Digestive diseases and sciences
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The prevalence of reflux esophagitis is increasing in Korea. Reflux esophagitis aggravates the stress and fatigue level of daily life, but less is known about the association with stress and fatigue, which could be bi-directional. ⋯ Reflux esophagitis is significantly associated with psychosocial stress, and the severity of reflux esophagitis correlates with the degree of stress.
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Inflammatory bowel disease frequently begins during childhood or adolescence. Current tests and procedures for diagnosing and monitoring inflammatory bowel disease are invasive, uncomfortable and costly. Fecal calprotectin is an inflammatory marker tested in several studies including pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease. ⋯ The fecal calprotectin test could be used for supporting diagnosis or confirming relapse of inflammatory bowel disease in pediatric patients. A positive result could confirm the suspicion of either inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis or inflammatory bowel disease relapse, due to the high sensitivity of the test, but a negative result should not exclude these conditions, due to its moderate specificity.
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Hospital-acquired pneumonia after an endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) can prolong the patient's stay in the hospital, leading to greater healthcare costs. However, little is known of the characteristics and risk factors associated with this complication. ⋯ Deep sedation under continuous propofol infusion with opioid injection during ESD may be a risk factor for pneumonia.