Aim: It is well known that endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has a high sensitivity (over 85%) and specificity (100%) for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The aim of the study was to establish a EUS based clinical diagnostic algorithm in patients with pancreatic masses and negative cytopathology after EUS-FNA, based on previously published results and cut-offs of real-time elastographic (RTE) EUS and contrast-enhanced harmonic (CEH) EUS. Material and methods: We included in the study a subgroup of 50 consecutive patients with focal pancreatic masses which underwent EUS examinations with negative EUS-FNA. RTE-EUS and CEH-EUS were performed sequentially in all patients. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of these methods were calculated separately. A clinical decision algorithm based on elastography followed by CEH was established. Results: For the diagnosis of possible malignancy, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of RTE-EUS were: 97.7%, 77.4%, and 84% respectively. CEH-EUS had similar results: 89.5%, 80.7%, and 84%, respectively. In 25 patients with soft/mixed appearance during elastography,sequential assessment using contrast-enhanced EUSwas performed. The specificity of CEH-EUS for detection of chronic pancreatitis in this sub-set of patients was excellent (100%). In other 25 patients with hard appearance in elastography (low strain) CEH-EUS had an excellent specificity (100%) and accuracy (93%) in the detection of pancreatic cancer. Conclusions: The proposed algorithm with sequential use of elastography followed by CEH could be a good clinical tool in the set of patients with negative EUS-FNA results for the differentiation between benign and malignant focal pancreatic masses.

Power Doppler EUS provides useful information for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic masses. The results were in concordance with previous studies that showed a hypovascular pattern of pancreatic carcinoma, as well as the formation of collaterals in advanced cases due to the invasion of the splenic or portal veins. Further studies of dynamic EUS with contrast agents are necessary to better characterize pancreatic masses.

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) stands as the leading cause of nosocomial infection with high morbidity and mortality rates, causing a major burden on the healthcare system. Driven by antibiotics, it usually affects older patients with chronic disease or immunosuppressed or oncologic management. Variceal bleeding secondary to cirrhosis requires antibiotics to prevent bacterial translocation, and thus patients become susceptible to CDI. We aimed to investigate the risk factors for CDI in cirrhotic patients with variceal bleeding following ceftriaxone and the mortality risk in this patient’s population. We retrospectively screened 367 cirrhotic patients with variceal bleeding, from which 25 patients were confirmed with CDI, from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019. We found MELD to be the only multivariate predictor for mortality (odds ratio, OR = 1.281, 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.098–1.643, p = 0.042). A model of four predictors (age, days of admission, Charlson index, Child–Pugh score) was generated (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve, AUC = 0.840, 95% CI: 0.758–0.921, p < 0.0001) to assess the risk of CDI exposure. Determining the probability of getting CDI for cirrhotic patients with variceal bleeding could be a tool for doctors in taking decisions, which could be integrated in sustainable public health programs.

Acute esophageal necrosis is an uncommon condition diagnosed during endoscopy from the black appearance of the esophagus. We report three cases of acute esophageal necrosis, associated with severe alcoholic hepatitis. The pathogenesis was multifactorial in our patients, with gastroesophageal reflux combined with hypoperfusion probably being the key factor for the esophageal lesions. The patients presented a continuum of endoscopic appearances, ranging from the characteristic black esophageal mucosa with ulcerations to a thick white exudate that peeled away (pseudomembranes). However, esophageal biopsy specimens from all three patients had the same histological pattern of severe inflammation and necrosis. Thus, the possibility of acute esophageal necrosis should also be considered in patients with extensive necrosis covered by a white exudate, but without the characteristic pattern of a "black esophagus"; and the diagnosis should subsequently be confirmed by mucosal biopsies. Our report showed that ethanol-induced acute esophageal necrosis can appear in patients with a high alcohol intake, especially in immunosupressed patients with alcoholic hepatitis.

Colorectal carcinoma represents a major cause of mortality and 0.2–12% of resected colonic polyps have malignant cells inside. We performed a retrospective study of patients with resected polyps during a period of 13 years. A total of 905 patients had 2033 polyps removed; 122 polyps (109 patients) had malignant cells. Prevalence of malignant polyps with submucosal invasion was 1.23% and for all polyps with malignant cells was 6%; malignant polyps had a larger size (23.44 mm mean diameter) vs benign polyps (9.63 mm); the risk of malignancy was increased in polyps larger than 10 mm, in lateral spreading lesions and in Paris types 0-Ip, 0-Isp, in sigmoid, descending colon and rectum, in sessile serrated adenoma and traditional serrate adenoma subtypes of serrated lesions and in tubulovillous and villous adenoma. In 18 cases surgery was performed, in 62 patients only colonoscopic follow-up was made and in 35 patients no colonoscopic follow-up was recorded. From initially endoscopic resected polyps, recurrence was noted in seven (11.3%) cases; there was a trend toward association with depth of invasion, piecemeal resection, right and rectum location, sessile and lateral spreading type and pathological subtype. In surgical group, post-therapeutic staging was available in 11 cases; nodal involvement was noted in three (27.27%) cases; none had lymphatic or vascular invasion in endoscopically resected polyps. Four patients with no macroscopic local recurrence underwent surgery with no residual tumor. The rate of metastasis was 16.67% in surgical group and 1.61% in endoscopic group. Evaluation of lymph node (LN) invasion was available for 11 operated patients, with LN invasion (N1) in three patients, local residual tumoral tissue in one patient with incomplete resection and no residual tumor (R0 resection) in four patients with endoscopic resection before surgery.