION: Obese patients have significantly increased morbidity in terms of vascular and biliary complications and PGNF after LT. They have a higher risk for worse 1-year graft survival in comparison to controls.

Radon exposure and inflammatory bowel disease in a radon prone area

Introduction: inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multifactorial pathology with an increasing incidence. There is no study that has assessed a possible relationship with very high residential radon exposure in the study area. The aim of the study was to analyze if residential radon concentration is associated with a higher incidence of IBD.Material and methods: an ecological study was performed. All incident cases of inflammatory bowel disease in the area of Santiago de Compostela were included between January and December 2017. Radon levels at a municipal level were correlated with demographic factors and type of IBD.Results: ninety-six patients were included, 63 (65.6 %) with ulcerative colitis, 29 (30.25) with Crohn's disease and four (4.2 %) with indeterminate colitis. The incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants-year was 21.6 cases. There were no statistically significant differences in the type of disease developed regarding radon levels (p > 0.05). No correlation between radon levels and the cumulative incidence of inflammatory bowel disease at the municipal level was observed (Spearman's rho = 0.13, p-value 0.5).Conclusion: in the area of Santiago de Compostela, there is a higher incidence of IBD in comparison with previous studies using western countries as reference. However, there was no correlation with the municipal average radon concentration and incidence of IBD or any of its types in this study. (AU)

Radon exposure and inflammatory bowel disease in a radon prone area.

INTRODUCTION: inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multifactorial pathology with an increasing incidence. There is no study that has assessed a possible relationship with very high residential radon exposure in the study area. The aim of the study was to analyze if residential radon concentration is associated with a higher incidence of IBD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: an ecological study was performed. All incident cases of inflammatory bowel disease in the area of Santiago de Compostela were included between January and December 2017. Radon levels at a municipal level were correlated with demographic factors and type of IBD. RESULTS: ninety-six patients were included, 63 (65.6 %) with ulcerative colitis, 29 (30.25) with Crohn's disease and four (4.2 %) with indeterminate colitis. The incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants-year was 21.6 cases. There were no statistically significant differences in the type of disease developed regarding radon levels (p > 0.05). No correlation between radon levels and the cumulative incidence of inflammatory bowel disease at the municipal level was observed (Spearman's rho = 0.13, p-value 0.5). CONCLUSION: in the area of Santiago de Compostela, there is a higher incidence of IBD in comparison with previous studies using western countries as reference. However, there was no correlation with the municipal average radon concentration and incidence of IBD or any of its types in this study.