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Twelve of 178 (7%) liver transplant patients underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) after transplantation. The indications for ERCP were persistent or late onset cholestasis, recurrent cholangitis, and suspected biliary leaks or strictures. The time between transplantation and ERCP ranged from 44 to 330 days (median 153 days). Biliary complications diagnosed by ERCP included biliary sludge in the form of casts, calculi, or debris (n = 7); bile leaks (n = 2); a biliary stricture (n = 1), and complete biliary obstruction (n = 1). One patient had a normal cholangiogram after transplantation. Biliary sludge was detected by ultrasound before ERCP in only one of six patients. Eight patients underwent endoscopic papillotomy, followed by clearance of biliary sludge in four and dilatation of a biliary stricture in one. Two patients bled after papillotomy but neither required surgical intervention. At a median follow up of 1.2 years (range 0.5-2.8 years), nine patients are well and three have died. ERCP provides both accurate diagnosis of biliary complications after liver transplantation and treatment that obviates the need for additional surgery in selected patients.

A prospective double blind trial of vancomycin vs placebo was undertaken in 40 consecutive adult patients with exacerbation of idiopathic colitis (33 ulcerative colitis, seven Crohn's disease). Vancomycin or placebo (500 mg six hourly) was given for seven days in addition to routine medical therapy. Although there was no significant overall difference in outcome between the two groups, there was a trend towards a reduction in the need for operative intervention in patients with ulcerative colitis treated with vancomycin compared with controls. The efficacy of vancomycin was not attributable to its known action against C difficile, which was not isolated from any of the patients. The data suggest that microbiological factors may play a part in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis and that further studies using antimicrobials are desirable.

The past decade has seen the development of an array of complex flexible fibreoptic instruments for gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, and an increasing use of these for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. It has been recognised more recently that the use of contaminated endoscopic equipment can lead to serious and occasionally fatal infections. Infection with a wide variety of micro-organisms has been reported following oesophago-gastroduodenoscopy (OGD) and endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP).

Forty patients with duodenal ulcer were randomly allocated to treatment with either tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate tablets or cimetidine for six weeks. Endoscopically confirmed healing of the ulcer occurred in 80% treated with tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate tablets and in 85% treated with cimetidine. Symptomatic improvement was also similar in the two groups. Treatment with cimetidine was associated with an increase in pH of gastric aspirate during treatment and increased numbers of bacteria were isolated from the gastric aspirate during treatment, while the pH and bacterial flora of gastric aspirate did not change during tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate treatment. Serum and urinary bismuth levels rose during treatment with tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate and urinary excretion remained raised two weeks after cessation of treatment. Tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate tablets appear to be as effective as cimetidine in the treatment of duodenal ulcer without the potentially undesirable effects of a reduction in gastric acid secretion.

Fasting gastric juice pH and concentrations of vitamin C in gastric aspirate and plasma were measured in 73 patients undergoing endoscopy. Vitamin C concentrations were significantly lower in those with hypochlorhydria (pH greater than 4; n = 23) compared with those with pH less than or equal to 4 (p less than 0.005) and there was a significant correlation between gastric juice and plasma concentrations (p = 0.002). Patients with normal endoscopic findings had significantly higher intragastric concentrations of vitamin C than those with gastric cancer (p less than 0.001), pernicious anaemia (p less than 0.005), gastric ulcer (p less than 0.01), duodenal ulcer (p less than 0.05), or after gastric surgery (p less than 0.01). There was a strong trend (0.05 less than p less than 0.1) towards lower intragastric concentrations of vitamin C in patients with chronic atrophic gastritis. In vitro, vitamin C concentrations remained stable in acidic but fell significantly over 24 hours in alkaline gastric aspirate. Gastric secretory studies in five volunteers showed that vitamin C concentrations increased significantly after intramuscular pentagastrin. These findings suggest that the low fasting levels of vitamin C in hypochlorhydric gastric juice may be caused by chemical instability and that vitamin C may be secreted by the human stomach.

Bacterial contamination of gastrointestinal fibre-endoscopes is a potential source of clinically significant infection. Aqueous 2% alkaline glutaraldehyde adequately disinfects fibre-endoscopes but may cause serious sensitivity reactions among endoscopy staff. A new 'closed-system' disinfecting apparatus is described that disinfects with glutaraldehyde for 30 minutes before an endoscopy session, for two minutes between patient procedures, and for 10 minutes before storage. Bacteriological cultures of the endoscope after disinfection were virtually sterile. Extremely low glutaraldehyde vapour levels were detected by gas chromatography in endoscopy room air during disinfection procedures. This relatively simple apparatus offers rapid, effective, and safe disinfection of fibre-endoscopes.

Eighty patients with duodenal ulcer were randomly allocated to treatment with tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate (TDB) tablets or cimetidine. Ulcers healed in 78% of patients treated with TDB and in 74% treated with cimetidine, supporting previous observations that the efficacy of these two agents is similar. Duodenal ulcer recurred in 43% of patients in the 12 months after treatment with TDB and in 78% of patients treated with cimetidine, with a significantly greater incidence of recurrence 6-12 months after cimetidine treatment. Tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate tablets may be preferable to cimetidine in the initial management of duodenal ulcer, because they offer a smaller likelihood of recurrence in the 12 months after successful treatment.