Proton Pump Inhibitors Diminish Barrett's Esophagus Length: Our Experience.

AIM: Our main objectives were to evaluate the influence of two-year proton pump inhibitors (PPI) therapy in patients with Barrett's oesophagus on its length, in both types, short and long segment. METHODS: In this single-centre, prospective interventional controlled study were analysed data collected prospectively over two years from patients with Barrett's oesophagus diagnosed by endoscopy. Patients who received continuous proton pump inhibitors (PPI) for 2 years were included. At each patient visit symptoms were recorded, and at each endoscopy, the length of Barrett's oesophagus (BE) was measured. Biopsies were taken along the length of the oesophagus at intervals of 1 cm. In total, 50 patients with Barrett's oesophagus were included in the study: 10 of whom had long-segment Barrett's oesophagus, and 40 patients had short-segment Barrett's oesophagus. The mean number of endoscopies performed was 3 per patient. RESULTS: The length of Barrett's esophagus (BE) was influenced by PPI therapy: Circumferential extension in BE patients short-segment Barrett's esophagus (SSBE) (before treatment was 1.5 cm and after treatment was 0.8 cm Maximum proximal extension in SSBE group before treatment was 2.3 cm (SD ± 1.1 cm), and 1.1 cm (SD ± 0.9 cm), respectively. Squamous islands were detected in 25% of patients examined after 2 years on PPIs. CONCLUSIONS: PPIs achieve a reduction to the length of Barrett's oesophagus, in both types, and the development of squamous islands is commonly associated with their use.

The Incidence of Impacted Maxillary Canines in a Kosovar Population.

Aim. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of impacted maxillary canines in a Kosovar population. Materials and Methods. The study consisted of a retrospective analysis of the records of 8101 patients treated in the University Dentistry Clinical Center of Kosovo between August 2001 and February 2004. The chi-squared test was used to examine potential differences in the distribution of impacted maxillary canines stratified by gender, age, location (left or right), and position. P < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. Results. It was found that the incidence of impacted maxillary canines was 1.62%. Of the 131 impacted maxillary canines, 101 were in female patients and 30 were in male patients, a statistically significant difference. Ages were in the range of 9 to >20 years, with a mean age of 24.38 ± 8.09 years. Of these subjects, 99 (75.57%) had unilaterally impacted maxillary canines, while 32 (24.43%) had bilateral impactions, a statistically significant difference (P < 0.00002). Impacted canines in 92 subjects (70.2%) were palatally placed, and 18 (13.7%) were labially placed. This difference was also statistically significant (P < 0.00001). Conclusion. The incidence of impacted maxillary canines in the sample Kosovar population was 1.62%, which is comparable to the findings from previous studies.