Conscious sedation is not routinely administered for therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in many countries. The aim of our retrospective study was to compare the safety and rate of success and complications during common bile duct (CBD) stone extraction using ERCPs performed with no-sedation (NS) or under general endotracheal anesthesia (GET). The medical records of all patients who underwent ERCP for biliary stone extraction between January 2010 and September 2013 were reviewed, and patients classified to the NS and GET groups. The primary outcomes were the rate of success of complete stone removal and rate of complications, including post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP), perforation, bleeding, pneumonia, and mortality within 30 days post-ERCP. Operative time was recorded for analysis. During the study period, 630 patients underwent ERCP, 402 with NS and 105 with GET. Among the 402 patients in the NS group, 37 (9.2%) could not complete the procedure due to an inability to tolerate the procedure. The success rate of complete stone extraction was higher among patients in the GET group than the NS group (94.3% versus 75.6%, respectively; p < 0.001). The rate of contrast injection into the pancreatic duct was higher for the NS than GET group (24.9% versus 15.2%, respectively; p = 0.008). Although non-significant, there was a higher incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) in the NS than in the GET group (10.4% versus 5.7%, respectively; p = 0.105), while the incidence of pneumonia was higher for the GET group. Biliary pancreatitis, contrast injection into the pancreatic duct and an operation time ≥30 min were independent risks factors for PEP. ERCP under GET is effective for CBD stone removal, but with slightly higher pneumonia rate after the procedure than non-sedated ERCP.

Purpose: Steadily maintaining high intra-gastric PH is the major factor for successful Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) eradication. It is important to search for a stronger PPI. Dexlansoprazole MR is a dual delayed release formulation PPI taken once daily which is capable of maintaining longer duration of high intra-gastric PH. It is very effective in treating gastroesophageal disease but reports on H, pylori eradication is very rare. This study sought to compare dexlansoprazole MR-based concomitant treatment and lansoprazole-based concomitant treatment in H. pylori infection and to investigate the factors that affect the eradication rates. Methods: Two hundred two participants with H. pylori infection were included and randomly assigned to seven days of dexlansoprazole MR-based concomitant therapy (dexlansoprazole MR 60 mg once daily, clarithromycin 500 mg twice daily, amoxicillin 1 g twice daily and metronidazole 500 mg twice daily; DACM group) or a seven days of lansoprazole-based concomitant therapy (lansoprazole 30 mg twice daily, clarithromycin 500 mg twice daily, amoxicillin 1 g twice daily, and metronidazole 500 mg twice daily; LACM group). The participants were asked to perform urea breath tests eight weeks later. Results: The eradication rates in the DACM group were 86.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 77.8%–92.2%] in the ITT analysis and 90.6% (95% CI: 82.9%–95.6%) in the PP analysis, respectively, as compared with 90.1% (95% CI: 82.6%–95.2%) and 92.6% (95% CI: 85.5%–96.9%) (p=0.384 and p=0.572, respectively) in the LACM group for the same analyses. The adverse event rates were 11.5% in the DACM group and 10.2% in the LACM group (p=0.779). Conclusion: As a first-line H. pylori treatment regimen, dexlansoprazole MR-based concomitant therapy attained a successful eradication rate of 90%, which was non inferior to that of lansoprazole-based concomitant treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03829150.

Background: Evidence supporting the feasibility of single-stage stone removal in patients with a moderate grade of acute cholangitis remains insufficient. The maximal size of a common bile-duct stone suitable for removal during a single-stage ERCP in a moderate grade of acute cholangitis is unknown. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 196 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-naïve patients diagnosed with acute cholangitis and choledocholithiasis. For eligible patients, single-stage treatment involved stone removal at initial ERCP. Results: A total of 123 patients were included in the final analysis. The success rate of complete stone extraction was similar between patients with mild and moderate grades of acute cholangitis (89.2% vs. 95.9%; p = 0. 181). Complication rates were comparable between the two groups. In the moderate grade of the cholangitis group, among patients who underwent early single-stage ERCP, the length of hospitalization declined as short as the patients in the mild grade of cholangitis (10.6 ± 6.2 vs. 10.1 ± 5.1 days; p = 0.408). In the multivariate analysis, early ERCP indicated shorter hospitalization times (≤10 days) (odds ratio (OR), 3.981; p = 0.001). A stone size less than 1.5 cm presented a high success rate (98.0%) for complete stone removal. Conclusions: Single-stage retrograde endoscopic stone removal in mild and moderate grades of acute cholangitis may be safe and effective, which can obviate the requirement for a second session, thus reducing medical expenses. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03754491.

The imbalance of human microbiota has been associated with various inflammatory disease. Compared to intestinal flora, the esophageal microbiome has been understudied,and it remains unclear whether dysbiosis is related to reflux esophagitis (RE) and Barrett's esophagus (BE).This study aimed to synthesize findings on microbial composition changes across different regions of the gastrointestinal tract and their relationship with chronic esophageal reflux diseases. We recruited 29 RE patients (10 Grade A; 10 Grade B; 9 Grade C), 9 BE patients, and 10 healthy volunteers to study microbial composition in saliva, gastric juice, and stool using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing and analyzed serum inflammatory cytokines using ELISA. Microbiota alpha diversity exhibited no significant changes between groups. In terms of taxonomy, RE and BE patients had more gram-negative anaerobic bacteria in salivary microbiota. Notably, increased Tannerellaceae abundance correlated with elevated serum IL-6 levels, which have been linked to chronic inflammation. Helicobacter was more abundant in gastric fluid of controls. Stool analysis revealed BE patients had higher abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes, and the genus Prevotella, while Fusobacterium was more prevalent in controls. The increased abundance of Tannerellaceae in saliva was correlated with elevated serum IL-6 levels and may be a contributing factor in chronic esophageal reflux disease. BE patients had a higher abundance of Prevotella, a gram-negative bacterium, which may be linked to early stage esophageal inflammation in chronic reflux disease. Conversely, the increased abundance of Helicobacter in gastric juice may serve as a protective factor.

Background: In this study, we aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of removing a single-stage, retrograde, endoscopic common bile duct stone in patients with mild and moderate acute cholangitis associated with choledocholithiasis.Methods: We enrolled 196 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-naïve patients diagnosed with acute cholangitis and choledocholithiasis between September 2018 and February 2020 at a single hospital. For eligible patients, single-stage treatment involved stone removal at initial ERCP. Early ERCP was defined as ERCP performed ≤ 72 hours following diagnosis in the emergency room.Results: The final analysis included 138 patients. The success rate of complete stone extraction was similar in patients with mild and moderate cholangitis (88.5% vs. 91.7%; p = 0. 536). Complication rates were also comparable between the two groups. In the moderate cholangitis group, the length of hospitalization declined significantly among patients who underwent early single-stage ERCP (10.6 ± 6.1 vs. 18.7 ± 12.5 days; p = 0.001) compared with patients treated with delayed ERCP. In the multivariate analysis, early ERCP indicated shorter hospitalization times (≤ 10 days) (odds ratio (OR), 7.689; p = 0.030), while endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage, for acute cholangitis only, indicated longer hospitalization times (OR, 0.358; p = 0.030). A stone size larger than 1.5 cm was an independent risk factor for stone extraction failure (OR, 24.507; p = 0.009).Conclusions: Single-stage, retrograde, endoscopic common bile duct stone removal may be safe and effective for patients with mild and moderate cholangitis. The benefit of early single-stage ERCP (≤ 72 hours) was reflected mainly by reduced hospitalization time and costs.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03754491.