Placement of the stent above the intact sphincter of Oddi was associated with longer stent patency and lower occlusion rate.

For the treatment of acute cholecystitis that does not react to conservative therapies, PTGBA is a safe, simple, and effective treatment modality that can be performed at bedside without any severe complications.

We performed endoscopic transpapillary gallbladder drainage (ETGBD) in 21 patients with acute cholecystitis, utilizing a guidewire coated with a hydrophilic polymer. Endoscopic sphincterotomy was not performed. The clinical efficacy of ETGBD was evaluated in terms of reduction of white blood cell count (WBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level. ETGBD was successful in ~.7 (81%) of the 21 patients, in terms of early disappearance of clinical symptoms, and significant decrease of both WBC and CRP after ETGBD (P < 0.001). in patients with the Mirizzi syndrome (n = 2), accurate diagnosis was made by endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC), facilitating proper drainage (ETGBD) immediately afterward. With ETGBD, emergency operation was avoided even in critically ill patients complicated with disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (n = 2). There were no significant complications. ETGBD may be an effective and safe alternative to percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage in the management of acute cholecystitis, and may be more suitable for patients with a strong bleeding tendency.

Although further studies with a large number of patients are needed to evaluate the efficacy of the papillotome, this papillotome may contribute to increase the safety and the success rate of precutting.

No abstract

High-resolution endoscopic transpapillary ultrasonography of the gallbladder is feasible and safe, and may contribute to the diagnosis of gallbladder diseases, particularly of small polypoid lesions.

Between 1985 and 2001, seven Japanese patients (four males and three females) were diagnosed as having primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in our hospital. All seven patients received total colonoscopy with distal ileoscopy. All four male patients were diagnosed as having colitis by colonoscopy, while none of the three female patients had colitis. The four patients with colitis did not have any symptoms attributable to colitis, such as diarrhea or hematochezia. In three of the four patients, unclassified colitis was the most suitable diagnosis, because there were no typical findings of ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. The remaining patient was diagnosed as having eosinophilic colitis. By colonoscopic visualization, the right-sided colon, including the terminal ileum, was mainly involved, but the lesions were not severe. The main findings were redness, erosion, stenosis, and insufficiency of haustral formation. Histologically, these lesions were nonspecific inflammatory changes in the three patients with unclassified colitis. In the patient with eosinophilic colitis, remarkable infiltration of eosinophils was observed. Thus, unclassified colitis appeared to be the main complication in these patients with PSC. Males predominated in regard to concomitant colitis, and they had no symptoms of the colitis. Colonoscopic examination revealed that the lesions were not severe. The main lesions were found in the right-sided colon, with nonspecific inflammatory changes. These results suggest that colonoscopic surveillance of patients with PSC should be performed even if they do not have any colitis symptoms.

To determine whether the liver plays an immunological role in certain extrahepatic disorders, we investigated the expression of interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6, interferon (IFN)-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in 11 patients who had recovered from cholecystolithiasis, 12 patients with gastric cancer, 20 patients with chronic hepatitis, and 6 healthy controls. Cytokine mRNAs in the liver were detected by semiquantitative reverse transcribed-polymerase chain reaction. Serum cytokines and soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) were investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Increases in TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1 beta, and IFN-gamma mRNAs were found in the livers of patients with extrahepatic diseases. TNF-alpha and IL-6 peptides were increased in the sera of patients with gastric cancer. TNF-alpha in the sera and TNF-alpha mRNA in the liver were correlated in gastric cancer patients. Surprisingly, sIL-2R in the serum of gastric cancer patients was significantly higher than the level in healthy controls. Our findings suggest that the liver produces cytokines in reaction to extrahepatic lesions. Further, the increase in sIL-2R in gastric cancer patients indicates that malignancy may affect the immune network in vivo.