ObjectiveTo explore the safety and efficacy of endoscopic dilatation combined with submucosal injection of triamcinolone acetonide in treatment of benign esophageal stricture.MethodsThe patients of benign esophageal stricture proved by biopsy were randomly divided into three groups.Group A were treated by expansion only,group B were injected with triamcinolone acetonide submucosal combined with expansion,and we treated group C by another injection a week later on the basis of treatment in group B.A 12 months' follow-up was conducted,the dysphagia score,the cure rate.time to sustained symptom relief,re-expansion time interval and adverse reactions were recorded.ResultsSome patients experienced chest pain and regurgitation after the procedure and all improved by corresponding managements.No complications including massive bleeding,infection,perforation or local tissue atrophy were observed.The dysphagia scores in 3 groups after the procedure were all improved ( P ＜ 0.05 ),and no significant difference was noticed between 3 groups (P ＞ 0.05 ).At the end of the follow-up,the duration of dysphagia remission and the interval between 2 consecutive dilatation in Group A were 14.4 ± 3.2 weeks and 18.2 ± 3.7 weeks,respectively,which were significant shorter than those in Group B ( 19.3 ±3.9 weeks and 24.6 ±4.2 weeks,respectively) and those in Group C (20.2 ±4.2 weeks and 26.1 ±4.5 weeks,respectively),while there was no difference between Groups B and C.The cure rate in Group C (43.5％,10/23) was significantly higher than that of Group A (29.2％,7/24) or Group B (27.3％,6/22),while there was no difference between Groups A and B.ConclusionEndoscopic dilatation combined with submucosal injection of triamcinolone acetonide is safe and may improve the symptoms of dysphagia and delay the re-stenosis for patients with benign esophageal stricture,meanwhile,multi-frequency treatment may improve the cure rate.

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy (ERAT) for pediatric acute appendicitis. Methods Thirty-five pediatric patients with acute simple appendicitis admitted between June 2021 and November 2023 were selected as study subjects. Relevant perioperative data including clinical manifestations, diagnostic and therapeutic processes, as well as treatment and follow-up outcomes were collected. Results All 35 patients successfully underwent ERAT with an operation time ranging from 24 to 75 min. Intubation of the appendiceal lumen was successful in all patients, with pus flushed out or stones removed. After contrast administration and flushing, 16 patients were found to have pus only in the appendiceal lumen with no appendicoliths, while 19 patients had both pus and visible appendicoliths with diameters ranging from 2 to 5 mm. Of 19 patients, 17 appendicoliths were loose and 2 were well-formed. Abdominal pain symptoms were alleviated within a short period, with the average VAS score decreasing from 6.6 preoperatively to 1.7 at 3 hours postoperatively and to 0.2 at 24 hours postoperatively. There was a statistically significant difference in Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) scores before and after surgery (P < 0.05). During follow-up ranging from 3 to 11 months postoperatively, appendicitis recurred in one patient one week after ERAT, while no surgery-related complications occurred in the other patients during follow-up. Conclusion ERAT is a safe and effective endoscopic treatment for pediatric acute appendicitis, with advantages including reduced trauma and shorter recovery time. It is particularly suitable for pediatric patients with acute simple appendicitis complicated by appendicoliths, appendiceal lumen stenosis, or intra-appendiceal abscesses.

Objective:To investigate the effect of intravenous anesthesia on the detection rate of lesions in diagnostic gastroscopy.Methods:A total of 9 071 subjects who underwent diagnostic gastroscopy at the Digestive Endoscopy Center of Yangzhou University Affiliated Hospital from March 2021 to February 2022 were selected. Data were collected from the gastroscopy quality control system, including age, gender, examination physician, Helicobacter pylori infection, examination method, withdrawal time, number of images left, number of biopsies, biopsy site, gastroscopy diagnosis, pathological diagnosis, etc. They were divided into anesthesia group and general group based on the examination method, and propensity score matching (PSM) was performed on the two groups of subjects. Excluding confounding factors, the detection of lesion location and lesion type in two groups of subjects was analyzed; Simultaneously, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of the detection rate of precancerous lesions and malignant tumors in the upper gastrointestinal tract.Results:After PSM, 1 655 subjects were included in both groups. In terms of lesion location, the detection rate of gastric body lesions in the anesthesia group was higher than that in the general group ( P<0.05), and the detection rate of esophageal lesions in the anesthesia group was lower than that in the general group ( P<0.05); In terms of lesion types, the detection rate of precancerous lesions such as gastric polyps, mucosal protrusions, mucosal atrophy, and intestinal metaplasia in the anesthesia group was higher than that in the general group (all P<0.05). The results of logistic regression analysis showed that intravenous anesthesia was an independent influencing factor for the detection rate of precancerous lesions and malignant tumors in diagnostic gastroscopy ( OR=1.338, 95% CI: 1.070-1.674, P<0.05). Conclusions:Intravenous anesthesia is an independent influencing factor for the detection rate of precancerous lesions and malignant tumors in diagnostic gastroscopy, and can improve the detection rate of upper gastrointestinal lesions.

B-cell-specific moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1(BMI1)molecule is one of the members of the family of the Polycomb group(PcG)protein.As a crucial marker of stem cells,it maintains the normal physiological functions of the or-ganisms through regulating expression of the related genes transcriptionally.It was reported that BMI1 is also a crucial molecule which affects pathogenesis and progression of malignant tumors.Therefore,it plays an important role in regulating self-renewal,migration,invasion,drug-resistance,and as well as immune evasion of cancer stem cells(CSCs),which is associated with recurrence and metas-tasis of cancer.In this review,based on the research progresses during recent years,molecular structure and biological function of BMI1 were illustrated.Furthermore,regulation and its mechanisms of BMI1 molecule on the self-renewal,migration and invasion,drug-resistance and immune evasion of CSCs were also elaborated.It indicated that investigation of BMI1 molecule as a novel potential target in cancer immunotherapy would be much valuable and significant.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of rubber band-assisted endoscopic submucosal excavation (RB-ESE) for gastric submucosal tumors (SMT).Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on data of gastric SMT patients who underwent ESE in Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University from January 2017 to August 2022. A total of 48 patients were selected and divided into two groups: RB-ESE group ( n=20) and the conventional ESE (C-ESE) group ( n=28). The operation time, bleeding rate and perforation rate during operation, the retention rate of the mucosal cap, the number of clips, postoperative complications, and the hospitalization time were analyzed. Additionally, correlations between complications and tumor size/location and between bleeding and perforation were evaluated. Results:No significant difference was found in the general conditions between the two groups ( P>0.05). The operation time of RB-ESE group (14.82±2.31 min) was significantly shorter than that of C-ESE group (23.70±3.67 min) ( t=-9.539, P<0.001). The intraoperative bleeding rates were 20.0% (4/20) and 42.9% (12/28) in the RB-ESE group and C-ESE group respectively ( χ2=2.743, P=0.098), while the intraoperative perforation rates were 25.0% (5/20) and 46.4% (13/28) respectively ( χ2=2.286, P=0.131). Furthermore, the mucosal cap preservation rate was notably higher in the RB-ESE group at 60.0% (12/20) compared with 7.1% (2/28) in the C-ESE group ( χ2=15.777, P<0.001). The number of clips applied to close the wound was 8.05±1.40 and 10.43±1.96 in the RB-ESE group and C-ESE group respectively ( t=4.925, P<0.001). The postoperative hospital stays were 4.35±0.75 days and 5.00±0.86 days respectively in two groups ( t=2.724, P=0.009). No postoperative bleeding or perforation occurred in either group. The results showed that the occurrence of perforation and bleeding were associated with tumor diameter. Patients with tumor size ≥2 cm showed increased proportions of intraoperative bleeding [68.4% (13/19), P<0.001] and perforation [78.9% (15/19), P<0.001]. There was a correlation between intraoperative bleeding and perforation ( P<0.001). Conclusion:RB-ESE proves to be an effective and safe approach for managing gastric SMT, offering advantages such as reduced operation time and hospital stays, improved retention of the mucosal cap post-operation, and less clips use. The results suggest that RB-ESE could be widely adopted for treating SMT.