Background: Intrasphincteric injection of botulinum toxin has been reported as a safe and effective alternative treatment in oesophageal achalasia, especially in high‐risk and elderly patients.Aim: To compare two formulations of botulinum toxin in the management of achalasia.Patients and methods: We randomly compared the efficacy and safety of 100 U of Botox (Allergan, Irvine, USA) and 250 U of Dysport (Ipsen, Milan, Italy), injected through a sclerotherapy needle at the level of the lower oesophageal sphincter, in 78 consecutive patients with achalasia. Symptom score, oesophageal manometry and 24 h pH‐metry were recorded (before and 1 month after therapy). Symptom score was also obtained 6 months after treatment.Results: One month after treatment, the effects of the toxin on symptoms and oesophageal tests were similar for both formulations. Lower oesophageal sphincter pressure decreased from 31 ± 12 to 18 ± 5 mmHg after Botox, and from 35 ± 9 to 18 ± 10 after Dysport. At the end of the follow‐up period (6 months), symptom score decreased from 5 ± 1.2 to 1.2 ± 0.8 after Botox and from 5.2 ± 1.5 to 1.5 ± 1 after Dysport. Moreover, the percentages of patients who failed to respond to treatment (10% and 17.5%) and who relapsed during follow‐up (12% and 24%) did not differ significantly. No patient complained of reflux symptoms after treatment, although abnormal acid exposure was documented in two subjects.Conclusions: Both formulations of botulinum toxin have comparable efficacy in the treatment of oesophageal achalasia, for up to 6 months of follow‐up.

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Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is an uncommon vascular tumor of the soft tissues. Several reports have described this tumor in visceral locations such as liver, lung, and brain. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of an immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study of a primary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma occurring in the larynx. Difficulties concerning the differential diagnosis and clinical problems arising from surgical therapy in the laryngeal area are also discussed.

Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction. A fast diagnosis is crucial for patient management. Proteins that are synthesized during the inflammatory response can be used as biomarkers, helping in a rapid clinical assessment or an early diagnosis of infection. The aim of this study was to identify biomarkers of inflammation for the diagnosis and prognosis of infection in patients with suspected sepsis. Methods: In total 406 episodes were included in a prospective cohort study. Plasma was collected from all patients on the first day of a new episode. Samples were analysed using a 92-plex proteomic panel based on a proximity extension assay with oligonucleotide-labelled antibody probe pairs (OLink, Uppsala, Sweden). Supervised and unsupervised differential expression analyses and pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Results: Supervised differential expression analysis revealed 21 proteins that were significantly lower in circulation of patients with viral infections compared to patients with bacterial infections. More strongly, higher expression levels were observed for 38 proteins in patients with high SOFA scores (>4), and for 21 proteins in patients with worse outcome. These proteins are mostly involved in pathways known to be activated early in the inflammatory response. Unsupervised, hierarchical clustering confirmed that inflammatory response was more strongly related to disease severity than to aetiology. Conclusion: Several differentially expressed inflammatory proteins were identified that could be used as biomarkers for sepsis. These proteins are mostly related to disease severity. Within the setting of an emergency department, they could be used for outcome prediction, patient monitoring, and directing diagnostics.