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A 57-year-old woman with a sudden-onset seizure was hospitalized. Brain magnetic resonance imaging findings led to a suspicion of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) without a brain parenchymal tumor, and abdominal computed tomography showed a tumor in the pancreatic tail. Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration of the pancreatic mass revealed adenocarcinoma. Therefore, LMC from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma was strongly suspected. She received three courses of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine and whole-brain radiation. Shortly thereafter, she developed a severe consciousness impediment and died. A pathological autopsy showed adenocarcinoma in a wide area of the leptomeninges.

Background To provide updates on clinical practice of acute pancreatitis (AP) in Japan, we conducted a nationwide epidemiological survey. Methods This study consisted of a two-staged survey; the number of AP patients was estimated by the first-stage survey and their clinical features were examined by the second-stage survey. We surveyed AP patients who had visited hospitals in 2016. Results The estimated number of AP patients in 2016 was 78,450, with an overall incidence of 61.8 per 100,000 persons. We obtained detailed clinical information of 2994 AP patients, including 706 (23.6%) severe cases classified according to the Japanese severity criteria. The male-to-female sex ratio was 2.0, and the mean age at onset was 59.9 years in males and 66.5 years in females. Alcohol was the most common etiology (42.8%) in males and gallstones in females (37.7%). The AP-associated mortality was 6.1% in severe AP cases, which was decreased by 40% compared to the 2011 survey. Antibiotics were administered to most cases, with carbapenem being frequently used. Enteral nutrition was given in 31.8% of severe cases, but majority cases received after 48 h. Among the 107 patients who received intervention for walled-off necrosis, five patients received surgery-first approach, 66 received endoscopic ultrasound-guided transluminal drainage, and 19 underwent step-up approach. Conclusions We clarified the current status of AP in Japan including the significant reduction of mortality in severe cases, shift to endoscopic approaches for walled-off necrosis, and poor compliance of the recommendations in the guidelines including management of enteral nutrition and antibiotic administration.

Background : Endoscopic-guided placement of metal stents for unresectable malignant hilar biliary obstruction (UMHBO) is performed using partial stent-in-stent or side-by-side (SBS) techniques. The latter involves placing sequential stents within the bile duct. Excessive dilation of the bile duct during stent placement can have serious effects on the surrounding organs. Methods : This study details seven cases of SBS placement of 8.0 mm metal stents for UMHBO. Histopathological examinations were performed to identify the effects on the bile duct and surrounding tissues. Results : The mean post-placement diameter of the bile ducts was 13.86 mm, and no compression necrosis or thrombi were observed in surrounding tissues. Cholangitis occurred in five cases, and death occurred as a result of cholecystitis in one case. Conclusion : The use of 8.0-mm stents for SBS is unlikely to have major negative effects on peribiliary tissues and blood vessels. However, post-placement cholecystitis can result in increased mortality; thus, gallbladder drainage should be considered.

A 68-year-old man with a history of diabetes mellitus was admitted to our hospital with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a suspicious tumor in the body of the pancreas, along with a dilated main pancreatic duct and edema of the pancreatic tail. Endoscopic retrograde pancreatography was performed after treating the patient's pancreatitis. When a cannula tip was advanced beyond the stenosis, deep into the distal pancreatic duct, thick white pus was evacuated. A bacteriological examination of the aspirated pancreatic juice revealed Enterobacter cloacae, and a cytological examination revealed adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis was acute obstructive suppurative pancreatic ductitis associated with pancreatic carcinoma.

Background and Aims Although endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a significant advancement in therapeutic endoscopy, it is a complicated technique and requires considerable expertise. In this exploratory study, we evaluated the efficacy of a simple traction method that uses dental floss and a hemoclip (DFC) and was developed to overcome the technical difficulties of ESD. Methods In total, 238 early gastric cancers treated by ESD between May 2012 and December 2014 at Tokyo Medical University were retrospectively reviewed. Lesions treated by conventional ESD (n = 185) and by ESD with DFC (ESD-DFC) (n = 53) were compared. Multivariable analyses and propensity score matching were used to compensate for the differences in age, sex, resected specimen size, lesion location, lesion position, presence of ulceration, and operator level. The procedure time, rate of en bloc and complete resection, and rates of adverse events were evaluated between the 2 groups. Results Propensity score matching analysis created 43 matched pairs. Adjusted comparisons between ESD-DFC and conventional ESD showed similar treatment outcomes (en bloc resection rate: 97.7% vs 100%, P = .315; complete resection rate: 90.7% vs 95.3%, P = .397; perforation during ESD rate: 2.3% vs 2.3%, P = 1.000; post-ESD bleeding rate: 4.7% vs 4.7%, P = 1.000) but a significantly shorter procedure time for ESD-DFC (82.2 ± 79.5 minutes vs 118.2 ± 71.6 minutes, P = .002). Conclusion ESD-DFC facilitated rapid ESD with good visualization and traction while ensuring high curability and safety.

OBJECTIVE Elderly gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) patients sometimes cannot be discharged home. In some cases, they die after hemostasis, even following appropriate treatment. This study investigates the clinical backgrounds and outcomes of elderly Japanese GIB patients. METHODS The medical records of 185 patients (123 men, 62 women; mean age 68.2 years; range 10-99 years) with GIB symptoms who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy or colonoscopy to detect or treat the source of GIB were retrospectively reviewed. We compared the outcomes between patients ≤70 (n=85) and >70 (n=100) years. The clinical backgrounds of the patients who died or changed hospitals to undergo rehabilitation or receive palliative care were evaluated, as were the association of four factors with these poor outcomes: GIB (re-bleeding or uncontrolled bleeding), endoscopic procedure-related complications, exacerbation of the pre-existing comorbidity, and any complications that were not directly related to GIB. RESULTS Of the patients ≤70 and >70 years of age, three (3.5%) and 17 (17.0%), respectively, were transferred to another hospital (p=0.003). One (1.2%) and five (5.0%), respectively, died (p=0.144). All three patients ≤70 years old that changed hospitals did so because their comorbidities became worse. The reasons for changing hospitals in the 17 patients >70 years of age included exacerbation of a pre-existing comorbidity (41.1%, 7/17), other complications (35.4%, 6/17), GIB itself (17.6%, 3/17), and endoscopic procedure-related complications (5.9%, 1/17). CONCLUSION Although non-elderly and elderly GIB patients had similar mortality rates, many more elderly patients could not be discharged home for various reasons.

Shear wave elastography (SWE) has been validated in chronic hepatitis C and B; however, limited data are available in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of SWE and FIB4 index for the diagnosis of fibrosis in a cohort of consecutive patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD, and to evaluate the effects of other histologic parameters on SWE measurement. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients, and this study was approved by our internal review board and ethics committee. Seventy-one patients with histologically proven NAFLD (mean age 50.8 years ± 15.7) were examined. All patients underwent SWE (Aixplorer™; SuperSonic Imagine) and FIB4 index (based on age, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels, and platelet counts) measurements. SWE measurements were compared with the histologic features based on the NAFLD activity score and FIB4 index. The area under the ROC curve for the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis stage 3 or higher was 0.821 (optimal cut-off value 13.1 kPa, sensitivity 62.5%, specificity 57.4%) for SWE and 0.822 (optimal cut-off value 1.41, sensitivity 71.9%, specificity 53.9%) for FIB4 index. The median liver stiffness values measured using SWE showed a stepwise increase with increasing hepatic fibrosis stage (P

The 2005 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES) guidelines for the management of antithrombotic drugs focused on the increasing risks of bleeding, even from biopsy during scheduled esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). The new 2012 guidelines emphasized the prevention of thromboembolic complications. To compare with the new guidelines, we investigated the clinical management of EGD by clinicians under the former JGES guidelines for patients taking antithrombotic agents.Medical records of 4574 patients (mean age 63.4 years, range 3-96 years, male/female ratio 2805/1769) who underwent scheduled EGD from April 2011 to March 2012 were reviewed retrospectively. The prescribed agents, pre-existing comorbidities, drug cessation before EGD, bleeding, and thromboembolic complications were investigated.Five hundred forty-six patients (12.0 %) were taking antithrombotic drugs (aspirin, 313; warfarin, 134; cilostazol, 57; clopidogrel, 59; ethylicosapentate, 40; prostaglandin preparations, 41; ticlopidine, 29; icosapentate, 24; dipyridamole, 4); 116 and 29 patients, respectively, were managed with a combination of 2 or 3 agents. Among 490 patients whose medical records were precisely documented, 40.6 % underwent EGD without cessation. Bleeding and thromboembolic complications were not observed. The most common pre-existing comorbidity was ischemic heart disease (27.9 %), followed by carotid or intracranial large artery atherosclerosis (20.5 %), cerebral infarction or transient ischemic attack (20.3 %), and atrial fibrillation (15.9 %). Patients with pre-existing comorbidity requiring anticoagulants frequently underwent EGD without cessation.We revealed the low impact of the 2005 JGES guidelines on the management of antithrombotic drugs. Our physicians have reasonably decided to continue antithrombotic drugs before EGD according to the risk of thromboembolism.

This study evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB), a new class of gastric acid inhibitory agents, as first-line H. pylori eradication treatment compared with 7-day proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-based triple therapy.We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 661 consecutive patients who received first-line H. pylori eradication treatment between January 2013 and October 2015. Patients who received 7-day P-CAB therapy (vonoprazan 20 mg+amoxicillin 750 mg+clarithromycin 200 mg twice/day; n=181) were compared with those who received 7-day PPI therapy (lansoprazole 30 mg/rabeprazole 20 mg+amoxicillin 750 mg+clarithromycin 200 mg twice/day; n=480) using propensity score matching analysis. The successful eradication and adverse event rates were compared between the two groups.The propensity score matching analysis yielded 175 matched pairs. Adjusted comparisons between the two groups showed a significantly higher eradication rate for the P-CAB than the PPI group in both intention-to-treat (89.1 vs. 70.9%; P0.001) and per-protocol analyses (91.2 vs. 71.7%; P0.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two therapies except skin rash. No patients discontinued H. pylori eradication treatment because of adverse events.Seven-day P-CAB-based triple therapy was more effective than 7-day PPI-based triple therapy as a first-line H. pylori eradication treatment. Seven-day P-CAB-based triple therapy was generally well-tolerated.

Background Helicobacter pylori infection causes gastric neoplasia via development of chronic atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia. The effect of H. pylori eradication on pre-existing gastric neoplasias is still controversial. The aim of this study was to use long-term observation to clarify morphologic and histologic changes in gastric adenomas following H. pylori eradication. Materials and Methods Twenty-seven patients with gastric adenomas (revised Vienna classification category 3 or 4.1) who underwent successful H. pylori eradication between April 1996 and December 1997 were followed up at regular intervals with endoscopic and histologic examination. The association between macroscopic and histologic regressions of the lesions and the following patient and lesion characteristics was assessed with univariate analysis: follow-up period, age, sex, serum pepsinogen level, lesion size, lesion location, and histologic gastritis. Results The mean follow-up period was 91.9 months (range 44–181 months). Twelve lesions (44.4%) showed macroscopic regression, of which 7 (25.9% of the total) also showed histologic regression, with the mean duration from H. pylori eradication to complete macroscopic and histologic regression being 19.9 months. The other 15 lesions (55.6%) remained stable macroscopically and histologically, of which 6 (22.2% of the total) progressed to malignancy during the follow-up period. Univariate analysis revealed that female sex (p = .005), smaller lesion size (p = .025), higher baseline serum pepsinogen II level (p = .041), and absence of intestinal metaplasia in the greater curvature of the corpus (p = .026) were significantly associated with complete regression. Conclusions Helicobacter pylori eradication may induce regression in some gastric adenomas.