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Background: The gender gap in the authorship of scientific research may affect career advancement. Our aim was to assess the potential gender gap in gastrointestinal (GI) journals., Methods: A systematic review was performed of the GI literature and ongoing research in the period 2020-2022. A total 10 GI journals and ongoing research on clinicaltrials.gov were selected for review. The gender gap in first and senior authorship was evaluated for each article and ongoing research project. Associations between the gender gap and possible predictors were measured and results are presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95%CI., Results: The number of first female authors (FFAs) and senior female authors (SFAs) in published articles were 1408/4207 (33.5%) and 911/4207 (21.7%), respectively. There were 781/2654 (29.4%) female principal investigators (PI)s for the ongoing research. On comparison of non-endoscopic vs. endoscopic topics, the latter were associated with the gender gap (hepatology, OR 2.15 [95%CI 1.83-2.55]; inflammatory bowel disease, OR 2.12 [95%CI 1.60-2.45]; upper and lower GI, OR 1.31 [95%CI 1.18-1.73]); as well as the type of article (original article vs. editorial, OR 1.92 [95%CI 1.58-2.33]). The type of research was also associated with the gender gap (clinical vs. preclinical studies, OR 0.88 [95%CI 0.66-0.91])., Conclusion: Our results demonstrated a correlation between the gender gap and the design and topic of the research. Future strategies for improving equity in career development in GI endoscopy should focus on closing the gender gap in equity of authorship., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: The long-term outcomes of esophageal peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) are still unknown., Methods: We searched electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus) for studies assessing outcomes after POEM for esophageal achalasia with a minimum median follow-up duration of 36 months. Pooled rates of clinical success and postoperative reflux were calculated and compared with the same values at 12/24/36 months when available. Subgroup analyses were performed to explore the interstudy heterogeneity., Results: From 1528 initial records, 11 studies (2017-2021) were included. A total of 2342 patients (age 48.1 [SD 6.8] years; 50.1 % males) with a median follow-up of 48 months (interquartile range 45-60) were analyzed. The pooled clinical success rate was 87.3 % (95 %CI 83.6 %-91.0 %; I2  = 73.1 %). The symptomatic reflux pooled rate was 22.0 % (95 %CI 14.4 %-29.5 %; I2  = 92.7 %). Three cases of peptic strictures and one Barrett's esophagus were reported. The pooled rate of severe adverse events was 1.5 % (95 %CI 0.5 %-2.5 %; I2  = 52.8 %)., Conclusions: Long-term clinical efficacy of POEM persisted in 87 % of patients with achalasia. Post-POEM symptomatic reflux remained stable over time. The risk for Barrett's esophagus and peptic strictures appeared minimal., Competing Interests: R. Maselli: consulting for Fujifilm, ERBE. P. Sharma: consultant for Medtronic, Olympus, Boston Scientific, Fujifilm, and Lumendi. He receives grant support from Ironwood, Erbe, Docbot, Cosmo pharmaceuticals, and CDx labs. C. Hassan: consulting fees from Fujifilm, Medtronic. A. Repici: consulting fees from Medtronic, Fujifilm, Boston Scientific, ERBE. All other authors declare that no conflicts of interest exist., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Background: Treatments of Zenker's diverticulum aim to dissect the cricopharyngeal muscle, removing the underlying source of dysfunction. This is difficult in patients with a short-septum (≤ 20 mm) diverticulum because the limited anatomical space restricts the operating area for either rigid or flexible endoscopic approaches. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of a novel third-space approach, peroral endoscopic septotomy (POES), for treating symptomatic patients with short-septum Zenker's diverticulum., Methods: All patients with short-septum Zenker's diverticulum who were referred for endoscopic repair from September 2017, were considered for the study. Outcomes included procedure-related adverse events and symptom improvement. The Dakkak - Bennett score was used to quantify dysphagia., Results: 20 patients (men 12, women 8; mean age 67.9 years [SD 14.3]) underwent POES. All procedures were performed with patients under deep sedation. Mean size of Zenker's diverticulum was 17.5 mm (SD 3.0) and mean dysphagia score was 2.7 (SD 0.5). Average procedure time was 13.8 minutes (SD 5.1). No intra- or post- procedural adverse events occurred. Septal myotomy was successfully completed in all patients. Dysphagia significantly improved in 19 out of 20 patients. Dakkak - Bennett score improved to 0.3 (SD 0.5), P  < 0.0001). No recurrences were reported in a mean follow-up time of 12.0 months (SD 3.7, range 6 - 20)., Conclusions: POES may be considered as a potential alternative for the treatment of short-septum Zenker's diverticulum. Further data are required to validate this technique and compare it with already available rigid and flexible approaches., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Competing Interests: None

Competing Interests: None