Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of domestically produced magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) for gastroesophageal reflux disease.Method:This study is a prospective cohort study. Patients with typical heartburn and reflux symptoms (at least partial response to proton pump inhibitors), abnormal esophageal acid exposure and normal esophageal peristalsis were included, prospectively in the Department of Gastroesophageal Surgery, Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Center from June 2019 to September 2022. Patients with hiatal hernia >2 cm and severe esophagitis were excluded. The MSA was wrapped around the distal esophagus after esophageal hiatus repair by laparoscopy. A postoperative questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the relief of symptom, complications, the discontinuation rate of proton pump inhibitor, and surgical satisfaction. Gastroscopy, high-resolution esophageal pressure measurement, and pH value impedance monitoring were also reviewed. The pre- and postoperative rates were compared using the McNeinar χ2 test. Result:Currently, 23 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease were enrolled and underwent MSA surgery. There were 20 males and 3 females, aged ( M (IQR)) 48 (14) years (range: 25 to 64 years). All cases were successfully implanted with MSA. Subjective indicators were followed for 17 (18) months (range: 14 to 53 months), while objective indicators were followed for 17 (1) months (range: 12 to 23 months). The postoperative gastrointestinal and extraesophageal symptom scores showed a significant decrease compared to preoperative levels as follows: the degree of subjective relief of overall digestive symptoms was 90 (20)% (range:0~100%), the degree of subjective relief of overall respiratory symptoms was 100(10)% (range: 10%~100%), the overall satisfaction rate was 83% (19/23), the proton pump inhibitor discontinuation rate was 70% (16/23). The proportion of esophagitis has decreased from 44% (10/23) to 9% (2/23) ( κ=0.169, P=0.039), The Hill grade of gastroesophageal valve morphology improved from 1 case of grade Ⅰ, 5 cases of grade Ⅱ, 10 cases of grade Ⅲ, and 7 cases of grade Ⅲ preoperative to 22, 1, 0, and 0 cases postoperative. The proportion of lower esophageal sphincter pressure below normal has decreased from 70% (16/23) to 35% (8/23) ( κ=0.170, P=0.012). There were 21 patients who restored normal esophageal acid exposure. Eleven patients had mild long-term dysphagia, but it didn′t affect their daily life. No postoperative device migration, erosion, or secondary surgical removal occurred. Conclusions:Laparoscopic implantation of the MSA device was safe and well tolerated. It can effectively control the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, reduce medication, restore normal cardia morphology and function, and esophageal acid exposure. The main postoperative complication was dysphagia, but it was relatively mild.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of domestically produced magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) for gastroesophageal reflux disease.Method:This study is a prospective cohort study. Patients with typical heartburn and reflux symptoms (at least partial response to proton pump inhibitors), abnormal esophageal acid exposure and normal esophageal peristalsis were included, prospectively in the Department of Gastroesophageal Surgery, Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Center from June 2019 to September 2022. Patients with hiatal hernia >2 cm and severe esophagitis were excluded. The MSA was wrapped around the distal esophagus after esophageal hiatus repair by laparoscopy. A postoperative questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the relief of symptom, complications, the discontinuation rate of proton pump inhibitor, and surgical satisfaction. Gastroscopy, high-resolution esophageal pressure measurement, and pH value impedance monitoring were also reviewed. The pre- and postoperative rates were compared using the McNeinar χ2 test. Result:Currently, 23 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease were enrolled and underwent MSA surgery. There were 20 males and 3 females, aged ( M (IQR)) 48 (14) years (range: 25 to 64 years). All cases were successfully implanted with MSA. Subjective indicators were followed for 17 (18) months (range: 14 to 53 months), while objective indicators were followed for 17 (1) months (range: 12 to 23 months). The postoperative gastrointestinal and extraesophageal symptom scores showed a significant decrease compared to preoperative levels as follows: the degree of subjective relief of overall digestive symptoms was 90 (20)% (range:0~100%), the degree of subjective relief of overall respiratory symptoms was 100(10)% (range: 10%~100%), the overall satisfaction rate was 83% (19/23), the proton pump inhibitor discontinuation rate was 70% (16/23). The proportion of esophagitis has decreased from 44% (10/23) to 9% (2/23) ( κ=0.169, P=0.039), The Hill grade of gastroesophageal valve morphology improved from 1 case of grade Ⅰ, 5 cases of grade Ⅱ, 10 cases of grade Ⅲ, and 7 cases of grade Ⅲ preoperative to 22, 1, 0, and 0 cases postoperative. The proportion of lower esophageal sphincter pressure below normal has decreased from 70% (16/23) to 35% (8/23) ( κ=0.170, P=0.012). There were 21 patients who restored normal esophageal acid exposure. Eleven patients had mild long-term dysphagia, but it didn′t affect their daily life. No postoperative device migration, erosion, or secondary surgical removal occurred. Conclusions:Laparoscopic implantation of the MSA device was safe and well tolerated. It can effectively control the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, reduce medication, restore normal cardia morphology and function, and esophageal acid exposure. The main postoperative complication was dysphagia, but it was relatively mild.

Objective:To investigate the value of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), pediatric sequential organ failure assessment (pSOFA) and pediatric critical illness score (PCIS) in predicting mortality of pediatric sepsis in pediatric intensive care units (PICU) from Southwest China.Methods:This was a prospective multicenter observational study. A total of 447 children with sepsis admitted to 12 PICU in Southwest China from April 2022 to March 2023 were enrolled. Based on the prognosis, the patients were divided into survival group and non-survival group. The physiological parameters of SIRS, pSOFA and PCIS were recorded and scored within 24 h after PICU admission. The general clinical data and some laboratory results were recorded. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to compare the predictive value of SIRS, pSOFA and PCIS in mortality of pediatric sepsis.Results:Amongst 447 children with sepsis, 260 patients were male and 187 patients were female, aged 2.5 (0.8, 7.0) years, 405 patients were in the survival group and 42 patients were in the non-survival group. 418 patients (93.5%) met the criteria of SIRS, and 440 patients (98.4%) met the criteria of pSOFA≥2. There was no significant difference in the number of items meeting the SIRS criteria between the survival group and the non-survival group (3(2, 4) vs. 3(3, 4) points, Z=1.30, P=0.192). The pSOFA score of the non-survival group was significantly higher than that of the survival group (9(6, 12) vs. 4(3, 7) points, Z=6.56, P<0.001), and the PCIS score was significantly lower than that of the survival group (72(68, 81) vs. 82(76, 88) points, Z=5.90, P<0.001). The predictive value of pSOFA (AUC=0.82) and PCIS (AUC=0.78) for sepsis mortality was significantly higher than that of SIRS (AUC=0.56) ( Z=6.59, 4.23, both P<0.001). There was no significant difference between pSOFA and PCIS ( Z=1.35, P=0.176). Platelet count, procalcitonin, lactic acid, albumin, creatinine, total bilirubin, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time and international normalized ratio were all able to predict mortality of sepsis to a certain degree (AUC=0.64, 0.68, 0.80, 0.64, 0.68, 0.60, 0.77, 0.75, 0.76, all P<0.05). Conclusion:Compared with SIRS, both pSOFA and PCIS had better predictive value in the mortality of pediatric sepsis in PICU.

As an emerging field, foregut surgery has gained increasing attention internationally, focusing currently on benign foregut diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), achalasia, and obesity. Ever since 2018, the establishment of independent foregut societies in the United States, Europe, and Japan has significantly propelled the advancement of foregut surgery as a distinct specialty. In China, foregut surgery has developed relatively late and the concept has not been widely promoted domestically. As the spectrum of diseases changes among the Chinese population, the number of physicians and surgeons involved in the diagnosis and treatment of foregut disease is steadily increasing. There is an urgent need to unite relevant forces to promote the development of foregut surgery as an independent discipline, so as to provide optimal care for patients with foregut diseases.

Objective:To explore the long-term efficacy of laparoscopic fundoplication for proton pump inhibitor dependent gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).Method:Clinical data of proton pump inhibitor dependent GERD patients who underwent fundoplication at the Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Center from Jan to Jun 2012 were analyzed, including GERD symptom score, subjective symptom relief rate, PPI discontinuation rate and surgical satisfaction, as well as recurrence and complications.Result:A total of 160 GERD patients were included in this study, with 64% of patients having respiratory symptoms. Nissen and Toupet fundoplication were performed in 43 and 117 cases, respectively, with a follow-up time of (127±3) months. The postoperative GERD symptom scores of the patients were significantly lower than before treatment (all P<0.001); The subjective relief of overall symptoms in the digestive tract and airway problem was 90% (80%, 100%) and 100%, respectively. The PPI discontinuation rate was 86%, and the overall satisfaction rate of the treatment was 92%, and the satisfaction rate of patients with respiratory symptoms was 89%. 7% of patients experienced varying degrees of symptomatic recurrence, 4% of patients re-underwent endoscopic treatment and/or laparoscopic fundoplication due to symptom recurrence. The incidence of long-term postoperative dysphagia, bloating, belching, increased exhaust, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation were 11.3%, 16.9%, 0, 1.3%, 0, 2.5%, and 5.6%, respectively. Conclusions:Laparoscopic fundoplication has good long-term efficacy in the treatment of GERD. A small number of patients may experience postoperative recurrence, as well as complications such as dysphagia and gas-bloat syndrome. Most recurrent patients can achieve good therapeutic effect by redoing endoscopic treatment or redoing surgery.

Background: In Korea, during the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we responded to the uncertainty of treatments under various conditions, consistently playing catch up with the speed of evidence updates. Therefore, there was high demand for national-level evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for clinicians in a timely manner. We developed evidence-based and updated living recommendations for clinicians through a transparent development process and multidisciplinary expert collaboration. Methods: The National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency (NECA) and the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS) collaborated to develop trustworthy Korean living guidelines. The NECA-supported methodological sections and 8 professional medical societies of the KAMS worked with clinical experts, and 31 clinicians were involved annually. We developed a total of 35 clinical questions, including medications, respiratory/critical care, pediatric care, emergency care, diagnostic tests, and radiological examinations. Results: An evidence-based search for treatments began in March 2021 and monthly updates were performed. It was expanded to other areas, and the search interval was organized by a steering committee owing to priority changes. Evidence synthesis and recommendation review was performed by researchers, and living recommendations were updated within 3–4 months. Conclusion We provided timely recommendations on living schemes and disseminated them to the public, policymakers and various stakeholders using webpages and social media.Although the output was successful, there were some limitations. The rigor of development issues, urgent timelines for public dissemination, education for new developers, and spread of several new COVID-19 variants have worked as barriers. Therefore, we must prepare systematic processes and funding for future pandemics.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. It is urgent to develop new drugs to improve the prognosis of ESCC patients. Here, we found benzydamine, a locally acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, had potent cytotoxic effect on ESCC cells. Benzydamine could suppress ESCC proliferation in vivo and in vitro. In terms of mechanism, CDK2 was identified as a target of benzydamine by molecular docking, pull-down assay and in vitro kinase assay. Specifically, benzydamine inhibited the growth of ESCC cells by inhibiting CDK2 activity and affecting downstream phosphorylation of MCM2, c-Myc and Rb, resulting in cell cycle arrest. Our study illustrates that benzydamine inhibits the growth of ESCC cells by downregulating the CDK2 pathway.
Humans ; Benzydamine ; Esophageal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma/drug therapy* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Phosphorylation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Apoptosis ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2

Objective:To analyze the clinical manifestations and esophageal motility characteristics of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and extra-esophageal symptoms.Methods:From January 1 to October 30, 2018, at PLA Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Center, 180 hospitalized patients diagnosed with GERD and extra-esophageal symptoms were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into laryngopharyngeal symptom group (65 cases), airway symptom group (58 cases) and mixed symptom group (57 cases). General data, clinical symptoms, gastroscopic manitestations, the results of high-resolution esophageal manometry and 24-hour multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH monitoring of each group were analyzed and compared. Chi-square test and one-way analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis.Results:The patients aged <40, 40 to 60 and >60 years accounted for 12.8% (23/180), 53.3% (96/180) and 33.9% (61/180), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=12.030, P=0.017). There were 18.9%(34/180) of patients without typical reflux symptoms. There were statistically significant differences in the incidence of ectopic esophagogastric mucosa or Barrett esophagus under gastroscopy between laryngopharyngeal symptom group, airway symptom group and mixed symptom group (21.5%, 14/65; 5.2%, 3/58 and 8.8%, 5/57, respectively) ( χ2=8.578, P=0.014). There were no statistically significant differences in the lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP), upper esophageal sphincter pressure or distal contractile integral between laryngopharyngeal symptom group, airway symptom group and mixed symptom group ((8.57±0.76), (8.87±0.79), and (10.51±0.97) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa); (44.75±2.86), (42.81±4.06), and (39.14±3.20) mmHg; (506.13±64.30), (432.59±78.10), and (682.99±82.28) mmHg·s·cm)(all P>0.05). The DeMeester score of laryngopharyngeal symptom group , mixed symptom group and airway symptom group was (14.33±2.09), (21.94±5.30) and (30.47±5.85) points, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( F=3.226, P=0.043). The results of multi-channel impedance monitoring showed that acid reflux and weak acid reflux were the main reflux in the patients, which accounted for 55.5% (76/137) and 34.3% (47/137), respectively. Among 87.6% (120/137) of the patients, reflux mainly occurred in the upright position while 12.4% (17/137) of the patients had reflux in the supine position. Conclusions:The extra-esophageal symptoms of GERD is associated with age. Ectopic esophagogastric mucosa or Barrett esophagus are more common in GERD patients with laryngopharyngeal symptoms. There are more acid exposure and pathologic acid reflux in GERD mainly with airway symptoms. Weak acid reflux at upright position plays an important role in the reflux mechanism of GERD with extra-esophageal symptoms.

Objective:To analyze the reflux parameters of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in upright position, supine position and at 2 h after meals, and to explore the cut-off value, sensitivity and specificity of the reflux parameters in different positions and at 2 h after meals in GERD diagnosis.Methods:From January 2016 to July 2020, 200 GERD patients (GERD group) and 61 non-GERD patients (control group) who visited Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital (Former Nanshan District People′s Hospital), were selected. All the patients of the two groups received gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire (GERDQ), upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, esophageal high resolution manometry and 24 h esophageal pH combined impedance monitoring. T test, non-parametric test and chi-square test were used to compare the related parameters in upright position, supine position and at 2 h after meals between two groups and within each group. Receiver oparative characteristic (ROC) curves of reflux parameters in upright position, supine position and 2 h after meals were drawn to determine the cut-off value, sensitivity and specificity in GERD diagnosis. Results:The proportion of patients with acid reflux in supine position of the control group was higher than that of the GERD group (41.0%, 25/61 vs. 8.50%, 17/200), and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=36.53, P<0.01). In the control group, the acid reflux time in upright position, number of acid reflux, acid exposure time (AET), longest reflux time and number of weak acid reflux were more than those of in supine position in the same group (6.00 min(2.00 min, 13.50 min) vs. 0.00 min(0.00 min, 1.50 min), 16.00(8.00, 27.00) vs. 1.00(0.00, 3.00), 0.90%(0.33%, 1.88%) vs. 0.00%(0.00%, 0.30%), 2.00 min(1.00 min, 4.00 min) vs. 0.00 min(0.00 min, 1.00 min), 7.00(3.00, 11.00) vs. 1.00(0.00, 2.00), respectively) and the differences were statistically significant ( Z=5.43, 6.61, 5.06, 3.58 and 6.24, all P<0.01). In the GERD group, the acid reflux time, number of acid reflux, AET, longest reflux time and number of weak acid reflux in upright position were higher than those in supine position (51.00 min, (31.00 min, 86.75 min) vs. 8.00 min(1.00 min, 42.00 min), 60.00(48.00, 83.75) vs.6.00(2.00, 19.50), 7.30%(3.90%, 12.10%) vs. 1.50%(0.20%, 6.50%), 7.00 min(4.00, 12.00 min) vs. 4.00 min(1.00 min, 17.00 min), 1.00(0.00, 3.00) vs. 0.00(0.00, 2.00), 7.00(3.00, 12.00) vs. 0.00(0.00, 1.00), respectively) and the differences were statistically significant ( Z=7.92, 11.22, 6.90, 2.56, 5.11 and 11.76, all P<0.05). The acid reflux time, number of acid reflux, AET, longest reflux time and number of weak acid reflux at 2 h postprandial were 3.00 min(2.00 min, 9.00 min), 10.00(5.00, 18.00), 0.90%(0.40%, 1.98%), 1.00 min(0.00 min, 3.00 min), 4.00(1.50, 8.50)and 28.50 min(15.00 min, 54.75 min), 35.00(24.00, 52.00), 8.30%(4.32%, 15.83%), 6.00 min(3.00 min, 11.00 min), 4.00(2.00, 7.25), in the control and GERD groups, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in supine position in the same group ( Z=4.30, 6.33, 5.50, 3.40, 5.71 and 3.76, 9.21, 5.76, 1.97, 10.46, all P<0.05). Among 200 GERD patients, 125 patients had symptoms recorded during the 24 h esophageal pH combined impedance monitoring, the incidence of reflux symptoms in upright position was higher than that in supine position (89.6%, 112/125 vs. 65.6%, 82/125), and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=20.71, P<0.01). The results of ROC curve analysis showed that the accuracy of acid reflux time in upright position in GERD prediction was the highest, with AUC value of 0.94 and cut-off value of 24.5 min, and the sensitivity and specificity in GERD diagnosis were 81.50% and 95.08%, respectively. The prediction accuracy of acid reflux times in upright position and AET in upright position for GERD was secondary, AUC value both were 0.93 and the cut-off value of the acid reflux number in upright position was 39.5, and the sensitivity and specificity in GERD diagnosis were 84.00% and 95.08%, respectively. The cut-off value of AET in upright position was 2.75%, the sensitivity and specificity in GERD diagnosis were 85.00% and 93.33%, respectively. The AUC value, cut-off value, sensitivity and specificity of AET at 2 h postprandial were 0.91, 4.60%, and 73.49% and 95.00%, respectively. Conclusions:Both GERD patients and non-GERD patients have more reflux in upright position, especially within 2 h after meals. The diagnostic values of acid reflux time in upright position, number of acid reflux, AET and AET 2 h after meals for GERD is high, and the AUC values are all >0.90, which can be used as a more comprehensive basis for the analysis and diagnosis of GERD.

Background/Aims: Recently, the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) proposed criteria for “difficult biliary cannulation” during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). This study aimed to investigate the clinical relevance of the ESGE criteria from the perspective of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). Methods: An ERCP database was prospectively maintained between November 2014 and December 2015 across six teaching hospitals in South Korea. The ESGE criteria (biliary cannulation time, the number of cannulation attempts, and inadvertent pancreatic duct [PD] manipulation) were recorded in this database as well as other technical factors. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for PEP. Then, the PEP prediction model was investigated using decision tree analysis. Results: We analyzed 1,067 consecutive patients with naïve papilla. The overall rate of PEP was 6.6%. Multivariate analysis revealed that female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.860; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.124 to 3.078), a selective biliary cannulation duration >5 minutes (OR, 3.282; 95% CI, 1.641 to 6.566), and inadvertent PD manipulation (OR, 2.614; 95% CI, 1.480 to 4.617) were significant factors affecting PEP. Decision tree analysis revealed that biliary cannulation time (χ2 =49.857, p<0.001) and inadvertent PD manipulation (χ2 =8.556, p=0.010) were decisive factors. PEP occurred in 3.9%, 11.8%, and 16.2% of patients with biliary cannulation duration lasting 3 to 5 minutes, >5 minutes, and >5 minutes with inadvertent PD manipulation, respectively. Conclusions Biliary cannulation time and inadvertent PD manipulation could be relevant indicators of PEP, and 5 minutes might be used as a cutoff value for the implementation of the rescue cannulation technique.