Primary Gastric Tuberculosis in an Immunocompetent Patient: The Truth Lying beneath the Surface.

Gastrointestinal tuberculosis is an uncommon entity, in which clinical presentation can be widely variable, from mild and nonspecific symptoms to an acute abdomen and gastrointestinal bleeding. Gastric involvement by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is rare, especially when it occurs without other recognized infectious foci - primary gastric tuberculosis - with only a few reported cases. Endoscopic findings can be very heterogeneous, from areas of hyperemia to pseudotumor lesions. We present a case of primary gastric tuberculosis in an immunocompetent patient, in which the absence of an epidemiological context and nonspecific endoscopic findings led to a delay in the diagnosis. Bite-on-bite biopsies proved to be essential, allowing to obtain samples from deeper layers of the submucosa where M. tuberculosis was identified. This case aimed to increase awareness for this entity, especially in endemic countries or regions with a high prevalence of tuberculosis since the diagnosis is based mainly on a high index of suspicion.

A tuberculose gastrointestinal é uma entidade pouco comum, com uma apresentação clínica amplamente variável, desde sintomas ligeiros e inespecíficos até quadros de abdómen agudo e hemorragia digestiva. O envolvimento gástrico pelo Mycobacterium tuberculosis é raro, especialmente quando ocorre sem outros focos infeciosos reconhecidos ­ tuberculose gástrica primária ­, havendo apenas alguns casos descritos na literatura. Os achados endoscópicos podem ser muito heterogéneos, variando desde áreas de mucosa hiperemiada até lesões pseudo-tumorais. Apresentamos o caso de uma doente imunocompetente com diagnóstico de tuberculose gástrica primária, em que a ausência de um contexto epidemiológico e achados endoscópicos inespecíficos conduziram a um atraso no diagnóstico. As biópsias sobre biópsias mostraram ser essenciais para o diagnóstico, pois permitiram obter amostras de camadas mais profundas da submucosa do antro gástrico onde foi identificado o agente infecioso. Este caso pretende sensibilizar para existência desta entidade, especialmente em países endémicos ou regiões com alta prevalência de tuberculose, uma vez que o seu diagnóstico implica um elevado grau de suspeição.

Endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection for massive bleeding from a ruptured pseudocyst.

Arterial bleeding is a dreadful late complication of acute pancreatitis that usually mandates emergent endovascular embolization or surgery. We present the case of a massive arterial bleeding resulting from fistulization of a pseudocyst to the stomach, which was successfully managed by endoscopic injection of cyanoacrylate.

Sclerotherapy using 2 % polidocanol foam in the treatment of hemorrhoidal disease - a single-center experience.

Elastic banding and sclerotherapy are the two most commonly performed instrumental therapies in the treatment of symptomatic internal hemorrhoids. Promising results have been shown with sclerotherapy using 2 % polidocanol foam. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of polidocanol foam in the treatment of symptomatic internal hemorrhoids.

Risk factors for the emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms in liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are a reality that can alter the paradigm of treatment and prevention of infection in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). OBJECTIVE: Identify risk factors for the occurrence of MDROs in patients with LC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective study from October 2017 to March 2018 in consecutively hospitalized patients with decompensated LC with infection. Blood, urine and ascitic fluid cultures were analyzed. A p-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: MDROs isolated in 18 of 52 episodes of infection. MDROs were associated with the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) (p=0.0312), antibiotic therapy in the last 90 days (p=0.0033) and discharge within preceding 30 days or current hospitalization above 48h (p=0.0082). There was higher 90-day mortality in patients with MDROs infection (71.4% versus 35.7%, p=0.0316). CONCLUSION: MDROs infections were prevalent in this cohort and associated with 90-day mortality. Use of PPIs and antibiotics increased the risk of MDROs infections, suggesting that its prescription should be restricted to formal indication. Hospitalization was associated with the onset of MDROs, so LC patients should stay at the hospital the least possible. It is relevant to investigate other factors predisposing to the emergence of these microorganisms, in order to prevent it.

A complex case of low-phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis syndrome.

The low-phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis (LPAC) syndrome is a form of symptomatic and recurring cholelithiasis occurring in young adults, associated with mutations in the ABCB4 gene. It is a clinical syndrome characterized by at least two of the following criteria: age at onset of biliary symptoms below 40 years, intrahepatic echogenic foci or microlithiasis and recurrence of biliary symptoms after cholecystectomy. In the rare cases progressing to end-stage liver disease, a liver transplant may be indicated. We report a case of a 40-year-old female patient with clinical criteria for LPAC syndrome and with ABCB4 gene mutation. She had a complex history of choledocholithiasis recurrence despite treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid and multiple therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, and she developed portal vein thrombosis.

Endoscopic therapy in disconnected duct syndrome: re-connecting the duct.

We report the case of a 61-year-old male patient with a history of acute necrotizing biliary pancreatitis and a disconnected duct syndrome. He underwent transgastric drainage using a luminal apposing metal stent and transgastric necrosectomy with complete resolution of the necrosis. A pancreatic fistula was identified during pancreatography and a pancreatic plastic stent was placed in order to manage the disconnected duct syndrome. The tip of the pancreatic stent could be seen inside the pancreatic collection, which is an unusual finding. There was a resolution of the collection and the pancreatic stent was removed.