Gastroenterology
Expert perspectives on IBD, liver disease, motility disorders, and GI diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
Recent Discussions
What is your approach to symptom management in patients with infectious diarrhea?
When it comes to infectious diarrhea, I would consider a short course of loperamide for symptomatic relief, provided that my suspicion for C. diff colitis and/or dysentery is low. Antimotility agents in the setting of toxin-producing infectious diarrhea can increase the risk of toxic megacolon (in C...
What specific “stop rules” do you use during difficult native-papilla biliary cannulation (e.g., time, cannulation attempts, pancreatic duct wire passages/injections) to trigger an early change in strategy, such as precut or referral/escalation?
I would not say 'stop,' but, as you said, 'change' the strategy. After attempting for about 5 minutes and touching the papilla with the catheter you started with 4-5 times, even if the guidewire goes into the pancreatic duct once, I tend to use that as a double-wire technique and then place a pancre...
Do you recommend the use of CGM for monitoring of postbariatric hypoglycemia given recent evidence of reduced accuracy in dynamic postprandial conditions?
I have always been concerned about accurately detecting hypoglycemia in patients because of the higher MARD in the hypoglycemic range with most CGM sensors. A recent review found the MARD in hospitalized patients to be 15% in the hypoglycemic range, which is much higher than in the euglycemic or hyp...
How would you approach the consideration of continuing or ceasing colonoscopy for colon cancer screening in a relatively fit man in his 80s without a history of polyps on prior colonoscopies?
For someone in his 80s who has received good screening and never had polyps, continuing colonoscopy brings little benefit. The risks and difficulties from the procedure become greater with age, so, for most older adults, stopping routine screening is usually the better option for geriatric care. Whe...
How would you treat a patient with stage IE gastric MALT lymphoma with negative testing for H. pylori?
Standard of care treatment in these patients mostly includes local radiotherapy. You need to be certain that the patient is truly HP-negative; the gold standard for this is negative histopathology for HP. In patients with negative HP histology, you should still rule out HP with non-invasive measures...
How do you distinguish cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome from cyclic vomiting syndrome?
When you are seeing a patient with intractable vomiting, this is a good time to slow down and take a thorough history. Often, patients can provide key pieces of information that help you distinguish cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) from cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). CHS typically occurs in y...
What factors push you toward upfront necrosectomy rather than step-up drainage in a patient with symptomatic walled-off necrosis after four weeks?
The indications for intervention on walled-off pancreatic necrosis are typically signs that the fluid collection has become overtly infected (causing abdominal sepsis), significant mass effect on adjacent organs, gastric outlet obstruction, or resultant abdominal pain and anorexia. If the patient is...
When do you pursue liver biopsy for assessment of DILI?
In the setting of an acute elevation of liver chemistry tests, DILI should always be considered in the differential diagnosis. If the serological workup for abnormal liver tests is unrevealing as well as abdominal imaging, expectant management should ensue with the discontinuation of any potential o...
How do you explain the use of an AI scribe to patients the first time it is used in their care?
I use an AI scribe in my outpatient clinic, and around 90–95% of my patients agree to it. I obtain consent at the start of each visit and make it clear that it's completely optional—that they can say no at the start or change their mind at any point in the visit, with no impact on their care. I also...
How do you counsel a patient on returning to the care of their PCP when a workup for MCAS has been unrevealing, but the patient insists that they have a mast cell disorder because they respond to antihistamine therapy?
At the end of the day, the treatment approach is the same as with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). There are additional relevant codes that can be helpful for these patients including 'mast cell activation, unspecified', and 'other mast cell activation disorders'.