A staged US and CT imaging protocol in which US is performed first in children suspected of having acute appendicitis is highly accurate and offers the opportunity to substantially reduce radiation.

Background & Aims A proportion of patients with Barrett's esophagus (BE) are diagnosed with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) within 1 year of an endoscopic examination that produced negative findings. These cases of missed cancers have not been well studied, despite current surveillance strategies for BE. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the magnitude of missed EAC in cohorts of patients with BE. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science from their inception to May 31, 2015 to identify cohort studies of adults with BE (baseline nondysplastic BE ± BE with low-grade dysplasia) and at least a 3-year follow-up period, providing data on missed and incident EACs (diagnosed within 1 year and diagnosed more than 1 year after the initial endoscopy in which BE was diagnosed, respectively). The main outcome measure was pooled proportion of missed and incident EACs (of all EACs detected after initial endoscopy) among BE cohorts, using a random effects model. Results In a metaanalysis of 24 studies reporting on 820 missed and incident EACs, 25.3% were classified as missed (95% confidence interval: 16.4%–36.8%) and 74.7% as incident EACs (95% CI: 63.2%–83.6%), although there was substantial heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 74%). When the analysis was restricted to nondysplastic BE cohorts (15 studies), 23.9% of EACs were classified as missed (95% confidence interval: 15.3%–35.4%; I2 = 0%). In a meta-analysis of 10 studies with follow-up periods of ≥5 years (a total of 239 EACs), 22.0% were classified as missed (95% confidence interval: 8.7%–45.5%), with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 68%). Conclusions Among adults with nondysplastic BE (or BE with low-grade dysplasia) at their index endoscopy and at least a 3-year follow-up period, 25% of EACs are diagnosed within 1 year after the index endoscopy. Additional resources should be allocated to detect missed EAC.

Objectives: In the emergency department (ED), a significant amount of radiation exposure is due to computed tomography (CT) scans performed for the diagnosis of appendicitis. Children are at increased risk of developing cancer from low-dose radiation and it is therefore desirable to utilize CT only when appropriate. Ultrasonography (US) eliminates radiation but has sensitivity inferior to that of CT. We describe an interdisciplinary initiative to use a staged US and CT pathway to maximize diagnostic accuracy while minimizing radiation exposure.Methods: This was a retrospective outcomes analysis of patients presenting after hours for suspected appendicitis at an academic children's hospital ED over a 6-year period. The pathway established US as the initial imaging modality. CT was recommended only if US was equivocal. Clinical and pathologic outcomes from ED diagnosis and disposition, histopathology and return visits, were correlated with the US and CT. ED diagnosis and disposition, pathology, and return visits were used to determine outcome.Results: A total of 680 patients met the study criteria. A total of 407 patients (60%) followed the pathway. Two-hundred of these (49%) were managed definitively without CT. A total of 106 patients (26%) had a positive US for appendicitis; 94 (23%) had a negative US. A total of 207 patients had equivocal US with follow-up CT. A total of 144 patients went to the operating room (OR); 10 patients (7%) had negative appendectomies. One case of appendicitis was missed (<0.5%). The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive values of our staged US-CT pathway were 99%, 91%, 99%, and 85%, respectively. A total of 228 of 680 patients (34%) had an equivocal US with no follow-up CT. Of these patients, 10 (4%) went to the OR with one negative appendectomy. A total of 218 patients (32%) were observed clinically without complications. Conclusions:Half of the patients who were treated using this pathway were managed with definitive US alone with an acceptable negative appendectomy rate (7%) and a missed appendicitis rate of less than 0.5%. Visualization of a normal appendix (negative US) was sufficient to obviate the need for a CT in the authors' experience. Emergency physicians (EPs) used an equivocal US in conjunction with clinical assessment to care for one-third of study patients without a CT and with no known cases of missed appendicitis. These data suggest that by employing US first on all children needing diagnostic imaging for diagnosis of acute appendicitis, radiation exposure may be substantially decreased without a decrease in safety or efficacy.

Objectives: The Broselow pediatric emergency weight estimation tape is an accurate method of estimating children's weights based on height-weight correlations and determining standardized medication dosages and equipment sizes using color-coded zones. The study objective was to determine the accuracy of the Broselow tape in the Indian pediatric population. Methods:The authors conducted a 6-week prospective cross-sectional study of 548 children at a government pediatric hospital in Chennai, India, in three weight-based groups: <10 kg (n = 175), 10-18 kg (n = 197), and >18 kg (n = 176). Measured weight was compared to Broselow-predicted weight, and the percentage difference was calculated. Accuracy was defined as agreement on Broselow color-coded zones, as well as agreement within 10% between the measured and Broselow-predicted weights. A cross-validated correction factor was also derived. Results:The mean percentage differences were )2.4, )11.3, and )12.9% for each weight-based group. The Broselow color-coded zone agreement was 70.8% in children weighing less than 10 kg, but only 56.3% in the 10-to 18-kg group and 37.5% in the >18-kg group. Agreement within 10% was 52.6% for the <10-kg group, but only 44.7% for the 10-to 18-kg group and 33.5% for the >18-kg group. Application of a 10% weight-correction factor improved the percentages to 77.1% for the 10-to 18-kg group and 63.0% for the >18-kg group. Conclusions:The Broselow tape overestimates weight by more than 10% in Indian children >10 kg. Weight overestimation increases the risk of medical errors due to incorrect dosing or equipment selection. Applying a 10% weight-correction factor may be advisable.ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2008; 15:431-436 ª

In a systematic review and meta-analysis, we associated older age, male sex, smoking, longer BE segment, and LGD with risk of progression of BE. Individuals with these features should undergo more intensive surveillance or endoscopic therapy. Smoking is a modifiable risk factor for cancer prevention in patients with BE.

Background and Aims Previous estimates of incidence of intestinal metaplasia (IM) recurrence after achieving complete remission of IM (CRIM) through endoscopic therapy of Barrett's esophagus (BE) have varied widely. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies to estimate an accurate recurrence risk after CRIM. Methods We performed a systematic search of multiple literature databases through June 2015 to identify studies reporting long-term follow-up after achieving CRIM through endoscopic therapy. Pooled incidence rate (IR) of recurrent IM, dysplastic BE, and high-grade dysplasia (HGD)/esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) per person-year of follow-up after CRIM was estimated. Factors associated with recurrence were also assessed. Results We identified 41 studies that reported 795 cases of recurrence in 4443 patients over 10,427 patient-years of follow-up. This included 21 radiofrequency ablation studies that reported 603 cases of IM recurrence in 3186 patients over 5741 patient-years of follow-up. Pooled IRs of recurrent IM, dysplastic BE, and HGD/EAC after radiofrequency ablation were 9.5% (95% CI, 6.7-12.3), 2.0% (95% CI, 1.3-2.7), and 1.2% (95% CI, .8-1.6) per patient-year, respectively. When all endoscopic modalities were included, pooled IRs of recurrent IM, dysplastic BE, and HGD/EAC were 7.1% (95% CI, 5.6-8.6), 1.3% (95% CI, .8-1.7), and .8% (95% CI, .5-1.1) per patient-year, respectively. Substantial heterogeneity was noted. Increasing age and BE length were predictive of recurrence; 97% of recurrences were treated endoscopically. Conclusions The incidence of recurrence after achieving CRIM through endoscopic therapy was substantial. A small minority of recurrences were dysplastic BE and HGD/EAC. Hence, continued surveillance after CRIM is imperative. Additional studies with long-term follow-up are needed.

Background Recent evidence suggests that endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) is an effective and safe alternative to percutaneous drainage (PT-GBD). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare these two procedures in high risk surgical patients with acute cholecystitis. Methods A comprehensive electronic literature search was conducted for all articles published up to October 2017 to identify comparative studies between EUS-GBD and PT-GBD. A meta-analysis was performed on outcomes including technical success, clinical success, post-procedure adverse events, length of hospital stay, unplanned hospital readmission, need for reintervention, recurrent cholecystitis, and disease- or treatment-related mortality for these two procedures. Results Five comparative studies (206 patients in the EUS-GBD group vs. 289 patients in the PT-GBD group), were included in the final analysis. There were no statistically significant differences in technical success (odds ratio [OR] 0.43, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.12 to 1.58; P  = 0.21; I 2 = 0 %) and clinical success (OR 1.07, 95 %CI 0.36 to 3.16; P  = 0.90; I 2 = 44 %) between the two procedures. EUS-GBD had fewer adverse events than PT-GBD (OR 0.43, 95 %CI 0.18 to 1.00; P  = 0.05; I 2 = 66 %). Moreover, patients undergoing EUS-GBD had shorter hospital stays, with pooled standard mean difference of – 2.53 (95 %CI – 4.28 to – 0.78; P = 0.005; I 2 = 98 %), and required significantly fewer reinterventions (OR 0.16, 95 %CI 0.04 to 0.042; P <  0.001; I 2 = 32 %) resulting in significantly fewer unplanned readmissions (OR 0.16, 95 %CI 0.05 to 0.53; P  = 0.003; I 2 = 79 %). Conclusions EUS-GBD was associated with lower rates of post-procedure adverse events, shorter hospital stays, and fewer reinterventions and readmissions compared with PT-GBD in patients with acute cholecystitis who were unfit for surgery.

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