Survey of clinical practice for irritable bowel syndrome in East asian countries.

AIM: Sociocultural factors are important because their different effects on the features of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) between countries will provide clues towards solving this problem. The aims of this study were to depict the clinical realities of IBS in East Asian countries and test the hypothesis that the diagnosis and treatment of IBS differ between countries. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Study participants were 251 physicians involved in the clinical practice of IBS at major institutions in Japan, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore. The questionnaire contained 45 questions focused on the clinical practice of IBS. RESULTS: Subjects in Japan, South Korea, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore accounted for 55.4, 17.9, 8.8, 8.0, 6.4 and 3.6% of the study cohort, respectively. Amongst East Asian physicians, the most important symptom was considered to be abdominal pain by 33.4%, whilst 24.3% regarded alternating diarrhea and constipation to be the most important symptoms. Total colonoscopy and histopathology use showed no difference among countries. Prescriptions given for mild (p < 0.0001), moderate (p < 0.0001), severe (p < 0.0001), intractable (p = 0.002), diarrheal (p < 0.0001) and constipating (p < 0.0001) patients with IBS significantly differed between the countries. Except for several minor points, IBS specialists showed no significant difference in their diagnosis and treatment of IBS when compared to nonspecialists. CONCLUSION: This survey provided data on the clinical treatment of IBS among East Asian countries. The results supported the hypothesis that the diagnosis and treatment of IBS differs between countries.

The value of fecal tumor M2 pyruvate kinase as a diagnostic tool for colorectal cancer screening.

AIM: to evaluate the performance of fecal tumor M2 pyruvate kinase (M2PK) as a diagnostic biomarker for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in high-risk or symptomatic populations. METHODS: consecutive patients (N=328) who were referred for elective colonoscopy were prospectively enrolled. One walnut-sized stool sample was collected from each patient for analysis of tumor M2PK content using an ELISA kit. No dietary restrictions were applied. The clinical pathologists who conducted the M2PK analyses were blinded to the patients' confirmed diagnoses. Levels of fecal tumor M2PK were compared with histopathological results from colorectal biopsies. RESULTS: of the 328 patients who underwent colonoscopy examinations, 197 (60.1%) were men and 131 (39.9%) were women. Based on histopathological examination, 83 (25.3%) patients had normal bowel histology, 42 (12.8%) patients had CRC, 67 (20.4%) patients had adenoma, 19 (5.8%) patients had inflammatory bowel disease, three (0.9%) patients had amoebic colitis, and 114 (34.8%) patients had infective colitis. The cutoff level for tumor M2PK concentration was defined as 4.00 U/mL. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the M2PK test were 71.4%, 71.0%, 73.5%, and 94.4%, respectively. There was a significant association between CRC and fecal tumor M2PK level (P<0.001). The M2PK test detected 16 tumors among 67 (23.9%) cases of adenoma, eight tumors among 19 (42.1%) cases of inflammatory bowel disease, 35 tumors among 114 (30.7%) cases of infective colitis, and two tumors among three (66.7%) cases of amoebic colitis. CONCLUSION: the fecal tumor M2PK test has good sensitivity and specificity for CRC detection, especially in high-risk or symptomatic populations.

Gastric ulcers induced by systemic hypoxia.

AIM: to assess the effect of systemic hypoxia on gastric mucosa and the activation of stress-responsive transcription factors induced by hypoxia. METHODS: in this experimental study, rats were allocated to control and experimental groups. The experimental group was divided into subgroups and subjected to hypoxia conditions for 1, 7, 14 or 21 days. Afterwards, histopathological evaluation and study of the protein expression of the gastric mucosa were performed. RESULTS: the results showed that longer exposure to hypoxic conditions leads to more severe gastric ulceration. Twenty-four hours after induction, 60% of rats had developed gastric ulcers. Seven days after induction, 80% of rats developed gastric ulcers. In the 14-day and 21-day hypoxia conditions, epithelialization (a sign of gastric ulcer healing) was observed. Evaluation of the average ulcer depth on the day of treatment showed that the greatest depth was on day 7, and the shallowest was on day 21 of treatment. Western blot analyses demonstrated that systemic hypoxia resulted in the expression of heat shock factor (HSF) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP-70), which were highest on day 7 and then regressed gradually. In control, HSF-1 and HSP-70 were not detected by Western blot analysis in the control group (normoxia). CONCLUSION: in this study, systemic hypoxia caused gastric ulcers, and during the time of exposure to hypoxia, an adaptation process in the form of gastric epithelialization occurred in the rats. This development of gastric lesions was in line with the expression pattern of HSF-1 HIF-1 and HSP-70.

Side effects of endoscopic variceal ligation by using Indonesian Endoscopic Ligator versus Endoscopic Variceal Sclerotherapy.

AIM: to investigate the side effects and survival of endoscopic variceal ligation by using Indonesian Endoscopic Ligator versus Endoscopic Variceal Sclerotherapy. METHODS: we studied the medical records and endoscopy reports of patients who underwent endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) or endoscopic sclerotherapy (EST) from January 2003 until December 2006. EST was done using ethoxysclerol injection; and ligation was done using a home-made Indonesian endoscopic ligating device. Patient characteristics, side effects of EVL and EST, as well as survival and length of stay were collected. Data of side effects was analyzed by chi-square test. RESULTS: there were no statistically significant differences of patients characteristics among both groups. The side effects in EVL group (29.2%) were less frequent than the EST group (60.9%) (p = 0.009). The death side effect in the EVL group (1.0%) was less frequent than in the EST group (21.7%) (p<0.001). The four-year survival in patients who had EVL and EST were 91.7% and 16.7%, respectively (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: EVL had fewer side effects than EST in the treatment of esophageal varices bleeding. Death in the EVL group was lower than in the EST group.