METHODS: Colonic EMRs performed for polypoid and nonpolypoid lesions at a tertiary institution were prospectively collected and analyzed for efficacy, and short and long-term complications.
RESULTS: 224 colonic neoplasms (143 flat, 65 sessile and 16 subpedunculated) were excised by the standard inject-and-cut method, with standard accessories. The median size of all lesions was 10 mm (range 2-50 mm) and 110 (49.2%) lesions were located in the proximal colon. Histological completeness of resection was achieved in 87% of cases. Of the lesions 77.2% were dysplastic, with 5 cases of carcinoma in situ and 18 severely dysplastic adenomas. Complications included bleeding in five cases (2.2 %) and a single case of perforation (0.4%). All complications were managed endoscopically. Median follow up at 24 +/- 16 months (range 12-84 months) revealed a 7.2% local recurrence rate, all of which were subsequently eradicated by repeat EMR.
CONCLUSIONS: Standard inject-and-cut colonic EMR is practical and effective in the eradication of superficial colonic neoplasia.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study of consecutive adult patients attending an open access endoscopy list for the primary indication of dyspepsia was conducted. Independent epidemiological and clinical factors for CSEF were determined prospectively.
RESULTS: Data for 1167/1208 (96.6 %) adults (mean age 49.7 ± 15.9 years, 42.4 % males, ethnic distribution: 30.5 % Malays, 36.9 % Chinese and 30.8 % Indians) were analysed between January 2007 and August 2008. Three-hundred and eight (26.4 %) patients were found to have CSEF, most often those with age ≥45 years (30.3 vs 19 %, P < 0.0001), male gender (34.1 vs 20.7 % female, P < 0.0001), lower education levels (i.e. primary or no education), smoking (36.7 vs 24.9 %, P = 0.003), H. pylori infection (40.6 vs 21.8 %, P < 0.0001), and duration of dyspepsia ≤5 months (32.8 vs 24.4 %, P = 0.006). Age ≥ 45 years (OR 1.82, 95 % CI = 1.38-2.48), male gender (OR 1.84, 95 % CI = 1.53-2.59), H. pylori infection (OR 2.36, 95 % CI = 1.83-3.26), and duration of dyspepsia ≤5 months (OR 1.44, 95 % CI = 1.13-2.03) were subsequently identified as independent risk factors for CSEF.
CONCLUSION: CSEF are found in 26.4 % of Asian adults with uninvestigated dyspepsia. Duration of symptoms <5 months, among other recognised factors, is predictive of CSEF.
SETTING: Tertiary level teaching institution in Malaysia.
PARTICIPANTS: The validation process involved 211 adult patients (English language n=101, Malay language n=110) with chronic liver disease. Characteristics of the study subjects were as follows: mean (SD) age was 56 (12.8) years, 58.3% were male and 41.7% female. The inclusion criteria were patients 18 years or older with chronic hepatitis and/or liver cirrhosis of any aetiology. The exclusion criteria were as follows: presence of hepatic encephalopathy, ongoing treatment with interferon and presence of other chronic conditions that have an impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL).
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Cultural adaptation of the English version of the CLDQ was performed, and a Malay version was developed following standard forward-backward translation by independent native speakers. Psychometric properties of both versions were determined by assessing their internal consistency, test-retest reliability and discriminant and convergent validity.
RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency across the various domains of the CLDQ was 0.95 for the English version and 0.92 for the Malay version. Test-retest analysis showed excellent reliability with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.89 for the English version and 0.93 for the Malay version. The average scores of both the English and Malay versions of the CLDQ demonstrated adequate discriminant validity by differentiating between non-cirrhosis (English 6.3, Malay 6.1), compensated cirrhosis (English 5.6, Malay 6.0) and decompensated cirrhosis (English 5.1, Malay 4.9) (p<0.001). Convergent validity showed that correlation was fair between the English (ρ=0.59) and Malay (p=0.47) CLDQ versions with the EQ-5D, a generic HRQOL instrument.
CONCLUSION: The English and Malay versions of the CLDQ are reliable and valid disease-specific instruments for assessing HRQOL in Malaysian patients with chronic liver disease.