SSAs are a common finding at surveillance colonoscopy in IBD and have several characteristic features. Further studies are needed to evaluate the natural history of these lesions in IBD patients.

The incidence and recognition of eosinophilic esophagitis is increasing. Pathophysiological understanding of eosinophilic esophagitis is improving and an immunological reaction to ingested food is likely to play a significant role. Patients present with dysphagia and food bolus obstruction. Both histological and endoscopic criteria have been developed and validated. Dietary therapy, topical steroid therapy, proton pump inhibitors and endoscopic dilation are the main approaches to therapy; however, novel targeted therapies are being developed. Among the food items commonly implicated are wheat, dairy, nuts, soy, shellfish and eggs. A multidisciplinary approach to management in dedicated clinics may yield the best results.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection is a minimally invasive endoscopic technique for the removal of gastrointestinal tumours that is increasingly being used for colonic neoplasms to spare resection of colon in selected patients. Colonic endoscopic submucosal dissection is technically challenging and was initially pioneered in Japan but increasingly used in selected western centres. Its use in Canada is currently limited, and the authors review the challenges and opportunities, in addition to the unique training infrastructure required to practice the procedure under supervision. Specific tools are required to perform endoscopic submucosal dissection and meticulous attention to detail is essential. The authors provide a combined Japanese and Canadian perspective to this technique, and discuss training and performance of endoscopic submucosal dissection as well as potential indications.

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Background and study aims  A major challenge in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is disease recognition during endoscopy as there are no pathognomonic findings. We aimed to determine the utility of high-definition (HD) iSCAN virtual chromoendoscopy (VC) in diagnosis of EoE. Patients and methods  One hundred eighty-nine consecutive patients presenting with dysphagia or food bolus impaction were assessed using HD-iSCAN VC (Pentax, Japan) with biopsies from distal, mid, upper esophagus and from furrows where visible. Results  Of 189 patients, 45 (23.8 %, male = 29, median age 40y) had a histological diagnosis of EoE; 73.3 % of the patients were newly diagnosed. iSCAN endoscopic features of EoE were linear furrows (91 %), edema (77.8 %), rings or tracheal appearance (73.3 %), whitish exudates (26.6 %) and narrowing or stricture (5 %). One patient (2.2 %) had all 5 endoscopic features. Ten patients (22.2 %) had linear furrows, edema,rings or tracheal appearance and whitish exudates on iSCAN, with a positive predictive value (PPV) 100 % (95 % CI 69.1 %-100 %) and negative predictive value (NPV) 80.4 % (95 % CI 73.9 %-86 %). Thirteen patients (29 %) presented with linear furrows, edema and rings or tracheal appearance on iSCAN, with a PPV 100 % (95 % CI 75.3 %-100 %) and NPV 81.8 % (95 % CI 75.3 %-87.2 %). Six patients (13.3 %) had furrows and edema and 6 patients (13.3 %) had furrows and rings or tracheal appearance on iSCAN, with a PPV 100 % (95 % CI 54.1 %-100 %) and NPV 78.69 % (95 % CI 72 %-84.4 %), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of HD-iSCAN endoscopy were 97.62 % (95 % CI 87.43 %-99.94 %) and 89.58 % (95 % CI 83.40 %-94.05 %). The accuracy of HD-iSCAN endoscopy was 92.47 % (95 % CI 87.67 %-95.56 %). Conclusion  HD-iSCAN endoscopy is sensitive and specific with good accuracy for EoE diagnosis. Linear furrows, edema and tracheal appearance were the most common findings and these 3 endoscopic features had a high predictive value for diagnosis of EoE.