Background: Psychological stress and anxiety, such those generated by forced quarantine, affect gastrointestinal symptoms course in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders. Thus, our aim was to assess, in a cohort of patients regularly followed up in a devoted outpatient clinic of Southern Italy, the association between their gastrointestinal symptoms changes, stress, and anxiety reported during the Italian lockdown. Methods:We recruited patients from the outpatient clinic of the University of Salerno, devoted to functional gastrointestinal disorders, selecting only patients for whom an evaluation was available in the last 6 months before the lockdown. Gastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated at each visit through standardized questionnaire and pooled in a database. On 45th days from the beginning of the lockdown, patients were re-assessed by phone with the same questionnaire. Anxiety and stress levels were assessed through a self-administered online questionnaire based on Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 test and Perceived Stress Scale 10 test.

This article reports the case of a patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease who underwent a dental procedure for the peri-implantitis of his dental implants placed some years earlier. Our aim was to describe a misinterpreted accidental foreign body aspiration and its management. Due to an involuntary movement, the patient accidentally ingested a screwdriver, so, although asymptomatic, he was taken to the hospital. Based on the radiographic interpretation, the radiologists diagnosed the presence of the object in the distal esophagus; an esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed but the screwdriver was not found. Subsequently, a computed tomography (CT) scan was performed which placed the foreign body in the airways and it was successfully removed by bronchoscopy. Patients with dementia need additional care during dental procedures because of the increased risk of ingestion and/or aspiration. We demonstrated how important it is, even without any symptoms, the need to be vigilant in seeking out urgent care as soon as possible.

Dear Editor, We would like to thank Dr. Wang and colleagues for their interest in our study focused on the effects of perceived stress and anxiety due to COVID-19 lockdown on symptoms in functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) patients. Dr. Wang et al. analyzed 38 returned surveys sent to their irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients early in the pandemic. The survey focused on the impact of COVID-19 on symptoms' trend, mental health, and healthcare utilization from March to May 2020. They showed how higher anxiety levels, strictly related to COVID-19 outbreak, correlated with worse quality of life and with high pain levels, distension, dissatisfaction, and life interference.