In the News
Insufficient evidence to support gluten-free diet for IBS, meta-analysis finds
Included trials evaluated an exclusion diet versus an alternative or usual diet and assessed improvement in either global symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or abdominal pain.
Beta-blocker monotherapy may be preferred for primary prophylaxis of esophageal variceal bleeding
Guidelines currently recommend nonselective beta-blockers or variceal band ligation for primary prevention of variceal bleeding based on similar efficacy, but survival benefit may be better with the former treatment.
Induction, maintenance therapies for ulcerative colitis compared
Oral sulfasalazine, diazo-bonded 5-aminosalicylates (5-ASAs), mesalazine, controlled ileal-release budesonide, and budesonide multimatrix, alone or in combination with rectal 5-ASA therapy, were assessed for comparative efficacy and tolerability.
MKSAP quiz: Recent history of mild nausea, dyspepsia
This month's quiz asks readers to determine the most appropriate next step in management for a 55-year-old man with a 2-day history of mild nausea and dyspepsia that is worse with fasting and improved with eating.
Spotlight on esophageal adenocarcinoma
High-dose proton-pump inhibitors and aspirin appeared effective for chemoprevention in patients with Barrett's esophagus in one study, while another study found a positive association between human papillomavirus status and survival in patients with Barrett's high-grade dysplasia and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
Colonoscopy with computer-aided diagnosis may allow better assessment of diminutive polyps
The study aimed to determine whether computer-aided diagnosis had a negative predictive value of 90% or more for identifying diminutive rectosigmoid adenomas.
Transplant of HCV-infected kidneys to HCV-negative recipients yields good outcomes at 12 months
The study authors concluded that their results should encourage efforts to increase use of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected kidneys and called for larger confirmatory trials.
Mailing fecal immunochemical tests to patients due for colorectal cancer screening increased screening uptake
Compared with usual care clinics, intervention clinics had a significantly higher adjusted clinic-level proportion of participants who completed a mailed fecal immunochemical test and more participants who completed any colorectal cancer screening.