Introduction: the elevated risk of complications and technical complexity of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has limited its implementation in our medical system.Objective: to design and evaluate a training program for learning the ESD technique.Methods: four endoscopists with no experience with ESD underwent a 4-step training program: 1) review of the existing literature, didactic material, and theoretical aspects of ESD; 2) ESD training in an ex-vivo animal model; 3) ESD training in an in-vivo animal model (supervised by ESD expert); and 4) ESD performance in a patient. A standard gastroscope and an ESD knife (IT, Flex or Hook-knife Olympus ® ) were employed. The classical ESD technique was performed: rising of the lesion, circumferential incision, and submucosal dissection.Results: ex-vivo animal model: 6 x swine stomach/esophagus -cost < 100 euro; 6 x ESD: antrum (n = 2), body (n = 3) and fundus/cardia (n = 1)-; size of resected specimen: 4-10 cm; ESD duration: 105-240 minutes; therapeutic success: 100%; complications: perforation (1/6: 16%) sealed with clips. In-vivo animal model: 6 ESD (antrum/body of stomach: 4; esophagus: 2); size: 2-5 cm; duration: 40-165 minutes; success: 100%; complications: 0%. Patient: ESD of a gastric lesion located in the antrum/body; size: 3 cm; duration 210 minutes; a complete resection was achieved; no complications.Conclusions: the results of the present study support the usefulness of this model for learning ESD in our system. Key words: Endoscopic submucosal dissection. ESD. Submucosal resection. Large endoscopic resection. INTRODUCTIONEndoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) consists of resecting a superficial tumor of the gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, colon or rectum) by endoscopic means with curative intention (R0 resection) (1-5). An EMR-resected lesion may be submitted for pathological examination. One of the advantages of EMR compared with surgical resection is its lower morbidity/mortality and cost. At present EMR has become widely available in clinical practice in both Asian and Western countries (1-5). However, EMR presents a number of limitations: a) technical difficulty; b) risk for complications: bleeding (2-29%), perforation (0.36%) and stenosis (mainly in the esophagus); and c) restricted to superficial lesions with no lymphatic spread and size < 1-1.5 cm (1-8). Lesions with a diameter > 1.5 cm cannot be completely resected with a single EMR procedure, and repeated mucosectomies (several fragments) or endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) (allowing to resect the entire lesion in a single piece) will be required (2). It is generally assumed that it is better to resect tumoral lesions in single pieces, as we can be sure the tumor has been completely resected, and it also facilitates sample orientation at the time of the pathology study (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). Furthermore, ESD allows to perfom wider and deeper resections versus EMR (2). However, the learning curve for ESD (high technical difficulty) is longer (compared with EMR), and compli...

Objective: the causal relation between rosacea and Helicobacter pylori infection is discussed. We evaluated the clinical evolution of rosacea after infection eradication.Patients and methods: we have prospectively studied 44 patients diagnosed with rosacea. Helicobacter pylori infection was determined, and infected patients were treated with eradication therapy. The evolution of dermatological symptoms in a subgroup of 29 infected patients in whom eradication had been achieved was followed during 16.8 (± 17.8) months. Median age was 50.6 (± 14.1) years for 22 women (75.9%) and 7 men (24.1%). Clinical response according to gender and clinical subtype of rosacea was evaluated.Results: complete improvement was observed in 10 patients (34.5%; 95% CI: 18.6-54.3%), relevant improvement in 9 (31.1%; 95% CI: 16-51%), poor improvement in 5 (17.2%; 95% CI: 6.5-36.4%), and absence of improvement in 5 cases (17.2%; 95% CI: 6.5-36.4%). No significant differences in dermatological evolution according to sex were observed. Regarding subtype of rosacea there was a relevant improvement in 83.3% (95% CI: 64.1-93.8%) of cases with papulopustular type as opposed to 36.5% (95% CI: 20-56.1%) of cases with erythematous predominance, p = 0.02.Conclusions: based on these results, the relation between Helicobacter pylori and rosacea is supported, and infection should be investigated in these patients because an appreciable percentage of patients diagnosed with rosacea and Helicobacter pylori infection can benefit from eradication therapy, mainly in the papulopustular subtype.

Background and objective: the prevalence of gastric polyps in esophagogastroduodenoscopies (EGDs) ranges between 0.33 and 6.35%. The relative frequency of histological subspecies varies widely among published series. The objective is to describe the endoscopic and histological characteristics of the polypoid lesions, and to study possible associations.Material and methods: we retrospectively revised the EGDs done in our center in 2009. Demographic, endoscopic and histological data were gathered. We proceeded to a descriptive analysis and studied possible associations.Results: gastric polypoid lesions were found in 269 of the 6307 (4.2%) reviewed EGDs, 61% were found in women. Mean age was 64.93 years (SD: ±15.23). A single polyp was found in 186 patients (69.1%), over 10 lesions appeared in 31 (11.5%). An estimated size of ≤ 3 mm was found in 108 lesions (37.2%) and greater than 10 mm in 52 cases (17.9%). Most lesions were sessile (90.8%). The location of 34.8% was the gastric antrum, 39.3% were found in the gastric body and 25.9% were in the fundus. Chronic gastritis was confirmed in 53.5% of the patients and 46.5% had received PPIs. Histopathological diagnosis was: hyperplastic polyps 50.9%, fundic gland polyps 7.4%, adenomas 3%, adenocarcinomas 1.9% and normal mucosa 29.7%. We found no significant association between the histopathological type of lesions and the use of proton pump inhibitor.Conclusions: we found polypoid lesions in 4.2% of the EGDs. The most frequent histopathological findings were hyperplastic polyps (50.9%), followed by fundic gland polyps (7.4%), adenomas (3%), and adenocarcinomas (1.9%).

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ABSTRACT— We have prospectively studied the clinical data, prognostic factors and chronic liver sequelae in 68 patients who developed posttransfusion non‐A, non‐B hepatitis. The mean incubation period was 5.9 weeks with a range from 2.1 to 12 weeks; 63.5% of the patients were asymptomatic and 60.6% anicteric. The chronicity rate (elevated ALT values for a period of more than 6 months) was 67.6%. The chronicity rate of symptomatic hepatitis (95.5%) was significantly higher than that of asymptomatic hepatitis (54.5%) (P<0.01). Monophasic hepatitis, characterized by a rapid elevation in serum ALT followed by a rapid decline with no further fluctuations, had a chronicity rate (42.5%) significantly lower than polyphasic hepatitis (86.6%) (P<0.05) and plateau type hepatitis (94.4%) (P<0.01). Results of 35 liver biopsies carried out among 46 patients with elevated ALT after 6 months were as follows: chronic active hepatitis, 15 cases; prolonged acute hepatitis, 12 cases; chronic persistent hepatitis, 6 cases; posthepatitis liver changes, 1 case; and secondary hemosiderosis, 1 case.

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