Impact of endoscopy-based research on quality of life in healthy volunteers

In-vivo assessment of a rat rectal tumor using optical-resolution photoacoustic endoscopy

Optical-resolution photoacoustic endoscopy (OR-PAE) has been proven to realize imaging on the vascular network in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract with high sensitivity and spatial resolution, providing morphological information. Various photoacoustic endoscopic catheters were developed to improve the resolution and adaptivity of in-vivo imaging. However, this technology has not yet been validated on in-vivo GI tumors, which generally feature angiogenesis. The tumor causes thickened mucosa and neoplasia, requiring large depth-of-field (DOF) in imaging, which contradicts to high-resolution imaging. In this work, a novel catheter was developed with a high resolution of ∼27 µm, providing a matched DOF of ∼400 µm to cover the vessels up to the submucosa layer. Optical-resolution photoacoustic endoscopic imaging was first performed on in-vivo rat rectal tumors. In addition, to further characterize the vessel morphology, tumor-suspected regions and normal regions were selected for quantification and analysis of vessel dimension distribution and tortuosity. All the results suggest that the OR-PAE has great application potential in tumor diagnosis, evaluation, and monitoring of therapeutic efficacy.

Assessing wound complications in gastroscopy with Streptomyces protease enzyme combined with Shutai

Current gastroscopy practices necessitate a balance between procedural efficiency and patient safety. It has been hypothesized that increasing procedure outcomes through the use of Streptomyces protease enzyme and Shutai is possible; however, precise nature of any potential adverse reactions and complications remains unknown. In Zhanjiang, China, 213 patients undergoing gastroscopy participated in this controlled trial. The subjects were allocated at random into two groups: control and treatment. The treatment group was administered topical Streptomyces protease enzyme and intravenous Shutai. Using chi-square and t-tests, information regarding patient demographics, adverse reactions, wound healing, procedure duration, distress levels, and satisfaction was gathered and analysed. The demographic and medical history characteristics of the groups were comparable. There was a greater prevalence of modest immediate reactions in the treatment group (p < 0.05), whereas there were no significant variations observed in delayed reactions and long-term complications (p > 0.05). The treatment group exhibited superior efficiency metrics, including shorter durations for diagnosis, procedure completion and recuperation (p < 0.05). The treatment group exhibited significantly higher patient satisfaction scores (p < 0.05). The incorporation of Streptomyces protease enzyme and Shutai into gastroscopy procedures resulted in significantly enhanced level of procedural efficacy and patient contentment while not introducing an additional risk of long-term complications. The increase in moderate immediate reactions that have been observed requires additional research in order to determine their clinical significance. Although these agents present a possible progression in the field of gastroscopy, their application should be tempered by the immediate adverse reactions that have been documented.

From blood to breath: New horizons for esophageal cancer biomarkers

Esophageal cancer is a lethal cancer encompassing adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma sub-types. The global incidence of esophageal cancer is increasing world-wide, associated with the increased prevalence of associated risk factors. The asymptomatic nature of disease often leads to late diagnosis and five-year survival rates of less than 15%. Current diagnostic tools are restricted to invasive and costly endoscopy and biopsy for histopathology. Minimally and non-invasive biomarkers of esophageal cancer are needed to facilitate earlier detection and better clinical management of patients. This paper summarises recent insights into the development and clinical validation of esophageal cancer biomarkers, focussing on circulating markers in the blood, and the emerging area of breath and odorant biomarkers.

SF-36 total score as a single measure of health-related quality of life: Scoping review

According to the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire developers, a global measure of health-related quality of life such as the “SF-36 Total/Global/Overall Score” cannot be generated from the questionnaire. However, studies keep on reporting such measure. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency and to describe some characteristics of articles reporting the SF-36 Total/Global/Overall Score in the scientific literature. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method was adapted to a scoping review. We performed searches in PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, BVS, and Cochrane Library databases for articles using such scores. We found 172 articles published between 1997 and 2015; 110 (64.0%) of them were published from 2010 onwards; 30.0% appeared in journals with Impact Factor 3.00 or greater. Overall, 129 (75.0%) out of the 172 studies did not specify the method for calculating the “SF-36 Total Score”; 13 studies did not specify their methods but referred to the SF-36 developers’ studies or others; and 30 articles used different strategies for calculating such score, the most frequent being arithmetic averaging of the eight SF-36 domains scores. We concluded that the “SF-36 Total/Global/Overall Score” has been increasingly reported in the scientific literature. Researchers should be aware of this procedure and of its possible impacts upon human health.

Impact of colonoscopy on quality of life

INTRODUCTION

Colonoscopy of asymptomatic, healthy individuals for colorectal cancer screening rarely causes complications and adverse events. Thus, quality of life (QOL) of the participants should not be affected by the procedure.

AIM

The aim of the study was to isolate the influence of colonoscopy, by investigation QOL before and after the procedure in a cohort of consecutive patients with different indications.

METHODS

This study is a prospective, longitudinal study, designed to compare the potential influence of colonoscopy on QOL. For a cohort of consecutive patients undergoing colonoscopy for various reasons and indications, we filled a QOL short form-36 and a short feedback questionnaire before, immediately after, and a month after the procedure. We also measured the quality of the endoscopy, the outcome in patients, and acceptability among patients.

RESULTS

There was no significant change before and immediately after colonoscopy in any of the short form-36 parameters. Physical functioning, role limitation physical, pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role limitation mental, and mental health had very similar scores before and 2-3 h after the procedure. There was a decrease in the physical functioning a month after the procedure (P=0.01). The same was found for non-inflammatory bowel disease patients, but not for inflammatory bowel disease patients.

CONCLUSION

Colonoscopy did not affect QOL in the short or the long duration after the procedure. As such, colonoscopy may be suitable as a part of screening programs. We believe that QOL estimation should be an integral part of assessment of a screening program.