The association between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) prevalence and its risk factors in an area with low Helicobacter pylori prevalence is important to clarify. We analyzed the prevalence of GERD and risk factors in an area of Indonesia with low prevalence of H. pylori infection. We recruited 104 dyspeptic patients who underwent endoscopy in Surabaya. Patients were diagnosed with GERD based on the Los Angeles classification. We evaluated gastric biopsy specimens and measured serum pepsinogen levels. Interleukin polymorphisms were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Of 104 patients, 56 (53.8%) were endoscopically found to have GERD, with most categorized as grade A; 48 (46.2%) were classified as non-GERD. Higher economic status, smoking, and a history of proton-pump inhibitor use significantly increased the risk of GERD. GERD Questionnaire scores showed a positive correlation with GERD (P < 0.001). An association was found between antral atrophic gastritis and GERD (P = 0.030), and patients with GERD more frequently had severe antral atrophy than nonerosive reflux disease (P = 0.018). We found an association between pepsinogen I/II levels and GERD (P = 0.047), but with low accuracy. IL-1β -511 TT and CT were predominant among the IL-1β -511 genotypes, and IL-8–251 AT and TT were predominant among the IL-8–251 genotypes. In conclusion, we found a high prevalence of GERD in an area with low prevalence of H. pylori infection, which could be associated with acid reflux. Smoking, history of proton-pump inhibitor use, and higher economic group significantly increased the risk of GERD.

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Purpose Histopathology method is often used as a gold standard diagnostic for Helicobacter pylori infection in Indonesia. However, it requires an endoscopic procedure which is limited in Indonesia. A non-invasive method, such as 14 C Urea Breath Test (UBT), is more favorable; however, this particular method has not been validated yet. Patients and Methods A total of 55 dyspeptic patients underwent gastroscopy and 14 C-UBT test. We used Heliprobe ® UBT for UBT test. As for the histology, May-Giemsa staining of two gastric biopsies (from the antrum and corpus) were evaluated following the Updated Sydney System. Results The Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis showed that the optimum cut-off value was 57 with excellence Area under Curve = 0.955 (95% CI = 0.861–1.000). By applying the optimum cut-off value, Heliprobe ® UBT showed 92.31% for sensitivity, 97.62% for specificity, 92.31% for positive predictive value, 97.62% for negative predictive value, 38.77 for positive likelihood ratio, 0.0788 for negative likelihood ratio, and 96.36% for the accuracy. Conclusion The 14 C-UBT is an accurate test for H. pylori diagnosis with excellent sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The different optimum cut-off points suggested that a validation is absolutely necessary for new test prior application to the new population.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with a poor prognosis may be due to persistent colitis. According to the latest guidelines, monitoring has become a part of the treatment process for colitis. Adequate monitoring of the patient's condition is necessary to determine the course of the disease to prevent the worsening of the condition and suppress the subclinical inflammatory process. This analytical study with a cross-sectional design was conducted to evaluate the activity of colitis using the results of C-reactive protein (CRP) and fecal calprotectin (FC) assays. FC levels were analyzed by ELISA, while CRP levels were analyzed using Siemens Flex particle-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay. In 30 subjects with endoscopy and biopsy of colitis, 16 men and 14 women had a median age of 52.5 (18–70) years. The median FC value increased by 67 (7.3–722 g/g) and was positive (≥50 g/g) in 20 subjects (66.7%), and the mean CRP value was 13.64 mg/L, positive (10–15 mg/L) in 13 subjects (43.33%), and negative (<10 mg/L) in 17 subjects (56.67%). This study demonstrated that FC had a significant relationship with CRP (r=0.57; p<0.001) in patients with colitis. Assessing the levels of FC and CRP among patients with colitis can be useful to assess the worsening of symptoms early and reduce mortality and morbidity.

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma, a malignancy of the biliary duct system, has been recognized as the second most common cause of biliary tract and primary liver malignancies. The incidence has increased in the last three decades worldwide. Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) has been considered a highly important palliative therapy for bile duct obstruction due to its high success rate and low incidence of cholangitis. However, bleeding and catheter dislodgment are still found during the procedure. This case discusses the complications of repeated PTBD stent placement as palliative therapy in a patient with obstructive jaundice due to cholangiocarcinoma. Case Presentation: A 58-year-old female presented with a chief complaint of weakness and pain on the right side of the abdomen, particularly at the site of PTBD stent installation three days before being admitted to Dr. Soetomo General Hospital. In 2017, the patient was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma­ with obstructive jaundice and had undergone PTBD procedure five times during the period of July 2017 to March 2018 due to biliary leakages. Laboratory investigation indicated elevated bilirubin, decreased potassium, increased random blood sugar, increased blood urea nitrogen, high levels of the 2-hour postprandial blood glucose, and elevated HbA1c, suggesting the conditions of cholangiocarcinoma with obstructive jaundice complicated with hypokalemia, acute kidney injury and type-2 diabetes. The blood smear also indicated normochromic normocytic anisopoikilocytosis anemia and leukocytosis. The patient improved after PTBD replacement, antibiotics treatment, packed red cells transfusion, and rehydration therapy. Conclusion: This case highlights that the complication of PTBD could occur relatively frequently and to prevent the complications in patients with post-PTBD regular medical check-up is therefore recommended. In addition, it is also critical to improve the patient knowledge on how to prevent the bleeding and to avoid the conditions that are potentially increase the chance of catheter dislodgment.