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The great concern stemming from the current COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for governments and international organizations around the world. Likewise, the diagnosis has played an important role in the prioritization processes, in particular, for the identification and follow-up of cases. In this context, PCR and serological tests have become the international standard; however, some limitations, as well as the scope of these techniques, must be understood in terms of population numbers. This comment seeks to clarify the interpretation of the results of these tests from a public health perspective.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a considerable public health problem, which has caused a burden on health systems in many countries. Despite the existence of multiple studies on the different digestive symptoms and their relationship with this disease, it is still vital to highlight the severity of the different symptoms, the need to diagnose it properly and quickly. Currently in Colombia there are no writings that highlight the above., Case Presentation: This article reports the case of a 37-year-old female patient, with no important history, who consulted for 10 h of a generalized intense abdominal pain, of sudden onset, associated with multiple stools of diarrheal consistency, and no respiratory symptoms and no epidemiological exposure. Physical examination with intense pain in the colic frame with tenderness. It was decided to rule out surgical pathology and a CT scan was performed finding no evidence of acute intra-abdominal pathology, but with a peripheral alveolar, and ground-glass opacities at lung bases, classic COVID-19 radiological pattern, confirmed by a positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2, leading to consider that the gastrointestinal symptoms were secondary to this infection. Symptomatic management was given with subsequent improvement., Conclusions: It is extremely important to present this first case report of a young female COVID-19 patient with an acute abdominal pain as the main clinical manifestation, that almost culminates in a surgical procedure; demonstrating the scope of gastrointestinal symptoms secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Peripancreatic lymph node tuberculosis is a rare disease. Correct diagnosis is a challenge, and endoscopic ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNB) allow rapid diagnosis with high precision. In this report, we present a 45-year-old female patient with abdominal pain and the presence of peripancreatic adenopathy who underwent FNB, which diagnosed peripancreatic lymph node tuberculosis., (© 2021 The Authors. JGH Open: An open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology published by Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) has led to the elaboration of multiple studies to increase knowledge and understanding, hence, having the ability to accomplish an adequate and timely diagnosis and give an optimal treatment according to the patient's condition. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 pose a series of challenges both in understanding and delimiting the disease secondary to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is due to the fact that the main axis of this disease is the endothelial compromise and the production of a "cytokine storm," triggering multiple organ failure and death. Given that a complete understanding of its pathophysiology and clinical behavior has not yet been achieved, we wondered if coinfection with other respiratory viruses modifies its performance and outcomes described so far. A literature search was performed, obtaining 68 articles, of which 25 were analyzed. The analysis showed us that there is a high variety both in the types of associated infections and in the clinical behavior of patients and their outcomes. Therefore, we consider that the search for other infections should be performed exhaustively, especially in those cases that may be susceptible to treatment such as Influenza A, human immunodeficiency virus, or bacterial infections. As well as optimize the analysis of these cases and establish if there are characteristics that allow establishing the possibility of carrying an additional infection to that of SARS-CoV-2 and the implications for the management and prognosis of the patient., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background & Aims: Hepatorenal syndrome is a rare entity that is part of the complications of liver cirrhosis in its more severe stages. Without treatment, its mortality rate increases significantly. Terlipressin is considered to be the therapy of choice until the need of a liver transplant. The aim is to determine its prevalence, define patients' characteristics, triggers and 90-day survival, according to the type of managements established., Method: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in Colombia. It included patients with cirrhosis and acute kidney injury who met hepatorenal syndrome criteria, reaching 28 patients from 2007 to 2015. Groups were categorized according the type of hepatorenal syndrome and treatment. Demographic and trigger factors were evaluated to characterize the population. Treatment outcomes with terlipressin vs norepinephrine were analyzed up to a 90-day survival, using log Rank test. Continuous variables needed Student's T and Mann Whitney's U tests and categorical variables, Chi2 test. A value of p <0.05 and a power of 85% was considered. The data was analyzed in the SPSS version 23 software., Results: 117 patients with cirrhosis developed renal injury; of these 23.9% were diagnosed with Hepatorenal Syndrome (67.8% type1; 32.1% type2). The presence of ascites was 100% in HRS2 and 84% in HRS1 (p = 0.296). The main trigger in both types was paracentesis greater than 5 liters in the last 4 weeks (39.3%). In total, 35% of the patients received renal replacement therapy and 14% underwent a hepatic transplant. Type 1 was more frequent (63% received terlipressin; 21% norepinephrine). The total complete response was 36% (Type2 66.6% vs. Type1 18.7%) (p = 0.026). In contrast, the overall mortality was of 67.8% at 90-day of follow-up (89.4% Type1 vs. 22% Type2) (p = <0.001). We found a lower mortality rate in patients treated with terlipressin than treated with norepinephrine (p = 0.006)., Conclusion: There is scarce clinical and epidemiological information about this condition in Colombia. A significant difference between the two drugs cannot be stipulated due to the limitation in the sample size of our study. The general mortality at a 90-day follow-up was high, being higher in patients with HRS1. While the results of this study are suggestive of clinical information for HRS patients in the Colombian population, they should also be interpreted with caution, therefore further multicenter studies should be performed., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Whipple's disease is a rare systemic disease caused by a gram-positive bacillus called Tropheryma whipplei. First described in 1907 as an intestinal lipodystrophy with histological finding of vacuoles in the macrophages of the intestinal mucous. Usually the symptoms are localized according to the compromised organ. The differential diagnosis is wide. It can be fatal without proper treatment. Recurrence can occur in up to 33% of the cases and usually compromises the neurological system., Case Presentation: This article reports the case of a 46-year-old female patient with a history of a 6-month hypochromic microcytic anemia of unknown cause. She consulted for a 6-months oppressive abdominal pain located in the mesogastrium as well as abdominal distention associated with nausea and liquid stools; in addition, she had an 8-month small and medium joint pain, without edema or erythema. Physical examination without relevant findings. Multiple esophagogastroduodenoscopies with normal gastric and duodenal biopsies findings and a normal colonoscopy were performed. Endoscope capsule showed red spots in the duodenum and ulcerations in the jejunum and proximal ileum covered by fibrin; histological report showed macrophages with positive periodic acid-schiff reaction staining (PAS staining), disgnosing Whipple's disease. Antibiotics were initiated. The patient is currently in the second phase of treatment without gastrointestinal and joint symptoms., Conclusion: This is the first case reported in Colombia. It is a rare entity and difficult to diagnose reason why it is important to continue with clinical investigations to give more clarity about the onset and appropriate diagnose to avoid the delay in treatment of this entity.

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most frequent chronic gastrointestinal disorder. It is defined as a condition developed when the reflux of gastric contents causes troublesome symptoms (heartburn and regurgitation). This requires adequate treatment since it can lead to long-term complications including esophagus adenocarcinoma. Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are generally used to treat GERD due to their high-security profile and efficiency on most patients. However, recurrent reflux despite initial treatment is frequent. N -of-1 trial is a study that allows the identification of the best treatment for each patient. The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of standard dose with double dosage of esomeprazole, to improve the GERD symptoms in a single patient., Methods: A single-patient trial, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, was carried out from September 25th, 2012, to April 26th, 2013. It included one outpatient at the gastroenterology service in a fourth-level hospital, diagnosed with nonerosive reflux disease (NERD). Yet, his symptoms were heartburn and reflux, and his endoscopic results were normal esophageal mucosa, without hiatal hernia, though pathological pH values. A no-obese male without any tobacco or alcohol usage received esomeprazole 40 mg/day and 40 mg/bid for 24 weeks. A standardized gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire (GerdQ) was used weekly to evaluate symptom frequency and severity. The consumption of 90% of the capsules was considered as an adequate treatment adherence. D'agostino-Pearson and Wilcoxon test were used to determine normal or nonnormal distribution and compare both treatments, respectively, both with a significant statistical difference of p < 0.05., Results: The patient completed the study with 96% of adherence. The double dosage of esomeprazole did not improve the control of symptoms compared with the standard dosage. Mean symptomatic score was 9.5±0.5 and 10.2±0.6 for each treatment, respectively ( p > 0.05)., Conclusion: There was no significant improvement in the patient GERD symptoms increasing the dose of oral esomeprazole during the 6 months of study. N -of-1 trials in chronic pathologies including GERD are recommended due to their potential value as systematic methods that evaluate therapies without strong scientific evidence., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article., (Copyright © 2019 Fernando Sierra-Arango et al.)

Background: Medullary ischemia secondary to surgical procedures of the infrarenal aorta is an infrequent and mostly devastating complication of this procedure, and its nonspecific clinical presentation makes it difficult to promptly diagnose. Prevention measures for this complication are not yet clear; therefore, the need for anticoagulant and/or antiplatelet therapy is discussed., Case Presentation: This paper reports a case of a 69-year-old Hispanic man presenting with sudden pain and signs of ischemia on his left lower extremity 8 weeks after endovascular repair with endoprosthesis of an infrarenal aorta and left iliac aneurysm. The patient was admitted to the emergency room, where an extensive arterial thrombosis compromising the right iliac and femoral arteries was diagnosed. Dual anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapies were initiated, and therapeutic ranges were achieved. Nonetheless, the patient presented medullary ischemia by microembolization diagnosed by contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, with unsatisfactory evolution of an intracranial hemorrhagic event without documented excessive anticoagulation. The patient developed permanent pure motor deficit of his lower extremities, absence of sphincter control, and mild cognitive impairment., Conclusions: This is a complex and extremely rare case. It is important to continue with clinical investigations that give more clarity about the onset of anticoagulation, antiplatelet therapy, and management of dual schemes to decrease the risk of complications in this type of surgical procedure.