Search

Gastrointestinal tract perforation is a full-thickness injury that causes bleeding and fatal infection of the peritoneum. This condition worsens in an acidic gastric environment which interferes with the normal coagulation cascade. Current endoscopic clips to repair gastric perforations are ineffective, and metal or plastic occluders need secondary surgery to remove them. Herein, we report a self-expandable, endoscopy deliverable, adhesive hydrogel to block gastric perforation. We found the nanosilica coating significantly enhanced the adhesive strength even under a simulated strong acidic stomach environment. The developed device was disulfide cross-linked for the reducible degraded gel. By loading with vonoprazan fumarate (VF) and acidic fibroblast growth factor (AFGF), the hyperboloid-shaped device can have a sustained drug release to regulate intragastric pH and promote wound healing. The gel device can be compressed and then expanded like a mushroom when applied in an acute gastric perforation model in both rabbits and minipigs. By utilizing a stomach capsule robot for remotely monitoring the pH and by immunohistochemical analysis, we demonstrated that the compressible hyperboloid-shaped gel could stably block the perforation and promoted wound healing during the 28 days of observation. The real-time pH meter demonstrated that the gel could control intragastric pH above 4 for nearly 60 h to prevent bleeding.

Summary Background The use of magnetically controlled capsules for gastroscopy is in the early stages of clinical adoption. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a fully automated magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy (FAMCE) system in clinical practice for gastroscopy and small bowel examination. Methods We did a prospective, comparative study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of FAMCE. Patients from two hospitals in Chongqing, China were consecutively enrolled. Eligible participants were aged 18–80 years with suspected gastric pathology and no previous surgery. Participants underwent FAMCE for screening of gastric lesions, then conventional transoral gastroscopy 2 h later, and stomach examination results were compared. The primary outcome was the rate of complete detection of gastric anatomy landmarks (cardia, fundus, body, angulus, antrum, and pylorus) by FAMCE. Secondary outcomes were the time required for gastric completion by FAMCE, the rate of detection of gastric lesions by FAMCE compared with conventional transoral gastroscopy, and the rate of complete small bowel examination. Adverse events were also evaluated. The study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000040507. Findings Between May 12 and Aug 17, 2020, 114 patients (mean age 44·0 years [IQR 34·0–55·0]; 63 [55%] female) were enrolled. The rate of complete detection of gastric anatomical structures by FAMCE was 100% (95% CI 99·3–100·0). The concordance between FAMCE and conventional transoral gastroscopy was 99·61% (99·45–99·78). The mean completion time of a gastroscopy with FAMCE was 19·17 min (SD 1·43; median 19·00, IQR 19·00–20·00), compared with 5·21 min (2·00; 5·18, 3·68–6·45) for conventional transoral gastroscopy. In 114 enrolled patients, 214 lesions were detected by FAMCE and conventional transoral gastroscopy. Of those, 193 were detected by both modalities. FAMCE missed five pathologies (four cases of gastritis and one polyp), whereas conventional transoral gastroscopy missed 16 pathologies (12 cases of gastritis, one polyp, one fundal xanthoma, and two antral erosions). FAMCE was able to provide a complete small bowel examination for all 114 patients and detected intestinal lesions in 50 (44%) patients. During the study, two (2%) patients experienced adverse events. No serious adverse events were recorded, and there was no evidence of capsule retention. Interpretation The performance of FAMCE is similar to conventional transoral gastroscopy in completion of gastric examination and lesion detection. Furthermore, it can provide a complete small bowel examination. Therefore, FAMCE could be effective method for examination of the gastrointestinal tract. Funding Chinese National Key Research and Development Program.

GOAL: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin C solution (VCS) in reducing adverse reactions caused by painless Lugol chromoendoscopy. BACKGROUND: Lugol chromoendoscopy is an effective method for screening superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, although Lugol iodine solution (LIS) causes mucosal irritation. STUDY: In 4 hospitals in China, patients were randomized and divided into a distilled water (DW) group, an sodium thiosulfate solution (STS) group and a VCS group. Patients' esophageal mucosal surfaces were stained with either 1.2% or 0.5% LIS and then sprayed with DW, STS, or VCS at various concentrations. For the current randomized study, 1610 patients were enrolled in the 1.2% LIS group and 1355 patients were enrolled in the 0.5% LIS group. In addition, 150 patients were enrolled to assess the discoloration effect. The primary outcome for evaluation was the incidence of acute or late adverse reactions after Lugol iodine staining. The secondary outcome for evaluation was the discoloration effect on esophageal iodine-stained mucosa. RESULTS: VCS significantly reduced the occurrence of acute adverse reactions due to staining from 1.2% LIS. The effect of VCS was similar to that of STS but better than that of DW (P

Background Wound closure in the complex body environment places higher requirements on suture’s mechanical and biological performance. In the scenario of frequent mechanical gastric motility and extremely low pH, single functional sutures have limitations in dealing with stomach bleeding trauma where the normal healing will get deteriorated in acid. It necessitates to advance suture, which can regulate wounds, resist acid and intelligently sense stomach pH. Methods Based on fish swim bladder, a double-stranded drug-loaded suture was fabricated. Its cytotoxicity, histocompatibility, mechanical properties, acid resistance and multiple functions were verified. Also, suture’s performance suturing gastric wounds and Achilles tendon was verified in an in vivo model. Results By investigating the swim bladder’s multi-scale structure, the aligned tough collagen fibrous membrane can resist high hydrostatic pressure. We report that the multi-functional sutures on the twisted and aligned collagen fibers have acid resistance and low tissue reaction. Working with an implantable “capsule robot”, the smart suture can inhibit gastric acid secretion, curb the prolonged stomach bleeding and monitor real-time pH changes in rabbits and pigs. The suture can promote stomach healing and is strong enough to stitch the fractured Achilles tendon. Conclusions As a drug-loaded absorbable suture, the suture shows excellent performance and good application prospect in clinical work.

Bioadhesive performance can be compromised due to bleeding. Bleeding increases mortality. Adhesives with hemostatic function are of great significance. A sustainable and robust hemostatic bioadhesive from okra is reported. The adhesive strength reaches around three and six-fold higher than commercial fibrin on pigskin and glass, respectively. The okra gel presents high-pressure resistance and great underwater adhesive strength. In human blood experiments, the okra gel can activate platelets, enhance the adhesion of activated platelets, and release coagulation factors XI and XII. By forming a fast gel layer and closely adhering to the wound, it can quickly stop bleeding in the liver and heart of rabbits and dogs. Meanwhile, okra gel can cause platelet activation at the wound site and further strengthen its hemostatic performance. It is biocompatible, biodegradable, and can promote wound healing and shows potential as a sustainable bioadhesive, especially in the scenario of significant hemorrhage.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a common procedure to treat early and precancerous gastrointestinal lesions. Via submucosal injection, a liquid cushion is created to lift and separate the lesion and malignant part from the muscular layer where the formed indispensable space is convenient for endoscopic incision. Saline is a most common submucosal injection liquid, but the formed liquid pad lasts only a short time, and thus repeated injections increase the potential risk of adverse events. Hydrogels with high osmotic pressure and high viscosity are used as an alternate; however, with some drawbacks such as tissue damage, excessive injection resistance, and high cost. Here, we reported a nature derived hydrogel of gelatin-oxidized alginate (G-OALG). Based on the rheological analysis and compare to commercial endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) solution (0.25% hyaluronic acid, HA), a designed G-OALG hydrogel of desired concentration and composition showed higher performances in controllable gelation and injectability, higher viscosity and more stable structures. The G-OALG gel also showed lower propulsion resistance than 0.25% HA in the injection force assessment under standard endoscopic instruments, which eased the surgical operation. In addition, the G-OALG hydrogel showed good in vivo degradability biocompatibility. By comparing the results acquired via ESD to normal saline, the G-OALG shows great histocompatibility and excellent endoscopic injectability, and enables create a longer-lasting submucosal cushion. All the features have been confirmed in the living both pig and rat models. The G-OALG could be a promising submucosal injection agent for esophageal ESD., Graphical abstract G-OALG hydrogels for esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection.Image 1, Highlights • Injectable gel with controlled viscosity. • Injectable gel with controlled degradation. • Making esophageal submucosal liquid cushion. • Potential treatment for early esophageal cancer. • Big animal in-situ imaging.

Objective: Reading small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) is a tedious task. We aim to evaluate the performance of a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) algorithm (SmartScan)-assisted reading in the setting of real-life clinical care. Design: A total of 5,825 SBCE examinations (comprising 295,314,067 images) performed in 51 Chinese medical centres were collected. 2,927 SBCE examinations from 29 medical centres were used to train SmartScan to detect 17 CEST findings. SmartScan was later validated in 2,898 SBCE examinations collected from 22 medical centres. All 2,898 SBCE examinations were read with both Conventional Reading (CR) and SmartScan-Assisted Reading (SSAR) by eight specialist gastroenterologists. If finding(s)/results by both types of reading in a patient were concordant, the result was taken as the Combined Agreed Comparator (CAC) for that case. In discordant cases, the consensus result by three expert readers was taken as the CAC for the case. Results: SSAR achieved an overall higher detection rate (79.30%) for CEST findings compared to CR (70.67%); from a total of 6,084 SB findings, SSAR detected 95.89%, significantly higher compared to CR (76.10%). Furthermore, SSAR achieved overall higher sensitivity (98.80%), for the 17 CEST subtypes of findings, 10.75% higher than CR (88.05%). With SSAR, the number of images requiring review per SB CE video was reduced to 779.17 ±337.18, with reading time was shortened to 5.37 ±1.51min. C Conclusion: A commercially available CNN algorithm (SmartScan) can increase the detection rate of SB findings while reducing SB CE reading times. Trial Registration: This clinical trial study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (reg no. CHiCTR2100042455). Funding: This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (NO. 2016YFC0107000) and Special project of National Health Committee (NO. 201502013). Declaration of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical Approval: The whole study was performed in accordance with guidelines approved by Medical Ethics Committee of Second Affiliated Hospital of the Third Medical University (NO.2020-yan-134-01).

Tumors are one of the most serious human diseases and cause numerous global deaths per year. In spite of many strategies applied in tumor therapy, such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, and a combination of these treatments, tumors are still the foremost killer worldwide among human diseases, due to their specific limitations, such as multidrug resistance and side effects. Therefore, it is urgent and necessary to develop new strategies for tumor therapy. Recently, the fast development of nanoscience has paved the way for designing new strategies to treat tumors. Nanomaterials have shown great potential in tumor therapy, due to their unique properties, including passive targeting, hyperthermia effects, and tumor-specific inhibition. This review summarizes the recent progress using the innate antitumor properties of metallic and nonmetallic nanomaterials to treat tumors, and related challenges and prospects are discussed.

Backgrounds: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been widely performed in the treatment of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Few studies have compared the long-term outcomes of esophageal ESD based on absolute indications and relative indications. The aim of the current study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of ESD for early ESCC with relative indications. Methods: 297 patients with early ESCC who underwent ESD were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into 3 groups: group A, the absolute indications group; group B, the relative indications without additional treatment after ESD group; and group C, the relative indications with additional treatment after ESD group. The baseline characteristics, therapeutic efficacy, complications, prognosis outcomes, and follow-up data were evaluated. Results: During the median follow-up period of 51.0 months (range 6–101 months), the incidence of local recurrence in groups A, B, and C was 1.63% (3/184), 4.23% (3/71), and 0 (0/42), respectively (p = 0.253). The 5-year overall survival rates were 97.83% (95% CI: 95.69–99.95%) in group A, 95.77% (95% CI: 90.95–100.00%) in group B, and 97.62% (95% CI: 92.81–100.00%) in group C with no significant differences among these 3 groups. Conclusions: ESD is a feasible and effective treatment for early ESCC with relative indications. Under the premise of sufficient preoperative assessment and scheduled postoperative endoscopic surveillance, additional treatment might not be necessary for patients with relative indications after ESD procedures.

Background Although proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used in the prevention of gastric bleeding caused by endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), there is no consensus on the optimal regimen for these patients. Therefore, we aim to investigate whether intermittent use of low-dose PPI is sufficient to prevent post-ESD bleeding. Methods This multicenter, non-inferiority, randomized controlled trial was conducted at 9 hospitals in China. Consecutive eligible patients with a diagnosis of gastric mucosal lesions after ESD treatment were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either intermittent low-dose or continuous high-dose PPIs treatment. After three days, all patients administered orally esomeprazole 40 mg once a day for 8 weeks. The primary endpoint was post-ESD bleeding within 7 days. Analysis was done according to the intention-to-treat principle with the non-inferiority margin (Δ) of 5%. Results 526 consecutive patients were assessed for eligibility from 30 September 2017 to 30 July 2019, of whom 414 were randomly assigned to low-dose (n = 209) or high-dose (n = 205) esomeprazole treatment group without dropouts within7 days. The total post-ESD bleeding is occurred in 13 (6.2 %, 95 % CI 3.3–9.6) of 209 within 7 days in the intermittent low-dose group, and 12 (5.9 %, 95 % CI 2.9–9.3) of 205 in the continuous high-dose group. The absolute risk reduction (ARR) was 0.4 % (−4.2, 4.9). One month after ESD, There are 44 patients (21.1 %, 95 % CI 15.8, 26.8) and 39 patients (19.0 % 95 % CI 13.7, 24.4) in scar stage respectively in low-dose group and high-dose group (P = 0.875).The hospital costs in the low-dose PPI group was lower than high -dose group (P = 0.005). Conclusion The intermittent use of low-dose PPIs is sufficient to prevent post-ESD bleeding. It might be applied in clinical practice to prevent post-ESD bleeding and reduce the costs related to PPIs.

Although the endoscopic treatment of gastric stromal tumors is a recently accepted therapy, the long-term outcomes of this approach remain unknown. The aims of this study were to assess the long-term effectiveness and safety of endoscopic resection for gastric GISTs. A total of 60 consecutive patients undergoing endoscopic resection of gastric GISTs were enrolled in a retrospective single-center study. Clinical data, perioperative complications, histopathologic characteristics of the tumors, and long-term outcomes were recorded. Sixty patients successfully underwent complete resection of lesions, including 25 cases of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and 35 cases of endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR), with an average tumor size of 1.76 ± 1.55 cm (range 0.5–7.6 cm). The average operation time was 43.97 ± 26.95 min (range 11.7–138.9 min). Two cases were observed with an intraoperative hemorrhage of 200 mL, which were successfully managed by hemostatic forceps. Perforations of 2–11 mm of ESD occurred in four cases (4/25) and were well closed with endoclips, with no conversions to surgical operation. Mucosal laceration of esophagus occurred in 1 case, when a large tumor was removed. The average length of hospitalization was 6.50 ± 3.06 days (range 3–21 days). Out of a total of 60 patients, 44 (73.3%) were at very low risk, 10 (16.7%) were at low risk, 5 (8.3%) were at intermediate risk, and 1 (1.7%) was at high risk. All patients were followed-up for 36.15 ± 12.92 months (range 14–73 months). Primary tumor recurrence occurred in 1 patient who underwent a second operation after 32 months, and no other cases were observed to have either tumor recurrence or metastasis. For long-term outcomes, endoscopic resection of ESD or EFTR is a safe and effective approach for removing gastric stromal tumors (

It is usually difficult to obtain a good view of the dissection plane during esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of clip traction in ESD for the treatment of early esophageal carcinoma (EEC) or precancerous lesions. This is a case-matched comparative study. We selected 100 EEC patients who had undergone ESD. Fifty cases underwent ESD without clip traction (non-clip group), and 50 cases underwent ESD with clip traction (clip group). The patient-related variables, dissection time, data regarding muscularis propria injury, etc. were statistically analyzed. ESD was successful in all cases without complication. There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to age, gender, the longitudinal diameter of the lesions, etc. Wide visual field exposure of the submucosal tissue below the lesion was obtained by applying clip traction. The dissection time of ESD was shorter in the clip group than in the non-clip group [22.02 (6.77) min vs 26.48 (12.56); P = 0.018] when the extent of lesion was less than half of the circumference of the esophagus; otherwise, there was no difference between the two groups (P = 0.252). Moreover, the muscularis propria injuries in the clip group were obviously less than the non-clip group (10 vs 30 %, P = 0.007). Clip traction can decrease the rate of muscularis propria injury and shorten the dissection time. It is recommended as a safe and effective auxiliary procedure for the treatment of esophageal ESD.