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Objectives: Exposed endoscopic full‐thickness resection (Eo‐EFTR) has proven effective and economical for patients with gastric submucosal tumors (SMTs), showing great prospects. However, the poor operative field of view, the risk of tumors falling into the peritoneal cavity, especially the difficulties in defect closure, have limited its widespread application. Herein, we described a modified traction‐assisted Eo‐EFTR technique aimed at simplifying both the dissection and defect closure procedures. Methods: Nineteen patients who underwent the modified Eo‐EFTR for gastric SMTs in the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital were enrolled in the study. Following a 2/3 circumferential full‐thickness incision, a clip with dental floss was anchored to the resected part of the tumor surface. With the dental floss traction, the gastric defect was reshaped into a V shape, which facilitated the deployment of clips to close the defect. The defect closure and tumor dissection procedures were then performed alternately. Patients' demographics, tumor characteristics, and therapeutic outcomes were evaluated retrospectively. Results: All tumors had an R0 resection. The median procedure time was 43 min (range 28–89 min). No severe perioperative adverse events occurred. Two patients experienced transient fever, and three patients complained of mild abdominal pain on the first day after the operation. All patients recovered on the next day with conservative management. No residual lesion or recurrence was reported during the follow‐up period of 30.1 months. Conclusion: The safety and practicability of the modified technique might allow for wide clinical applications of Eo‐EFTR in gastric SMTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pancreatic stones are pathognomonic of chronic pancreatitis (CP). This study aimed to determine the incidence, identify risk factors, and develop a nomogram for pancreatic stones in CP patients. Methods: Patients with CP admitted to our center from January 2000 to December 2013 were enrolled. Cumulative rates of pancreatic stones after the onset of CP and after the diagnosis of CP were calculated. Patients were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to the training and validation cohort. Based on the training cohort, risk factors were identified through Cox proportional hazards regression model, and nomogram was developed. Internal and external validations were performed based on the training and validation cohort, respectively. Results: With a total of 2,153 CP patients, pancreatic stones were detected in 1,626 (75.5%) patients, with a median follow-up of 7.8 years. Age at the onset of CP, body mass index, smoking, diabetes mellitus, pancreatic pseudocyst, biliary stricture, severe acute pancreatitis, and type of pain were identified risk factors for pancreatic stones development. The nomogram with these 8 factors achieved good accuracy. Conclusions: The nomogram achieved an individualized prediction of pancreatic stones development in CP. It may help the management of pancreatic stones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common complication of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP), which impairs the quality of life for patients. This study aimed to identify risk factors and develop nomogram for DM in ICP to help early diagnosis. Methods: Idiopathic chronic pancreatitis patients admitted to our center from January 2000 to December 2013 were included. Cumulative rates of DM were calculated by Kaplan–Meier method. Patients were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to the training and validation cohort. Based on training cohort, risk factors for DM were identified through Cox proportional hazards regression model, and nomogram was developed. Internal and external validations were performed based on the training and validation cohort, respectively. Results: Totally, 1633 patients with ICP were finally enrolled. The median follow‐up duration was 9.8 years. DM was found in 26.3% (430/1633) of patients after the onset of CP. Adult at onset of ICP, biliary stricture at/before diagnosis of CP, steatorrhea at/before diagnosis of CP, and complex pathologic changes in main pancreatic duct were identified risk factors for DM development. The nomogram achieved good concordance indexes in the training and validation cohorts, respectively, with well‐fitted calibration curves. Conclusions: Risk factors were identified, and nomogram was developed to determine the risk of DM in ICP patients. Patients with one or more of the risk factors including adult at onset of ICP, biliary stricture at/before diagnosis of CP, steatorrhea at/before diagnosis of CP, and complex pathologic changes in main pancreatic duct have higher incidence of DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Pancreatic extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (P‐ESWL) is a first‐line treatment for chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients with pancreatic stones. However, the performance of P‐EWSL in geriatric patients remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of P‐ESWL for them. Methods: This prospective study was conducted in painful CP patients who underwent P‐ESWL. Patients aged over 65 years were included in geriatric group; patients aged under 65 years were assigned to control group. For the long‐term follow‐up investigation, geriatric patients were matched with patients from the control group in a 1:1 ratio. Primary outcomes were complications of P‐ESWL and pain relief. Secondary outcomes included stone clearance, physical and mental health, quality of life score, changes in exocrine and endocrine pancreatic function, and survival. Results: From March 2011 to March 2016, P‐ESWL was performed in 1404 patients (72 in the geriatric group and 1332 in the control group). No significant differences were observed in complications of P‐ESWL between the two groups (P = 0.364). Among the 67 (67/72, 93.1%) geriatric patients who underwent follow up for 4.02 years, complete pain relief was achieved in 53 patients, which was not significantly different from that of matched controls (54/70; P = 0.920). The death in the geriatrics was significantly higher (P = 0.007), but none of them were correlated with P‐ESWL. Conclusions: P‐ESWL is safe and effective for geriatric CP patients with pancreatic stones. It can promote significant pain relief and stone clearance and improve quality of life and mental and physical health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims Pancreatic extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (P-ESWL) is recommended as the first-line treatment for pancreatic stones. However, how well P-ESWL performs in pediatric patients remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of P-ESWL for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis. Methods This prospective observational study was conducted in patients with painful chronic pancreatitis who underwent P-ESWL. Patients aged under 18 years were included in the pediatric group; patients aged over 18 years who underwent P-ESWL in the same period were assigned to the control group. For investigation of long-term follow-up, the pediatric group were matched with patients from the control group in a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcomes were P-ESWL complications and pain relief. The secondary outcomes included: stone clearance, physical and mental health, quality of life score, and growth and developmental state. Results From March 2011 to March 2015, P-ESWL was performed in 1135 patients (72 in the pediatric group, 1063 in the control group). No significant differences were observed in the occurrence of P-ESWL complications between the two groups (11.1 % vs. 12.8 %; P = 0.68). Among the 67 pediatric patients (93.1 %) who underwent follow-up for 3.0 years (range 1.3 - 5.2), complete pain relief was achieved in 52 patients (52 /67; 77.6 %); this value was not significantly different from that of the matched controls (55 /69; 79.7 %; P = 0.94). Conclusions P-ESWL is safe and effective for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis. It can promote significant pain relief and stone clearance, and can benefit growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]