SUMMARYBackground: Impedance-pH monitoring is the most sensitive method for detection and characterization of gastro-oesophageal reflux episodes. Normal values from European subjects are lacking. Aim: To build a database of gastro-oesophageal reflux patterns from French and Belgian healthy subjects. Methods: Seventy-two healthy subjects (35 men, mean age 35 years, 18-72) underwent 24-h ambulatory impedance-pH studies. Gastro-oesophageal reflux episodes were detected using impedance and characterized by pH as acid, weakly acidic, or weakly alkaline. Analysis was performed visually and effects of age, gender and intra-individual reproducibility were evaluated. Results: The total number of gastro-oesophageal reflux episodes was 44 (25,58,75) of which 59% were acid,

AIM:To evaluate the ability of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) elastography to distinguish benign from malignant pancreatic masses and lymph nodes. METHODS:A multicenter study was conducted and included 222 patients who underwent EUS examination with assessment of a pancreatic mass (n = 121) or lymph node (n = 101). The classification as benign or malignant, based on the real time elastography pattern, was compared with the classification based on the B-mode EUS images and with the final diagnosis obtained by EUS-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) and/or by surgical pathology. An interobserver study was performed. RESULTS:The sensitivity and specificity of EUS elastography to differentiate benign from malignant pancreatic lesions are 92.3% and 80.0%, respectively, compared to 92.3% and 68.9%, respectively, for the conventional B-mode images. The sensitivity and specificity of EUS elastography to differentiate benign from malignant lymph nodes was 91.8% and 82.5%, respectively, compared to 78.6% and 50.0%, respectively, for the B-mode images. The kappa coefficient was 0.785 for the pancreatic masses and 0.657 for the lymph nodes.CONCLUSION: EUS elastography is superior compared to conventional B-mode imaging and appears to be able to distinguish benign from malignant pancreatic masses and lymph nodes with a high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. It might be reserved as a second line examination to help characterise pancreatic masses after negative EUS-FNA and might increase the yield of EUS-FNA for lymph nodes.

EUS-guided hepaticogastrostomy is an efficient technique and could be a future alternative to percutaneous biliary drainage or palliative surgical drainage.

This new nCLE criterion seems highly specific for the diagnosis of SCA. The visualization of this criterion could have a direct impact on the management of patients by avoiding unnecessary surgery or follow-up.Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01563133.

Based on this newly completed atlas of interpretation criteria, nCLE could facilitate the diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesion types.