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Balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE) is one of the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in the algorithm for the evaluation of overt obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB). There is currently no consensus regarding the role of urgent BAE in overt OGIB. The aims of this study were to compare the diagnostic and therapeutic yields of urgent and nonurgent BAE in patients with overt OGIB.We conducted a retrospective, single-center study that included patients who underwent BAE for overt OGIB between January 2010 and December 2017. Urgent BAE was defined as an enteroscopy performed within 72 h of clinical presentation. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and technical data were reviewed and the diagnostic and therapeutic yields evaluated and compared.Seventy BAEs were performed in 57 patients with overt OGIB [29 (50.9%) females, mean age: 68.0±11.1 years]. The diagnostic yield of urgent BAE was significantly higher than nonurgent BAE (84.5 vs. 50.0%, P0.01). The most common diagnosis were angiodysplasias (30%), tumors (15.7%), erosions/ulcers (4.3%), and diverticula (4.3%). Endoscopic therapy was more frequently performed in urgent BAE patients (57.7 vs. 31.8%, P=0.03). The most commonly used endoscopic therapies were argon plasma coagulation (30.0%), hemostatic clips (5.7%), epinephrine injection (5.7%), and polypectomy (2.9%). In terms of urgent BAE, the diagnostic yield was similar when enteroscopy was performed at less than or equal to 24, 48, or 72 h (P0.05), but the therapeutic yield was higher the earlier the enteroscopy was performed (100, 76.9, and 57.7% at ≤24, ≤48, and ≤72 h respectively; P=0.03).The diagnostic and therapeutic impact of BAE was higher in an urgent setting. These data support an important role for urgent BAE in overt OGIB.

AIM To evaluate differences in capsule endoscopy (CE) performed in the setting of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) among premenopausal women (PMW) and menopausal women (MW). METHODS Retrospective, single-center study, including female patients submitted to CE in the setting of OGIB between May 2011 and December 2016. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to age, considering fertile age as ≤ 55 years and postmenopausal age as > 55 years. The diagnostic yield (DY), the rebleeding rate and the time to rebleed were evaluated and compared between groups. Rebleeding was defined as a drop of Hb > 2 g/dL or need for transfusional support or presence of melena/hematochezia. RESULTS A hundred and eighty three female patients underwent CE for OGIB, of whom 30.6% (n = 56) were PMW and 69.4% (n = 127) were MW. The DY was 30.4% in PMW and 63.8% in MW. The most common findings were angiodysplasias in both groups (PMW: 21.4%, MW: 44.9%) (P = 0.003). In PMW, only 1.8% required therapeutic endoscopy. In 17.3% of MW, CE findings led to additional endoscopic treatment. Rebleeding at 1, 3 and 5 years in PMW was 3.6%, 10.2%, 10.2% and 22.0%, 32.3% and 34.2% in MW. Postmenopausal status was significantly associated with higher DY (P < 0.001), TY (P = 0.003), rebleeding (P = 0.031) and lower time to rebleed (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION PMW with suspected OGIB are less likely to have significant findings in CE. In MW DY, need for endoscopic treatment and rebleeding were significantly higher while time to rebleed was lower.

The gastrointestinal tract is an organized structure originating from the three embryonic germ layers: endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. Morphological changes that accompany its formation are relatively well known, although the underlying molecular mechanisms are still poorly defined. Intestinal metaplasia, resulting from an epithelial transdifferentiation process, is considered a precursor lesion of gastric adenocarcinoma, a malignancy with serious consequences in terms of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Similarly to gastrointestinal embryonic development, molecular changes involved in the development of this lesion that recapitulate the intestinal development, out of time and space, are also widely unknown. In this review we present, briefly, the process of formation of the digestive tract, from its embryonic age to adulthood, with emphasis on anterior-posterior patterning and on molecular mechanisms that may play an important role. In addition, we try to establish a parallel and understand what mechanisms can, through their deregulation, originate the metaplastic lesion. Cdx genes appear to be the main regulators of normal intestinal differentiation and also to be largely involved in the metaplastic epithelial transdifferentiation process. However, control of gene expression both during intestinal development and in intestinal metaplasia is complex and seems to depend on several transcription factors. More extensive studies about the mechanisms underlying intestinal metaplasia are needed if we aim to prevent neoplasia development and all its negative consequences in persons at risk.

Background and aims: Small bowel submucosal lesions (SBSL) and innocent bulges may have an identical appearance and be difficult to distinguish on small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE). Recently, Girelli et al. proposed a score, smooth, protruding lesion index on capsule endoscopy (SPICE), in order to differentiate between the two. We aimed to evaluate and validate SPICE as a differentiation method between innocent bulges and SBSLs. Methods: We evaluated all SBCEs performed in our department between January 2005 and September 2015, and selected the ones with a smooth, round, protruding lesion in the small bowel. Lesions with suspicious characteristics were excluded. A video clip of the region of interest was created and SPICE was assigned blindly and independently by two endoscopists. We determined the discriminative ability of SPICE using the definitive diagnosis of each patient as the standard criteria. Results: We included 30 SBCEs corresponding to 12 SBSLs (four gastrointestinal stromal tumors, two neuroendocrine tumors, four lipomas and two polypoid lymphangiectasias) and 18 innocent bulges. SPICE scores ranged from 0 to 4, allowing the distinction between SBSLs and innocent bulges (p 2 had a 66.7% sensitivity, 100.0% specificity, 100.0% positive predictive value and 78.3% negative predictive value, and the area under the curve was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.73-1.00; p < 0.001) for the diagnosis of SBSL. Conclusions: Our data support SPICE, namely a score > 2, as a predictive method of SBSLs. Taking into account its simplicity, it may be very useful in the distinction between SBSLs and innocent bulges on SBCE.

AIM To evaluate the adequacy of the study of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in real life practice prior to referral to a gastroenterology department for small bowel evaluation. METHODS All consecutive patients referred to a gastroenterology department for small bowel investigation due to iron deficiency anemia, between January 2013 and December 2015 were included. Both patients referred from general practitioners or directly from different hospital departments were selected. Relevant clinical information regarding prior anemia workup was retrospectively collected from medical records. An appropriate pre-referral study was considered the execution of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) investigation, colonoscopy with quality standards (recent, total and with adequate preparation) and celiac disease (CD) screening (through serologic testing and/or histopathological investigation). RESULTS A total of 77 patients (58.4% female, mean age 67.1 ± 16.7 years) were included. Most (53.2%) patients were referred from general practitioners, 41.6% from other hospital specialties and 5.2% directly from the emergency department. The mean pre-referral hemoglobin concentration was 8.8 ± 2.0 g/dL and the majority of anemias had microcytic (71.4%) and hypochromic (72.7%) characteristics. 77.9% of patients presented with an incomplete pre-referral study: EGD in 97.4%, with H. pylori investigation in 58.3%, colonoscopy with quality criteria in 63.6%, and CD screening in 24.7%. Patients with an appropriate study at the time of referral were younger (48.7 ± 17.7 vs 72.3 ± 12.3 years, P < 0.001). Small bowel evaluation was ultimately undertaken in 72.7% of patients, with a more frequent evaluation in patients with a quality colonoscopy at referral (78.6% vs 23.8%); P < 0.001 (OR = 11.7, 95%CI: 3.6-38.6). The most common diagnosis regarded as the likely cause of IDA was small bowel angioectasia (18.2%) but additional causes were also found in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tracts of near 20% of patients. Small bowel studies detected previously unknown non-small bowel findings in 7.7% of patients. CONCLUSION The study of anemia prior to referral to gastroenterology department is unsatisfactory. Only approximately a quarter of patients presented with an appropriate study.