No abstract

AIM:To investigate whether tumor marker staining can improve the sensitivity of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) to diagnose pancreatic malignancy. METHODS:Patients who underwent EUS-FNA were retrospectively identified. Each EUS-FNA specimen was evaluated by routine cytology and stained for tumor markers p53, Ki-67, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA19-9. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (PLR and NLR) were calculated in order to evaluate the performance of each test to detect malignancy. RESULTS:Sixty-one specimens had complete sets of stains, yielding 49 and 12 specimens from pancreatic adenocarcinomas and benign pancreatic lesions due to pancreatitis, respectively. Cytology alone had sensitivity and specificity of 41% and 100% to detect malignancy, respectively. In 46% of the specimens, routine cytology alone was deemed indeterminate. The addition of either p53 or Ki-67 increased the sensitivity to 51% and 53%, respectively, with perfect specificity, PPV and PLR (100%, 100% and infinite). Both stains in combination increased the sensitivity to 57%. While additional staining with CEA and CA19-9 further increased the sensitivity to 86%, the specificity, PPV and PLR were significantly reduced (at minimum 42%, 84% and 1, respectively). Markers in all combinations performed poorly as a negative test (NPV 26% to 47%, and NLR 0.27 and 0.70). CONCLUSION: Immunohistochemical staining for p53and Ki-67 can improve the sensitivity of EUS-FNA to diagnose pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

It is very important to suspect Strongyloides infection in a patient presenting with syndrome ofinappropriate antidiuretic secretion as hyperinfection and disseminated disease can be life threatening without antihelmintic therapy.

We sought to assess the significance of an incidental finding of colorectal wall thickening (CRWT) on computed tomography (CT) scan in African-American and Hispanic patients. We retrospectively reviewed charts of African-American and Hispanic patients from January 1994 to December 2005. Those patients were included in whom the colonoscopy was performed due to incidental CRWT on CT scan. Patients with a history or a family history of colorectal malignancy, inflammatory bowel disease, or colorectal surgery, with an incomplete colonoscopic examination, or <18 years of age were excluded. Endoscopic and pathological findings were abstracted. Thirty-two patients met the criteria. Endoscopic examination was abnormal in 21 (65.6%). The positive predictive value of CRWT for abnormal endoscopic examination was 65.6%. Abnormal endoscopic examination revealed diverticulosis in 9 (43%), erythematous mucosa in 8 (38%), polyps in 6 (29%), mass in 2 (9%), thickened folds in 1 (5%), and diverticulitis in 1 (5%). Histopathological findings revealed colitis in 7 (33%), adenoma in 4 (19%), hyperplastic polyps in 4 (19%), adenocarcinoma in 2 (9%), lymphoid aggregates in 2 (9%), melanosis coli in 1 (5%), and normal in 1 (5%) in the abnormal examination group. Abnormal endoscopic examination was found in 65.6% of patients. The prevalence of colitis, adenomas, and malignancy was high, therefore abnormal CRWT warrants further endoscopic evaluation.

We report this case of a 74-year-old man with altered anatomy secondary to Billroth-II surgery who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for choledocholithiasis and subsequently developed severe diffuse abdominal pain with drop in hemoglobin. Patient was found to have hemorrhagic shock requiring aggressive resuscitative measures. Patient was found to have large peripancreatic hematoma secondary to bleeding from gastroduodenal and superior pancreaticoduodenal artery pseudoaneurysms. Gastroduodenal artery aneurysm is the rarest of all the splanchnic artery aneurysms, and to our knowledge this is the only reported case of a gastroduodenal artery pseudoaneurysm complicating ERCP.