ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS

WHAT'S HOT IN THE LITERATURE

Nucleos(t)ide analogue cessation in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B
Journal of Hepatology
Functional cure (loss of HBs Ag) is rarely achieved in patients with chronic HBe Ag-negative hepatitis B. Therefore, lifelong treatment with Nucleos(t)ide analogues (NUCs) is the standard of care in these patients. Hypothetically, stopping NUC treatment may lead to functional cure through a mechanism called autovaccination. In a randomized-controlled trial, patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B on continuous long-term NUC treatment, with HBV DNA < 1,000 copies/ml for ≥4 years, were randomized to either stop (Arm A) or continue NUC treatment (Arm B). read more

Review by Prof. Ahad Eshraghian (Iran)

Should patients with pyogenic liver abscess be screened for colorectal cancer?
JAMA Network
Data from East Asia and the United States now support an association between PLA and underlying CRC, particularly in patients whose PLA is not attributable to biliary tract disease. PLA is relatively common in tropical regions, and we lack information about whether an association with CRC is present in most of these parts of the globe. However, the available data appear to justify offering CRC screening to PLA patients. read more

Review by Prof. Mark Topazian (USA)

GI NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

FMT-based therapies for GI disease: What to consider
Medscape
Dysbiosis, alterations in gut flora, is linked to diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and heart disease. Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is a potential therapy for disease prevention and treating medical conditions beyond Clostridium difficile infection. FMT can be performed through colonoscopy, enema, frozen pills, and nasoenteric tube to improve the microbiome and cure a variety of disease processes. Read More

Role of novel motorized enteroscopy in the evaluation of small bowel diseases
Clinical Gastroenterology
Motorized spiral enteroscopy has recently been introduced for small bowel evaluation. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aim to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MSE for evaluation of small bowel diseases. Read More

The diagnostic performance of serum αvβ6 autoantibodies for ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology via ScienceDirect
Currently, there is no single golden standard for diagnosing ulcerative colitis (UC). Now serum αvβ6 autoantibodies have shown promise as a diagnostic tool for UC. Here the aim was to determine the diagnostic performance of serum αvβ6 autoantibodies for UC. Read More

GastroGPT outperforms general models in GI clinical tasks
Massachusetts Institute of Technology via Medical Xpress
GastroGPT, a novel specialty-specific, clinically-oriented artificial intelligence model, demonstrates superiority in overall utility and key clinical tasks of gastroenterology when compared with leading general-purpose large language models, show findings from a proof-of-concept study. Read More

A sprayable gel could make minimally invasive surgeries simpler and safer
MedPage Today
More than 20 million Americans undergo colonoscopy screenings every year, and in many of those cases, doctors end up removing polyps that are 2 cm or larger and require additional care. This procedure has greatly reduced the overall incidence of colon cancer, but not without complications, as patients may experience gastrointestinal bleeding both during and after the procedure. Read More

WGO NEWS

EVENTS CALENDAR

APASL 2024
When: March 27-31, 2024
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Organizer(s): Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver
Learn More

Scrubs and Heels Leadership Conference 2024
When: April 12-14, 2024
Location: Miami, Florida
Organizer(s): Scrubs and Heels
Learn More