Does capsule endoscopy recognise gastric antral vascular ectasia more frequently than conventional endoscopy?
(1/23)
BACKGROUND: Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) is a rare cause of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding which can be difficult to recognise endoscopically. Capsule endoscopy is primarily designed to image the small bowel, but may identify gastric and colonic lesions. There have been few reported cases of GAVE diagnosed by capsule endoscopy in the literature. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess the frequency of GAVE in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding referred for capsule endoscopy. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: This study was conducted in a tertiary referral hospital. PATIENTS. This study comprised 128 consecutive patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. INTERVENTIONS: All patients underwent capsule endoscopy. RESULTS. Six patients were diagnosed with GAVE on the basis of the capsule endoscopy findings (4.7%, five female, median age 71.5 years). All patients had previously had numerous gastrointestinal investigations prior to capsule endoscopy. Five patients to date have been treated with argon plasma coagulation of their vascular lesions. This has resulted in stabilisation of their haemoglobin and cessation of blood transfusions in 4/5 cases with an average follow up period of 15 months. CONCLUSIONS: GAVE is commonly missed at gastroscopy and accounted for 4.7% of patients referred for capsule endoscopy with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (in our series). This case series represents the largest number of GAVE recognised by capsule endoscopy. In the presence of any of the reported risk/associated factors for GAVE the gastroenterologist interpreting the capsule images should have a high index of suspicion. (+info)
Foreign body removal using bronchoscopy and argon plasma coagulation.
(2/23)
Foreign body aspiration can be a life threatening event especially for young children with smaller diameters of airway size. The foreign body can result in body response and granulation tissue formation around the object which makes the foreign body removal difficult. In such situations surgical intervention is usually needed but with interventional pulmonology modalities we can restrict the need of surgery. (+info)
Argon-plasma treatment in benign metastasizing leiomyoma of the lung: a case report.
(3/23)
Benign metastasizing leiomyomas of the lung are rare smooth muscle cells tumours. We report the case of a 48 year-old female who was evaluated due to persistent cough, progressive dyspnoea and constitutional symptoms. Chest computed tomography revealed a left endobronchial mass, multiple parenchyma nodules and a pleural effusion. Bronchial biopsy histological features were consistent with benign metastasizing leiomyoma. The patient was successfully treated with argon-plasma and mechanical debulking. There was no disease relapse in the last four years. (+info)
Ablative therapies for Barrett's esophagus.
(4/23)
Safety and efficacy of argon plasma coagulation for resection of lipomas and hamartomas in large airways.
(6/23)
AIMS: To describe the use of argon plasma coagulation (APC) for radical resection of lipomas and hamartomas in large airways. METHODS: Eight patients (7 males and 1 female) were retrospectively reviewed. Data extracted included patient demographic characteristics, type and location of lesion, type of anesthesia used, number of APC sessions required, complications, length of hospital stay, and outcomes. All patients were followed-up for a minimum of 24 months. RESULTS: The patients had a mean age of 54.6 +/- 13.5 years. Lipomas were diagnosed in five and hamartomas in three. Because complete removal of the tumor could not be achieved during one session, two additional APC treatments were carried out in one of the patients, and three in another. Duration of each procedure ranged from 90 to 120 minutes. For the six patients performed under general anesthesia, only one session was required, and the mean time was 110 min. All tumors were completely removed, and no perioperative or long-term complications occurred. During a minimum follow-up of 2 years, no recurrence was noted in any patient. CONCLUSIONS: Complete resection of lipomas and hamartomas inside large airways can be safely achieved via APC. Further studies regarding the use of this technique for other tumor types are warranted. (+info)
Endoscopic removal and trimming of distal self-expandable metallic biliary stents.
(7/23)