In the News
ACG updates guideline on H. pylori treatment
Among other recommendations, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) said that 14 days of bismuth quadruple therapy is the preferred regimen for treatment-naive patients with Helicobacter pylori infection when antibiotic susceptibility is unknown.
Fecal immunochemical tests vary widely in sensitivity, specificity
The test positivity rate among five commonly used fecal immunochemical tests varied from 3.9% to 16.4%, and rates of unevaluable tests ranged from 0.2% to 2.5%. The sensitivity for advanced neoplasia varied from 10.1% to 36.7%, and specificity varied from 85.5% to 96.6%.
Hepatitis D co-infection linked with worse outcomes, higher mortality in hepatitis B
Patients with both hepatitis D and hepatitis B are more than twice as likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma and decompensation and to die of liver-related causes than those with hepatitis B virus alone, according to a study of Veterans Health Administration data.
MKSAP Quiz: 4-month history of diarrhea
A 21-year-old man is evaluated for a 4-month history of diarrhea. Bowel movements are liquid and nonbloody and sometimes are preceded by lower abdominal cramps. He has near-daily bloating. Following a physical exam and lab tests, what is the most appropriate management?
Spotlight on PCABs in H. pylori
A recent study compared a potassium-competitive acid blocker (PCAB) with a proton-pump inhibitor for Helicobacter pylori infection, and a meta-analysis and clinical practice update offered guidance on optimal use of drugs in the PCAB class for H. pylori.
Model including hepatitis B viral load accurately predicts HCC risk in untreated patients
Researchers developed and externally validated a model for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk in noncirrhotic adult patients who had chronic hepatitis B but would not meet current criteria for antiviral treatment in a study in Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong.
Case reports cover liver injury, cholecystocolonic fistula
These and other gastroenterology and hepatology topics were touched upon in recent cases.
A next-generation mt-sDNA test had 94% sensitivity for colorectal cancer and 91% specificity for advanced neoplasia
An ACP Journal Club commentary questioned whether multitarget stool DNA (mt-sDNA) is better than fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) or outperformed FIT because of a lower threshold for colonoscopy referral, recommending that the tests be compared at the same referral rate.