Cold versus hot snare resection with or without submucosal injection of 6- to 15-mm colorectal polyps: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cold snare resection of colorectal lesions has been found to be safe and effective for an expanding set of colorectal lesions. In this study, we sought to understand the efficacy of simple cold snare resection and cold EMR versus hot snare resection and hot EMR for colorectal lesions 6 to 15 mm in size. METHODS: At 3 U.S. centers, 235 patients with 286 colorectal lesions 6 to 15 mm in size were randomized to cold snaring, cold EMR, hot snaring, or hot EMR for nonpedunculated colorectal lesions 6 to 15 mm in size. The primary outcome was complete resection determined by 4 biopsy samples from the defect margin and 1 biopsy sample from the center of the resection defect. RESULTS: The overall incomplete resection rate was 2.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], .8%-7.5%). All 7 incompletely removed polyps were 10 to 15 mm in size and removed by hot EMR (n = 4, 6.2%), hot snare (n = 2, 2.2%), or cold EMR (n = 1, 1.8%). Cold snaring had no incomplete resections, required less procedural time than the other methods, and was not associated with serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Cold snaring is a dominant resection technique for nonpedunculated colorectal lesions 6 to 15 mm in size. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT03462706.).

The Impact of Hospital Teaching Status on Colonoscopy Perforation Risk: A National Inpatient Sample Study.

BACKGROUND: Colonoscopy has been widely used as a diagnostic tool for many conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy complications include perforation, hemorrhage, abdominal pain, as well as anesthesia risk. Although rare, perforation is the most dangerous complication that occurs in the immediate post-colonoscopy period with an estimated risk of less than 0.1%. Studies on colonoscopy perforation risk between teaching hospitals and non-teaching hospitals are scarce. METHODS: The National Inpatient Sample database was queried for patients who underwent inpatient colonoscopy between January 2010 and December 2014 in teaching versus non-teaching facilities in order to study their perforation rates. Our study population included 257,006 patients. Univariate regression was performed, and the positive results were analyzed using a multivariate regression module. RESULTS: Teaching hospitals had a higher risk of perforation (odds ratio 1.23, confidence interval 1.07 - 1.42, P = 0.004). Perforation rates were higher in females, patients with inflammatory bowel disease and dilatation of strictures. Polypectomy did not yield any statistical difference between the study groups. Other factors such as African-American ethnicity appeared to have a lower risk. CONCLUSION: Perforation rates are higher in teaching hospitals. More studies are needed to examine the difference and how to mitigate the risks.

Secondary angiodysplasia-associated gastrointestinal bleeding in end-stage renal disease: Results from the nationwide inpatient sample.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease is associated with angiodysplasia of gastrointestinal tract leading to increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. AIM: To determine the nationwide prevalence, trends, predictors and resource utilization of angiodysplasia-associated gastrointestinal bleeding in end-stage renal disease hospitalizations. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from 2009 to 2014, was utilized to conduct a retrospective study on patients with angiodysplasia associated- gastrointestinal bleeding and end-stage renal disease. Hospitalizations with end-stage renal disease were included in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database and a subset of hospitalizations with end-stage renal disease and angiodysplasia-associated gastrointestinal bleeding were identified with International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification codes for both end-stage renal disease (585.6) and Angiodysplasia (569.85, 537.83). RESULTS: The prevalence of angiodysplasia-associated gastrointestinal bleeding was 0.45% (n = 24709) among all end-stage renal disease patients (n = 5505252) that were hospitalized. Multivariate analysis indicated that the following were significant factors associated with higher odds of angiodysplasia associated-gastrointestinal bleeding in end-stage renal disease patients: an increasing trend from 2009-2014 (P < 0.01), increasing age (P < 0.0001); African American race (P = 0.0206); increasing Charlson-Deyo Comorbidity Index (P < 0.01); hypertension (P < 0.0001); and tobacco use (P < 0.0001). Diabetes mellitus (P < 0.0001) was associated with lower odds of angiodysplasia associated-gastrointestinal bleeding in end-stage renal disease patients. In comparison with urban teaching hospitals, rural and urban nonteaching hospitals were associated with decreased odds of angiodysplasia associated-gastrointestinal hemorrhage. CONCLUSION: Angiodysplasia-associated gastrointestinal bleeding in end-stage renal disease patients showed an increasing trend from 2009-2014. Advanced age, African American race, overall high comorbidities, hypertension and smoking were significant factors for angiodysplasia-associated gastrointestinal bleeding in end-stage renal disease hospitalized patients.

Transplant-Amenable Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Fontan Patient.

The Fontan circulation alters a patient's physiology and imparts long-term risks related to chronically elevated systemic venous pressure. An increasing number of patients with Fontan physiology are surviving into adulthood and are at risk of hepatic sequalae. The ideal timeline and method of hepatic surveillance in the Fontan population remains to be defined. In this case, the patient was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma more than 20 years after undergoing the Fontan procedure and was a candidate for combined heart-liver transplant. That her disease progressed prior to organ availability supports the argument for hepatic surveillance in this population.

Gut microbiome profiling and colorectal cancer in African Americans and Caucasian Americans.

AIM: To determine whether and to what extent the gut microbiome is involved in regulating racial disparity in colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: All patients were recruited and experiments were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations by the Institutional Review Boards (IRB), committees of the John D. Dingell VAMC and Wayne State University guidelines. African American (AA) and Caucasian American (CA) patients were scheduled for an outpatient screening for colonoscopy, and no active malignancy volunteer patients were doubly consented, initially by the gastroenterologist and later by the study coordinator, for participation in the study. The gut microbial communities in colonic effluents from AAs and CAs were examined using 16sRNA profiling, and bacterial identifications were validated by performing SYBR-based Real Time PCR. For metagenomic analysis to characterize the microbial communities, multiple software/tools were used, including Metastats and R statistical software. RESULTS: It is generally accepted that the incidence and mortality of CRC is higher in AAs than in CAs. However, the reason for this disparity is not well understood. We hypothesize that the gut microbiome plays a role in regulating this disparity. Indeed, we found significant differences in species richness and diversity between AAs and CAs. Bacteroidetes was more abundant in AAs than in CAs. In particular, the pro-inflammatory bacteria Fusobacterium nucleatum and Enterobacter species were significantly higher in AAs, whereas probiotic Akkermansia muciniphila and Bifidobacterium were higher in CAs. The polyphyletic Clostridia class showed a divergent pattern, with Clostridium XI elevated in AAs, and Clostridium IV, known for its beneficial function, higher in CAs. Lastly, the AA group had decreased microbial diversity overall in comparison to the CA group. In summary, there were significant differences in pro-inflammatory bacteria and microbial diversity between AA and CA, which may help explain the CRC disparity between groups. CONCLUSION: Our current investigation, for the first time, demonstrates microbial dysbiosis between AAs and CAs, which could contribute to the racial disparity of CRC.

Brunner's gland hamartoma: a rare cause of iron deficiency anaemia and report of an adapted colonic polyp resection technique.

A man aged 65 years presented with symptomatic anaemia without overt gastrointestinal bleeding. An oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) was performed and he was found to have a large ulcerated pedunculated Brunner's gland hamartoma in the duodenal bulb. The polyp was resected using snare cautery in forward and retroflexed positions. Colonoscopy was also performed and a few diminutive polyps were resected. A year later, the patient returned for a surveillance EGD, and no residual polyp was noted. Haemoglobin and iron studies normalised within a few months after polypectomy, with resolution of symptoms.

Predictors of suboptimal bowel preparation in asymptomatic patients undergoing average-risk screening colonoscopy.

AIM: To identify risk factors for a suboptimal preparation among a population undergoing screening or surveillance colonoscopy. METHODS: Retrospective review of the University of Michigan and Veteran's Administration (VA) Hospital records from 2009 to identify patients age 50 and older who underwent screening or surveillance procedure and had resection of polyps less than 1 cm in size and no more than 2 polyps. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease or a family history of colorectal cancer were excluded. Suboptimal procedures were defined as procedure preparations categorized as fair, poor or inadequate by the endoscopist. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of suboptimal preparation. RESULTS: Of 4427 colonoscopies reviewed, 2401 met our inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Of our population, 16% had a suboptimal preparation. African Americans were 70% more likely to have a suboptimal preparation (95%CI: 1.2-2.4). Univariable analysis revealed that narcotic and tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) use, diabetes, prep type, site (VA vs non-VA), and presence of a gastroenterology (GI) fellow were associated with suboptimal prep quality. In a multivariable model controlling for gender, age, ethnicity, procedure site and presence of a GI fellow, diabetes [odds ratio (OR) = 2.3; 95%CI: 1.6-3.2], TCA use (OR = 2.5; 95%CI: 1.3-4.9), narcotic use (OR = 1.7; 95%CI: 1.2-2.5) and Miralax-Gatorade prep vs 4L polyethylene glycol 3350 (OR = 0.6; 95%CI: 0.4-0.9) were associated with a suboptimal prep quality. CONCLUSION: Diabetes, narcotics use and TCA use were identified as predictors of poor preparation in screening colonoscopies while Miralax-Gatorade preps were associated with better bowel preparation.

Role of cancer stem cells in racial disparity in colorectal cancer.

Although African-Americans (AAs) have a higher incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) than White people, the underlying biochemical mechanisms for this increase are poorly understood. The current investigation was undertaken to examine whether differences in self-renewing cancer stem/stem-like cells (CSCs) in the colonic mucosa, whose stemness is regulated by certain microRNAs (miRs), could partly be responsible for the racial disparity in CRC. The study contains 53 AAs and 47 White people. We found the number of adenomas and the proportion of CD44(+) CD166(-  ) CSC phenotype in the colon to be significantly higher in AAs than White people. MicroRNAs profile in CSC-enriched colonic mucosal cells, expressed as ratio of high-risk (≥3 adenomas) to low-risk (no adenoma) CRC patients revealed an 8-fold increase in miR-1207-5p in AAs, compared to a 1.2-fold increase of the same in White people. This increase in AA was associated with a marked rise in lncRNA PVT1 (plasmacytoma variant translocation 1), a host gene of miR-1207-5p. Forced expression of miR-1207-5p in normal human colonic epithelial cells HCoEpiC and CCD841 produced an increase in stemness, as evidenced by morphologically elongated epithelial mesenchymal transition( EMT) phenotype and significant increases in CSC markers (CD44, CD166, and CD133) as well as TGF-ß, CTNNB1, MMP2, Slug, Snail, and Vimentin, and reduction in Twist and N-Cadherin. Our findings suggest that an increase in CSCs, specifically the CD44(+) CD166(-) phenotype in the colon could be a predisposing factor for the increased incidence of CRC among AAs. MicroRNA 1207-5p appears to play a crucial role in regulating stemness in colonic epithelial cells in AAs.