Background/Aims Adequate bowel preparation is important for successful colonoscopy. We aimed to evaluate the clinical feasibility and effectiveness of abdominal vibration stimulation in bowel preparation before therapeutic colonoscopy. Methods A single center, prospective, randomized, investigator-blinded study was performed between January 2016 and December 2016. Patients for therapeutic colonoscopy were prospectively enrolled and assigned to either the vibrator group or walking group. Patients who refused to participate in this study as part of the experimental group consented to register in the control group instead. During the preparation period, patients assigned to the walking group walked ≥3,000 steps, whereas those assigned to the vibrator group received abdominal vibrator stimulation and restricted walking. All patients received the same colon cleansing regimen: 4-L split-dose polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution. Results Three hundred patients who received PEG solution for therapeutic colonoscopy were finally enrolled in this study (n=100 per group). Bowel cleansing with abdominal vibration stimulation showed almost similar results to that with walking exercise (Boston Bowel Preparation Scale score for the entire colon: vibrator vs walking vs control, 7.38±1.55 vs 7.39±1.55 vs 6.17±1.15, p<0.001). There were no significant differences between the vibrator group and walking group regarding instances of diarrhea after taking PEG, time to first diarrhea after taking PEG, total procedure time, and patient satisfaction. Conclusions This study indicates that, compared with conventional walking exercise, abdominal vibration stimulation achieved similar rates of bowel cleansing adequacy and colonoscopy success without compromising safety or patient satisfaction.

Background: Intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPNB) is a precancerous lesion of cholangiocarcinoma, for which surgical resection is the most effective treatment. We evaluated the predictors of malignancy in IPNB according to anatomical location and the prognosis without surgery. Methods: A total of 196 IPNB patients who underwent pathologic confirmation by surgical resection or endoscopic retrograde cholangiography or percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopic biopsy were included. Clinicopathological findings of IPNB with invasive carcinoma or mucosal dysplasia were analyzed according to anatomical location. Results: Of the 116 patients with intrahepatic IPNB (I-IPNB) and 80 patients with extrahepatic IPNB (E-IPNB), 62 (53.4%) and 61 (76.3%) were diagnosed with invasive carcinoma, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that mural nodule > 12 mm (p = 0.043) in I-IPNB and enhancement of mural nodule (p = 0.044) in E-IPNB were predictive factors for malignancy. For pathologic discrepancy before and after surgery, IPNB has a 71.2% sensitivity and 82.3% specificity. In the non-surgical IPNB group, composed of nine I-IPNB and seven E-IPNB patients, 43.7% progressed to IPNB with invasive carcinoma within 876 days. Conclusions: E-IPNB has a higher rate of malignancy than I-IPNB. The predictive factor for malignancy is mural nodule > 12 mm in I-IPNB and mural nodule enhancement in E-IPNB.

Background and Aim Although endoscopic papillary large balloon dilation (EPLBD) has been widely used to facilitate the removal of difficult common bile duct stones, however, the outcomes have not yet been investigated in terms of the diameter of the balloon used. We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes between EPLBD using smaller (12–15 mm, S‐EPLBD) and larger balloons (> 15 mm, L‐EPLBD). Methods Six hundred seventy‐two patients who underwent EPLBD with or without endoscopic sphincterotomy for common bile duct stone removal were enrolled from May 2004 to August 2014 at four tertiary referral centers in Korea. The outcomes, including the initial success rate, the success rate without endoscopic mechanical lithotripsy, the overall success rate, and adverse events between S‐EPLBD and L‐EPLBD groups, were retrospectively compared. Results The initial success rate, the success rate without mechanical lithotripsy, the overall success rate, and the overall adverse events were not significantly different between the two groups. The rate of severe‐to‐fatal adverse events was higher in the L‐EPBLD group than in the S‐EPLBD group (1.6% vs 0.0%, 0.020). One case of severe bleeding and two cases of fatal perforation occurred only in the L‐EPLBD group. In the multivariate analysis, the use of a > 15‐mm balloon was the only significant risk factor for severe‐to‐fatal adverse events (>0.005, 23.8 [adjusted odds ratio], 2.6–214.4 [95% confidence interval]). Conclusions L‐EPLBD is significantly related to severe‐to‐fatal adverse events compared with S‐EPLBD for common bile duct stone removal.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in patients with surgically altered anatomy (SAA) of the upper gastrointestinal tract is a more technically challenging and arduous procedure accompanied by a low success rate of reaching the target orifice and a relatively high rate of complications, compared to those with normal anatomy. Since the introduction of device-assisted enteroscopies such as balloon enteroscopy (BE) and manual spiral enteroscopy (SE) for small bowel disorders, they have also been used for ERCP in patients with SAA. The recent development of short-type BE makes ERCP in patients with SAA technically easier with high success rates and short procedural duration, and then short-type BE is considered the gold standard endoscopic procedure in these patients. Laparoscopy-assisted ERCP is another therapeutic option, especially for patients with a long excluded afferent limb of SAA. The choice of procedure for high success rates should be individualized according to patient characteristics and available physician competence. Moreover, novel motorized SE is a promising alternative procedure for the successful performance of ERCP.

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