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Biomedical subjects

D L Carr-Locke

Publications and source records attributed to D L Carr-Locke.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Prolapsing gastric polyp, an unusual cause of gastric outlet obstruction: a review of the pathology and management of gastric polyps.

Gastric polyps are rare and largely asymptomatic, but attract importance because of their strong potential to progress to carcinoma. Rarely, pedunculated polyps arising in the antrum may prolapse through the pylorus, causing intermittent gastric outlet obstruction. We describe here our experience of four cases collected over a ten-year period, each presenting dissimilarly with this phenomenon. We review the literature referring to the pathogenesis of gastric polyps and their association with malignancy and other disorders. We proceed to discuss the efficacy of barium studies versus gastroscopy in detecting these lesions, the relative roles and merits of endoscopic polypectomy and surgery, and the importance of prolonged follow-up of patients harbouring gastric polyps.

Aged↗

Urinary trypsinogen activation peptides (TAP) are not increased in mild ERCP-induced pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis following endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) occurs in 3-18% of patients undergoing either diagnostic or therapeutic ERCP. We prospectively measured urinary trypsinogen activation peptides (TAP) by an automated anti-TAP enzyme-linked immunoassay among 107 patients 4 h after ERCP to determine whether this measurement helps in the early diagnosis of ERCP-induced pancreatitis. Pancreatitis was documented in 10 of 107 patients (9.3%). All episodes were graded as mild. Urinary TAP was not significantly increased. We conclude that measurement of urinary TAP 4 h after ERCP is not helpful in documenting mild ERCP-induced acute pancreatitis.

Acute Disease↗

Pancreatic duct stricture caused by islet cell tumors.

We report three cases of pancreatic islet cell tumors causing stricture of the main pancreatic duct. The clinical presentation was consistent with episodes of acute pancreatitis or biliary colic. One patient in whom the diagnosis was delayed died of metastatic disease. Islet cell tumors are an important clinical entity that must be considered in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic duct strictures.

Adenoma, Islet Cell↗

Endoscopic cystgastrostomy: role of endoscopic ultrasonography.

We report a case of successful endoscopic cystgastrostomy guided by endoscopic ultrasound after an unsuccessful attempt of "blind" drainage. Endoscopic drainage of pseudocysts without endoscopic ultrasonography is an appropriate initial approach by experienced endoscopists in carefully selected patients. In cases in which an intraluminal impression by the pseudocyst is not well visualized, or the conventional approach has not established drainage, endoscopic ultrasound provides excellent localization for the therapeutic maneuver.

Drainage↗

Sphincterotomy techniques and risks.

Endoscopic sphincterotomy has revolutionized the approach to numerous biliary and pancreatic diseases. The indications, technique, and complications of endoscopic sphincterotomy are covered in detail in this article.

Biliary Tract Diseases↗

Intraductal mucin-hypersecreting neoplasm "mucinous ductal ectasia": endoscopic recognition and management.

OBJECTIVES: Intraductal mucin-hypersecreting neoplasm (IMHN), also termed mucinous ductal ectasia, is a rare disorder of the pancreas characterized by distension of the pancreatic duct with mucus. This study attempted to clarify the clinical, radiographic, histological, and treatment approaches to this entity. METHODS: The medical records, radiological imaging studies, and pathology specimens of eight patients with IMHN seen during a 3-yr period were reviewed. The diagnosis of IMHN was established by findings during ERCP, which included mucin plugging of the papilla, mucin extrusion from the papillary orifice after intraductal injection of contrast medium, mucinous filling defects in the main pancreatic duct, and dilated main and branch pancreatic ducts in the absence of obstructing ductal strictures. RESULTS: All patients presented with an initial clinical diagnosis of acute or chronic pancreatitis, suspected cystic neoplasm, or biliary obstruction. Noninvasive imaging studies such as transabdominal ultrasonography or CT and laboratory evaluation did not seem to help in defining the disease. Five patients underwent Whipple resection; pathology included papillary ductal hyperplasia in one, dysplastic mucinous epithelium in two, and mucinous cystadenocarcinoma in two. All five patients had associated histological evidence of chronic pancreatitis. All patients are alive and well after 21-53 months without evidence of residual disease. CONCLUSIONS: IMHN has a wide spectrum of clinical, radiological, and histological features. The indolent biologic behavior and favorable prognosis of IMHN suggest that it is one of the most curable forms of pancreatic malignancy.

Adult↗

Technology assessment status evaluation: monitoring equipment for endoscopy. American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

An understanding of the principles and limitations of monitoring devices is valuable for their appropriate use and interpretation. Reliable monitoring de available as an adjunct to skilled personnel to detect changes in patient condition during endoscopy. Combination units that provide pulse oximetry, automated sphygmomanometry and ECG monitoring appear to be the most convenient and cost effective products.

Blood Pressure Determination↗

Technology assessment status evaluation: disposable endoscopic accessories. American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Data supporting the preferential use of disposable endoscopic accessories is limited. These devices have been widely disseminated without careful evaluation of their impact on the environment and medical costs. In addition, current facility reimbursement for endoscopic procedures does not adequately cover the costs of these accessories. Re-use of accessories labelled "for single use only" as a potential means to reduce costs has not been carefully evaluated. More prospective data comparing the efficacy, safety, and cost effectiveness of disposable versus reusable accessories is needed.

Disposable Equipment↗

Endoscopic palliation for unresectable pancreatic carcinoma.

Endoscopic stenting has revolutionized the palliation of malignant biliary obstruction. Individuals with biliary obstruction due to pancreatic malignancy are best managed by a team approach comprising individuals with expertise in oncology, surgery, endoscopy, and radiology. The clinical value of alleviating jaundice and associated symptoms of anorexia, pruritus, and malaise cannot be overestimated. These quality-of-life factors deserve more attention in future studies to define subgroups of patients most likely to derive benefit from the array of treatment options. Further technical improvements are required to solve the most important clinical problem of late stent occlusion. New developments such as expandable metallic stents and refinements in existing equipment and techniques have already resulted in measurable gains and hold great promise for future expansion of their use in malignant gastric outlet obstruction secondary to tumor infiltration of the duodenum. Corresponding advances are being made in the fields of percutaneous transhepatic intervention and hepatobiliary surgery such that further prospective randomized trials are necessary to define optimal therapy.

Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde↗

Endoscopic needle aspiration of a gastric duplication cyst.

Gastric duplication cysts are rare and generally asymptomatic in adults. They are usually discovered incidentally at upper gastrointestinal endoscopy or barium contrast radiography. We report here the case of a 41-year-old woman with a gastric submucosal mass, initially diagnosed as a leiomyoma that proved to be a gastric cyst. The cyst was aspirated under direct endoscopic vision using a standard sclerotherapy needle. To our knowledge, this is the first description of such a procedure.

Adult↗

Endoscopic ligation of esophageal varices in children.

Seven consecutive patients presenting acutely with suspected variceal hemorrhage underwent endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) of esophageal varices. Active bleeding had ceased by the time of the initial EVL session in all patients, although active variceal hemorrhage was controlled by EVL in one patient during a subsequent episode of bleeding. Treatment sessions were repeated at approximately monthly intervals until varices were reduced in size to grade 1 (< 4 mm diameter) or eradicated. All patients had portal hypertension secondary to intrahepatic disease. Patient age ranged from 2.4 to 14.5 years (mean, 8.5 years). One patient underwent successful liver transplantation 1 week after the initial treatment session. The remaining six patients required a mean (+/- SD) of 4.0 +/- 1.3 treatment sessions for elimination of varices. One episode of recurrent variceal hemorrhage and one episode of treatment-related hemorrhage occurred in two separate patients. Transient, mild dysphagia or odynophagia occurred in all patients. No other complications were reported during a mean (+/- SD) follow-up period of 13.8 +/- 4.6 months (range, 8-20 months). Recurrent varices were seen in three of four (75%) patients returning for follow-up endoscopy between 5 and 8 months from initial eradication. All underwent repeat EVL without complication. Endoscopic variceal ligation may be a suitable substitute for sclerotherapy in children with bleeding esophageal varices.

Adolescent↗

Mucin-secreting tumors of the pancreas.

Mucinous pancreatic neoplasms present diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. These tumors behave in an indolent nature, with frequent overlap of symptoms and radiographic appearance with other forms of pancreatic cysts, pseudocysts, and malignancy. Some authors propose that all mucin-producing tumors of the pancreas are variants of the same basic entity and have subclassified them on the basis of their predominant location within the pancreas. These disorders must be considered in the evaluation of chronic abdominal pain, particularly in the presence of a cystic pancreatic lesion or when associated with idiopathic chronic or acute recurrent pancreatitis. The clinicopathologic features of IMHN overlap to a great extent with classic mucinous cystic neoplasms but are different significantly enough to be distinct clinical entities. These tumors originate from the pancreatic duct epithelium, produce mucin, demonstrate a papillary growth pattern, and are considered premalignant or frankly malignant at the time of diagnosis. Both lesions biologically are much less aggressive than that of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and appear to infiltrate peripancreatic tissue and to metastasize to lymph nodes or other adjacent structures late in the course of disease. Nevertheless, IMHNs are located primarily in the head of the pancreas, commonly affect elderly men, and present clinically with obstructive pancreatitis, often leading to pancreatic insufficiency, whereas mucinous cystic neoplasms are more likely to develop in the pancreatic body or tail, predominate in young women, and present with symptoms referable to tumor compression of adjacent structures. The location of the lesion is the primary differentiating feature because the lining epithelium of the two tumor types is indistinguishable pathologically. In mucinous cystic tumors, the mucus is secreted and retained within the cyst lumen because of the absence of communication between the cyst and the main pancreatic duct. In contrast, mucus produced in MDE flows into the main pancreatic duct, resulting in obstructive pancreatitis and, ultimately, dilatation of the pancreatic duct. Intraductal mucus provides an important clue to the diagnosis of intraductal pancreatic neoplasms and, whenever present, should prompt an aggressive diagnostic evaluation. Both lesions are managed by resectional surgery because the opportunity for cure is high in the absence of metastatic disease.

Adenoma↗

Postsurgical bile leaks: endoscopic obliteration of the transpapillary pressure gradient is enough.

OBJECTIVES: Bile leaks are a well documented complication of biliary surgery, occurring more frequently with laparoscopic procedures. Endoscopic therapy with a long biliary endoprosthesis traversing the site of the leak is effective. We have evaluated the hypothesis that equalizing biliary and duodenal pressures with a short transpapillary stent is an equally effective therapy for bile leaks. METHODS: Thirty one consecutive patients presenting over a 52-month period with postsurgical bile leaks were evaluated. Patients had been treated with long endoprostheses (stents or nasobiliary tubes), sphincterotomy, or short transpapillary stents. The success, complication rate, need for additional therapy, and hospitalization time of each therapeutic approach were determined. RESULTS: Endoscopic therapy was successful in all 25 patients in whom a bile leak could be documented. The clinical success, need for radiological drainage, length of hospitalization, and incidence of pancreatitis were similar for all methods of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that endoscopic therapy is highly successful in the treatment of postoperative bile leaks and suggest that the mechanism of healing is the equalization of bile duct and duodenal pressures, allowing flow of bile into the duodenum. The endoscopic placement of short transpapillary stents without sphincterotomy is a temporary, effective, and technically simple method of pressure equalization. This should be considered as the primary therapy for most postoperative bile leaks.

Adult↗

Inhibition of sphincter of Oddi function by the nitric oxide carrier S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine in rabbits and humans.

Nitric oxide (NO) is an inhibitor of gastrointestinal smooth muscle. Model systems of the gut predict the NO will complex with biological thiol (SH) groups, yielding S-nitrosothiols (RS-NO), which may limit the propensity to form mutagenic nitrosamines. The inhibitory effects of NO and its biologically relevant adducts on sphincter of Oddi (SO) motility have been inferred from animal studies; however, their importance in regulating human SO is not known. The objectives of this study were to (a) provide histologic confirmation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in human SO; (b) characterize the pharmacology of S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNAC), an exemplary S-nitrosothiol, on SO motility in a rabbit model; and (c) study the effects of topical SNAC on SO motility in humans. Immunocytochemical and histochemical identification of NOS was performed in human SO. The pharmacologic response of SNAC was defined in isolated rabbit SO using a standard bioassay. Topical SNAC was then applied to the duodenal papilla in patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and biliary manometry. NOS was localized to nerve fibers and bundles of the SO in rabbits and humans. SNAC inhibited spontaneous motility (frequency and amplitude) as well as acetylcholine-induced elevations in SO basal pressure in the rabbit model. In patients undergoing ERCP and biliary manometry, topical SNAC inhibited SO contraction freqency, basal pressure, and duodenal motility. NOS is localized to neural elements in human SO, implicating a role for NO in regulating SO function. Supporting this concept, SNAC is an inhibitor of SO and duodenal motility when applied topically to humans during ERCP. Our data suggest a novel clinical approach using local NO donors to control gastrointestinal motility and regulate sphincteric function.

Acetylcysteine↗