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Caustic ingestion management could be improved with a diagnostic approach based on risk factors. This study aimed to develop an algorithm derived from predictive factors of a poor clinical course, to evaluate its diagnostic accuracy and resource consumption, and to compare it with 2 other approaches, a radiological one based on computed tomography and a classical one based on symptoms and endoscopy.All patients older than 15 years presenting with caustic ingestion in our tertiary care hospital between 1995 and 2021 were prospectively included. Adverse outcome was defined as intensive care unit admission, emergency surgery, or death. Ingestion characteristics, symptoms, and laboratory and endoscopic findings were analyzed to determine the most relevant risk factors. Diagnostic accuracy and the number of examinations required were estimated and compared with the other 2 algorithms applied to our series.The sample included 532 cases of caustic ingestion, 13.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.3-16.0) of which had adverse outcomes. Volume and type of caustic substance; presence of symptoms and pharyngolaryngeal involvement; and neutrophilia, acidosis, and endoscopic injury were combined to develop an algorithm that would provide the highest diagnostic odds ratio (167.2; 95% CI: 71.9-388.7). Following this approach, half of the patients (50.6%; 95% CI: 46.2-55.1) would not require any examination and, overall, the need for endoscopy (20.0%; 95% CI: 16.4-23.5) and computed tomography (16.3%; 95% CI: 13.0-19.5) would be lower than that for the other 2 algorithms.A risk-based algorithm could improve caustic ingestion management by maintaining high diagnostic accuracy while reducing diagnostic test requirements.

La pandemia por COVID-19 ha supuesto un reto para los países y sus profesionales sanitarios. La entrada viral en el hospedador a través del receptor ACE-2 y una activación excesiva del sistema inmunológico son claves para comprender tanto la incidencia como la gravedad de la enfermedad. La enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal (EII) representa una condición especial asociada con una respuesta descontrolada del sistema inmunológico a agentes externos. Los tratamientos para la EII se han asociado con un mayor riesgo de infecciones bacterianas y virales. Esto ha planteado la cuestión de una posible mayor incidencia y gravedad de la infección por COVID-19 en pacientes con EII. A lo largo de este año se han publicado varios artículos que tratan de responder esa cuestión. La vacunación contra la COVID-19 ofrece una gran promesa para controlar la infección en pacientes con EII. Según la evidencia actual, los pacientes con EII no tienen mayor incidencia de COVID-19 ni peor evolución de la enfermedad en comparación con la población general. La edad avanzada y la presencia de un mayor número de comorbilidades se han asociado con peores resultados. Los corticosteroides están asociados con un mayor riesgo de infección por COVID-19, una mayor tasa de hospitalizaciones y un mayor riesgo de COVID-19 grave. La mesalazina/sulfasalazina y las tiopurinas presentan un posible aumento del riesgo de COVID-19 grave, aunque se requieren más estudios para demostrar esta asociación. Dentro de los fármacos biológicos, los anti-TNF pueden tener un posible efecto protector. Los anti-IL-12/23, anti-integrinas y tofacitinib presentan resultados comparables con anti-TNF. Se recomienda mantener el tratamiento con agentes biológicos. En base a la eficacia, las recomendaciones de los expertos y la ausencia de otra evidencia, se recomienda la vacunación de pacientes con EII.

Background/aim In chronic liver disease, various immune cell subsets exert pro or anti-tumour effects by releasing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS, RNS). Here, we evaluated the oxidative and nitrosative pattern in peripheral blood leukocyte subpopulations of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients compared with HCC-free cirrhotic patients. Materials and methods Venous blood samples from 18 HCC-free cirrhotic patients and 17 early stage HCC patients were collected to determine ROS, RNS and reduced glutathione levels in isolated leukocytes analyzed by flow cytometry. Results Intracellular levels of ROS and glutathione were higher in lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils from HCC patients as well as mitochondrial superoxide in neutrophils and monocytes whereas intracellular levels of nitric oxide were lower in lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils. Conclusion Early HCC alters intracellular levels of ROS and RNS of some circulating leukocytes subsets. This finding may represent a potential area of interest concerning the development of new treatments and prognostic markers.

Background Caustic ingestion is a potentially severe condition and early identification of poor outcome is essential to improve management; however, prediction based on endoscopy alone can overestimate severity. This study aimed to develop and validate a prognostic score. Methods A prospective cohort study was designed to include all consecutive patients aged > 15 years who presented with caustic ingestion between 1995 and 2017. Adverse outcome was defined by intensive care unit admission, urgent surgery, or death. The predictive value of clinical, analytical, and endoscopic variables was assessed in the first cohort (derivation cohort) and a prognostic score based on the resulting risk factors was developed by logistic regression. Internal validation (bootstrapping) was performed and then external validation was checked in an independent sample of patients (validation cohort). Results 469 cases of caustic ingestion were included, 265 in the derivation cohort and 204 in the validation cohort. Ingestion of acidic substances (odds ratio [OR] 3.13, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 2.33 – 4.21), neutrophil count (OR 1.05, 95 %CI 1.04 – 1.06), metabolic acidosis (bicarbonate value, OR 0.82, 95 %CI 0.78 – 0.85), and endoscopic injury (OR 3.81, 95 %CI 3.35 – 4.34) were independent risk factors for poor outcome. The prognostic score based on these variables provided better accuracy than endoscopy alone (P = 0.04), with high sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (93.3 %, 92.7 %, 72.7 %, 98.5 %, respectively), and area under the curve (0.976, 95 %CI 0.973 – 0.979; P Conclusions This score allowed a reliable prognosis of caustic ingestion and was more accurate than endoscopy-based evaluation.

Surgery has been considered the main treatment for submucosal tumors (SMTs). However, endoscopic resection is currently accepted for gastric SMTs smaller than 3 cm. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is considered the technique of choice, and submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection has successful results with low complication rates according to the recent meta-analysis by Cao et al. The major limitation of these methods is the technical difficulty associated with certain anatomic locations.

Although much is known about musical preferences, they are still hard to explain and predict. Over the last two decades, scholars have suggested that the functions served by music should be considered when interpreting musical preferences. It is known that the degree of functionality and the strength of musical preferences are correlated. However, as correlation does not equal causation, the present study sought to clarify experimentally whether the degree of functionality really determines the strength of musical preferences. The potential of music to foster social relatedness was selected as one of the most basic functions of music and was at the basis of an experimental study. Participants indicated their favorite musical style and a favorite piece of music which they deemed capable of creating a strong social bond among devotees of that style. They were told that other devotees of the same style would subsequently be asked to rate – based on that piece – how much they would like to get to know the person who had named that piece and their degree of affinity for that person. False feedback was manipulated in two randomized groups: one group received very positive feedback from the other fans (suggesting high functionality of the piece) and the other received rather negative feedback (suggesting low functionality). At the end of the study, participants indicated how much they liked the piece they had named. As expected, participants in the high-functionality group gave higher preference ratings for their selected piece than participants in the low-functionality group. The results suggest that the degree of music’s functionality in everyday life is a determinant of musical preferences.

Several studies demonstrate an increased prevalence and concordance of inflammatory bowel disease among the relatives of patients. Other studies suggest that genetic influence is over-estimated. The aims of this study are to evaluate the phenotypic expression and the treatment requirements in familial inflammatory bowel disease, to study the relationship between number of relatives and degree of kinship with disease severity and to quantify the impact of family aggregation compared to other environmental factors. Observational analytical study of 1211 patients followed in our unit. We analyzed, according to the existence of familial association, number and degree of consanguinity, the phenotypic expression, complications, extraintestinal manifestations, treatment requirements, and mortality. A multivariable analysis considering smoking habits and non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs was performed. 14.2% of patients had relatives affected. Median age at diagnosis tended to be lower in the familial group, 32 vs 29, p = 0.07. In familial ulcerative colitis, there was a higher proportion of extraintestinal manifestations: peripheral arthropathy (OR = 2.3, p = 0.015) and erythema nodosum (OR = 7.6, p = 0.001). In familial Crohn’s disease, there were higher treatment requirements: immunomodulators (OR = 1.8, p = 0.029); biologics (OR = 1.9, p = 0.011); and surgery (OR = 1.7, p = 0.044). The abdominal abscess increased with the number of relatives affected: 5.1% (sporadic), 7.0% (one), and 14.3% (two or more), p=0.039. These associations were maintained in the multivariate analysis. Familial aggregation is considered a risk factor for more aggressive disease and higher treatment requirements, a tendency for earlier onset, more abdominal abscess, and extraintestinal manifestations, remaining a risk factor analyzing the influence of some environmental factors.