BACKGROUND & AIMS:Artificial intelligence-based computer-aided polyp detection (CADe) systems are intended to address the issue of missed polyps during colonoscopy. The effect of CADe during screening and surveillance colonoscopy has not previously been studied in a United States (U.S.) population. METHODS:We conducted a prospective, multi-center, single-blind randomized tandem colonoscopy study to evaluate a deep-learning based CADe system (EndoScreener, Shanghai Wision AI, China). Patients were enrolled across 4 U.S. academic medical centers from 2019 through 2020. Patients presenting for colorectal cancer screening or surveillance were randomized to CADe colonoscopy first or high-definition white light (HDWL) colonoscopy first, followed immediately by the other procedure in tandem fashion by the same endoscopist. The primary outcome was adenoma miss rate (AMR), and secondary outcomes included sessile serrated lesion (SSL) miss rate and adenomas per colonoscopy (APC). RESULTS:A total of 232 patients entered the study, with 116 patients randomized to the CADe colonoscopy first and 116 patients to HDWL colonoscopy first. After the exclusion of 9 patients, the study cohort included 223 patients. AMR was lower in the CADe-first group compared with the HDWL-first group (20.12% [34/169] vs 31.25% [45/144]; odds ratio [OR], 1.8048; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0780-3.0217; P [ .0247). SSL miss rate was lower in the CADe-first group (7.14% [1/14]) vs the HDWL-first group (42.11% [8/19]; P [ .0482). First-pass APC was higher in the CADe-first group (1.19 [standard deviation (SD), 2.03] vs 0.90 [SD, 1.55]; P [ .0323). First-pass ADR was 50.44% in the CADe-first group and 43.64 % in the HDWL-first group (P [ .3091). CONCLUSION:In this U.S. multicenter tandem colonoscopy randomized controlled trial, we demonstrate a decrease in AMR and SSL miss rate and an increase in first-pass APC with the use of a CADesystem when compared with HDWL colonoscopy.

Obesity is increasingly common among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The interplay between proinflammatory states of obesity and the course of IBD is yet to be elucidated. We conducted a retrospective study of 55 patients with IBD over the course of 5 years (2012 to 2017). We documented various clinical outcomes (mean number of clinic visits, hospitalizations/ flares, procedures, and escalations in therapy) based on three initial weight groups: normal weight, overweight, and obese. There was an increasing trend in all clinical outcomes with increasing weight and a statistically significant difference in mean clinic visits (P ¼ 0.048) and mean hospitalizations/flares (P ¼ 0.004) when comparing normal-weight to obese individuals. Our study suggests that obesity influences burden of disease and treatment in IBD. This should encourage clinicians to treat obesity in IBD patients as an active problem because it may help improve clinical outcomes.

In this study, we investigated four patients who met the diagnostic criteria for overlapping systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and myasthenia gravis (MG) but responded differently to treatment. All patients were acetylcholine receptor (AChR) and antinuclear antibody positive at the time of SLE diagnosis. Two patients presented with SLE who have been effectively treated with cholinesterase inhibitors for MG. These patients developed SLE with photosensitivity, rash, and arthritis post thymectomy, which had been performed 29 years and 40 years earlier, respectively. Two other patients were found to have AChR antibodies and MG in the context on new-onset SLE. These subjects were responsive to hydroxychloroquine and immunosuppression but failed cholinesterase inhibitors. The evolution of these cases is relevant for the role of thymus in lupus pathogenesis during aging and for treatment selection in SLE-MG overlap patients.

Background Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is common, expensive, and hurts opioid addicted women and their families. Current treatments do not sufficiently address comorbid addictions, especially tobacco use, among pregnant buprenorphine-maintained women. Methods 25 consecutive admissions of pregnant, opioid addicted women were treated with buprenorphine maintenance and a novel intervention for pregnant opioid addicted patients, Drug Use Targeted Therapy (DUST). DUST entails a combination of informing women about the impact of various drugs on their fetus, discussing the woman’s thinking about these consequences of drug use, and varying the frequency of psychotherapy; increasing if addictive drugs are used and decreasing if the woman wishes when drug use is stopped. Results 20/25 remained in treatment until delivery. All 20 women were using addictive drugs at admission. None were planned pregnancies. There was a high prevalence of emotional, physical or sexual abuse, criminal behavior, comorbid psychiatric disorders, and chronic pain. Nineteen stopped all addictive drugs. NAS was present for 5 out of 19 newborns with a duration of hospitalization from 4 to 6 days. Conclusions This preliminary open-label case series found that pregnant buprenorphine maintained women can stop tobacco. What has sometimes been termed “neonatal opioid abstinence syndrome” may most accurately be termed, “neonatal opioid/tobacco abstinence syndrome.” If the treatment effectively addresses tobacco use, other addictive drugs are rarely used. DUST resulted in a 95% quit rate for addictive drugs. Pilot data on this new intervention is limited; a case series that does not have a corresponding control group.