Fexuprazan shows therapeutic efficacy superior to placebo in patients with acute or chronic gastritis

According to a recent study, fexuprazan, a novel potassium-competitive acid blocker, shows safety and efficacy over placebo in patients with acute or chronic gastritis. This study was published in the journal, Gut and Liver.

This study included 327 patients with acute or chronic gastritis who had one or more gastric erosions on endoscopy and were randomized into three groups. The groups received 20 mg once a day (q.d.) fexuprazan, 10 mg twice a day (b.i.d.) fexuprazan, or placebo for 2 weeks. Erosion improvement rate was the primary endpoint of the study.

At the end of the study, it was found that 57.8%, 65.7%, and 40.6% of patients showed erosion improvement after 2 weeks in the fexuprazan 20 mg q.d., fexuprazan 10 mg b.i.d., and placebo groups, respectively. Both doses of fexuprazan showed superior efficacy to the placebo. Similarly, both doses of fexuprazan showed higher erosion healing rates than the placebo.

From the above results, it can be concluded that fexuprazan at 20 mg q.d. and 10 mg b.i.d. for 2 weeks may show safety and efficacy over placebo in treating patients with acute or chronic gastritis.

Nomogram model can effectively predict the risk of postoperative intestinal fistula in patients with Crohn disease

A recent study demonstrated that a nomogram prediction model can effectively assess the independent factors affecting patients with postoperative intestinal fistula from Crohn disease (CD). This study was published in the journal, Medicine.

This was a retrospective multicenter case-control study that included 240 patients with CD, who were randomly divided into a training set (n=168) and a validation set (n=72). Univariate analysis was conducted for relevant factors and the statistically significant factors were further analyzed using multivariate logistic regression to determine the independent influencing factors. Subsequently, a nomogram model was developed to predict the occurrence of postoperative intestinal fistula in patients with CD, and the accuracy of this model was assessed using calibration curves.

Univariate analysis demonstrated that disease behavior, intestinal perforation, abdominal abscess, systemic immunoinflammatory index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and prognostic nutrition index were all factors affecting postoperative intestinal fistula in CD patients. After the multivariate logistic regression analysis, it was found that the independent influencing factors were the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, disease behavior, prognostic nutrition index, and Crohn disease activity index score. The area under the curve, after assessing the validation set was 0.899, indicating good predictive accuracy of the nomogram model.

Based on the above findings of the study, it can be concluded that the nomogram prediction model can effectively predict the risk of postoperative intestinal fistula in patients with CD.

Staple Line Reinforcement Technique Reduces Post-Operative Complications in Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

Staple line reinforcement (SLR) technique reduces post-operative complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) for morbid obesity, according to a recent study. This study was published in the journal, Laparoendoscopic and Advanced Surgical Techniques Part A.

In this randomized study, a total of 90 patients who underwent LSG surgery were included and divided into three groups that used different SLR techniques: Group 1- fibrin sealant (Tisseel®), Group 2 – omentopexy, and Group 3 - no SLR. Gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed in all groups based on Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) in the first week and first month and swallow-graphy to investigate twists and fistula on the second postoperative day.

It was observed that based on GSRS, reflux and indigestion scores in Group 3 were significantly higher compared to other groups in the first week. In Group 3, the operation time was statistically significantly shorter than the other groups and 2 patients had bleeding.

Based on the study it is seen that SLR methods reduce gastrointestinal system complaints in the early postoperative period.

Vitamin B6 supplementation alleviates adverse reactions caused by quadruple anti-Helicobacter pylori regimen containing minocycline and metronidazole

A recent study suggests that vitamin B6 supplementation alleviates adverse reactions caused by the quadruple anti-Helicobacter pylori treatment regimen containing minocycline and metronidazole. This study was published in the journal, BMC Infectious Diseases.

This randomized, controlled trial included 280 patients who were suffering from H. pylori infection. The participants were divided into one of two treatment groups: the conventional treatment group and the vitamin B6 supplement treatment group, for a period of 2 weeks. The primary end point included total incidence of adverse reactions till 2 weeks post treatment initiation.

The incidence of adverse reactions reported in the vitamin B6 supplement treatment group was 56.92%, which was considerably lower than 74.62% observed in the conventional treatment group. While the proportion of moderate to severe central nervous system symptoms decreased from 58.7 to 14.63%, gastrointestinal reactions decreased from 33.33 to 0%. From the above results, it may be concluded that vitamin B6 can alleviate adverse reactions due to the quadruple anti-H. pylori regimen, containing minocycline and metronidazole.