Factors predicting incomplete endoscopic hemostasis in bleeding gastroduodenal ulcers.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate the factors contributing to failure of initial hemostasis in patients undergoing endoscopic hemostasis. METHODOLOGY: A total of 316 patients underwent endoscopic hemostasis for bleeding peptic ulcers in a period of 4 years. RESULTS: For hemostatic procedures, application of hemostatic clips, band ligation, injection of hypertonic saline epinephrine solution, soft coagulation, and argon plasma coagulation were employed either singly or in combination. Patients were divided into the following 2 groups for multivariate analysis: durable hemostasis (n = 268) and failed initial (incomplete) hemostasis (n = 48). Hemodialysis was a risk factor of incomplete hemostasis (Odds Ratio [OR] = 2.306, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.033-5.147; p = 0.041). Compared with the duodenal 2nd portion, the following bleeding sites had significantly lower risk of incomplete hemostasis (approximately 5 times less likely): The duodenal bulb (D), OR = 0.215, 95% CI = 0.058-0.797 (p = 0.022); the L region, OR = 0.207, 95% CI = 0.046-0.919 (p = 0.038); the M region, OR = 0.132, 95% CI = 0.036-0.482 (p = 0.002); and the U region, OR = 0.164, 95% CI = 0.041-0.649 (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONn: Hemodialysis and a bleeding site located in the duodenal second portion were the factors strongly associated with incomplete hemostasis in bleeding gastroduodenal ulcers.

Stenosis of gastric body as a rare complication after endoscopic submucosal dissection for multiple gastric epithelial tumors.

We experienced a rare case of stenosis of the gastric body, a wider tract, that occurred after multiple, wide endoscopic resection five times for four lesions of early gastric cancer and gastric adenomas. We report this case as a sentinel experience of endoscopic submucosal dissection of the stomach.

Postmarketing surveillance of rabeprazole in upper gastrointestinal peptic lesions in Japanese patients with coexisting hepatic disorders.

BACKGROUND: Many Japanese patients with hepatic disorders confirmed on diagnostic imaging and coexisting upper gastrointestinal (GI) peptic lesions receive treatment with proton pump inhibitors. Some pharmacotherapies used to treat peptic ulcers have been associated with adverse drug reactions (ADRs), including elevated liver enzyme levels. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the tolerability and effectiveness of rabeprazole sodium in treating peptic lesions in patients with coexisting hepatic disorders. METHODS: This open-label, practice-based, postmarketing surveillance investigation was conducted at 15 centers across Japan. Male and female patients aged ≥18 years with peptic lesions confirmed on upper GI endoscopy and with underlying hepatic disease were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to receive rabeprazole 10 or 20 mg PO (tablet) QD after a meal for up to 8 weeks. Tolerability was assessed using monitoring of the incidence of ADRs determined by direct patient questioning, spontaneous reporting, and laboratory assessment. All patients who received at least 1 dose of study drug were included in the tolerability assessment. Effectiveness was assessed at baseline and study end using the rates of achievement of improvement on endoscopy, relief of subjective/objective symptoms (rates of improvement in epigastric pain and heartburn), and global improvement. The effectiveness analysis included all patients with complete data before and after treatment. Subanalyses were conducted to determine the effectiveness of drug by identification of the proportion of patients with coexisting hepatic disorders (cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, and other hepatic diseases [eg, alcoholic hepatitis, fatty liver]) and by peptic lesion (gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, stomal ulcer, and reflux esophagitis) who achieved improvement. RESULTS: A total of 114 patients were enrolled; 108 patients were included in the tolerability analysis (81 men, 27 women; mean age, 59.9 years; 10-mg dose, 90 patients; 20-mg dose, 18 patients) and 98 patients were included in the analysis of effectiveness. Twenty-one ADRs occurred in 11 (10.2%) patients. Serious ADRs occurred in 2 patients (elevated bilirubin level and hepatic encephalopathy, 1 patient each). Administration of rabeprazole was discontinued in 5 patients due to the occurrence of the following ADRs: constipation (1 patient); epigastric pain (1); dyslalia, disorientation, tremor, sleep disorder, and hepatic encephalopathy (1); diarrhea (1); and elevated alkaline phosphatase and y-glutamyl transpeptidase levels (1). On endoscopy, the proportion of patients achieving improvement with either dose was 30/33 (90.9%). The relief rates assessed using subjective symptoms were 47/55 (85.5%) and 47/56 (83.9%) for epigastric pain and heartburn, respectively. The proportion of patients achieving global improvement with either dose was 80/98 (81.6%) patients (49/62 [79.0%] for cirrhosis, 11/16 [68.8%] for chronic hepatitis, and 20/20 [100.0%] for other hepatic diseases [alcoholic hepatitis, fatty liver]). CONCLUSION: In this study in Japanese patients with hepatic disorders, rabeprazole was well tolerated and appeared effective for the treatment of upper GI peptic lesions.