Biliary lithiasis is an endemic condition in both Western and Eastern countries, in some studies affecting 20% of the general population. In up to 20% of cases, gallbladder stones are associated with common bile duct stones (CBDS), which are asymptomatic in up to one half of cases. Despite the wide variety of examinations and techniques available nowadays, two main open issues remain without a clear answer: how to cost-effectively diagnose CBDS and, when they are finally found, how to deal with them. CBDS diagnosis and management has radically changed over the last 30 years, following the dramatic diffusion of imaging, including endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC), endoscopy and laparoscopy. Since accuracy, invasiveness, potential therapeutic use and cost-effectiveness of imaging techniques used to identify CBDS increase together in a parallel way, the concept of "risk of carrying CBDS" has become pivotal to identifying the most appropriate management of a specific patient in order to avoid the risk of "under-studying" by poor diagnostic work up or "over-studying" by excessively invasive examinations. The risk of carrying CBDS is deduced by symptoms, liver/pancreas serology and ultrasound. "Low risk" patients do not require further examination before laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Two main "philosophical approaches" face each other for patients with an "intermediate to high risk" of carrying CBDS: on one hand, the "laparoscopy-first" approach, which mainly relies on intraoperative cholangiography for diagnosis and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration for treatment, and, on the other hand, the "endoscopy-first" attitude, variously referring to MRC, EUS and/or endoscopic retrograde cholangiography for diagnosis and endoscopic sphincterotomy for management. Concerning CBDS diagnosis, intraoperative cholangiography, EUS and MRC are reported to have similar results. Regarding management, the recent literature seems to show better short and long term outcome of surgery in terms of retained stones and need for further procedures. Nevertheless, open surgery is invasive, whereas the laparoscopic common bile duct clearance is time consuming, technically demanding and involves dedicated instruments. Thus, although no consensus has been achieved and CBDS management seems more conditioned by the availability of instrumentation, personnel and skills than cost-effectiveness, endoscopic treatment is largely preferred worldwide.

We aimed to improve symptoms by means of mesalazine in symptomatic colonic diverticular disease patients. One hundred seventy outpatients (98 M, 72 F; age, 67.1 years; range, 39-84 years) were assigned to four different schedules: rifaximin, 200 mg bid (Group R1: 39 pts), rifaximin, 400 mg bid (Group R2: 43 pts), mesalazine, 400 mg bid (Group M1: 40 pts), and mesalazine, 800 mg bid (Group M2: 48 pts), for 10 days per month. At baseline and after 3 months we recorded 11 clinical variables (upper/lower abdominal pain/discomfort, bloating, tenesmus, diarrhea, abdominal tenderness, fever, general illness, nausea, emesis, dysuria), scored from 0 = no symptoms to 3 = severe. The global symptomatic score was the sum of all symptom scores. After 3 months in all schedules but Group R1, 3 of the 11 symptoms improved (P < 0.03); the global score decreased in all groups but Group R1 (P < 0.0001). Mesalazine-treated patients had the lowest global score at 3 months (P < 0.001). Mesalazine is as effective as rifaximin (higher dosage schedule) for diminishing some symptoms, but it appears to be better than rifaximin for improving the global score in those patients.

Ten years of extensive Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) eradication in symptomatic patients led to a significant reduction in peptic ulcer prevalence. This reduction was particularly evident in Padova, where a project for the sensibilization of H pylori eradication among general practioners was carried out between 1990 and 1992. Should our hypothesis be true, H pylori eradication might in the future lead to peptic ulcer as a rare endoscopic finding.

The incidence of biliary lithiasis after gastric surgery seems to be higher than in the general population. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) allows several biliary and pancreatic pathologies to be dealt with; however, in patients with an altered anatomy of the upper and mid gastrointestinal tract, this endoscopic manoeuvre can be extremely challenging. We report a case of a 79-year-old woman with previous subtotal gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y reconstruction, admitted with a diagnosis of cholecystitis and choledocolithiasis. She was successfully treated with transjejunal laparoscopic-assisted ERCP and laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which appears to be a safe and useful procedure for choledocolithiasis treatment in patients with surgically altered anatomy.

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