When liver damage is present in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether it is a hepatic manifestation of RA, associated primary liver disease or hepatotoxic liver disease which developed during the treatment of RA. Liver damage during RA is most common in the form of asymptomatic abnormal liver tests. Occasionally, liver damage may progress to cirrhosis. Patients with RA are more susceptible to an associated autoimmune liver disease. Medications used in rheumatology are often hepatotoxic and it is difficult to differentiate between hepatic manifestations of the primary disease and potential hepatotoxicity of the administered medications. The significance of the paper is in the fact that it includes the most relevant and the latest information on this commonly present problem in clinical practice. The aim of the author is to provide comprehensive but at the same time concise data which will be useful to the doctors who come into contact with RA patients with symptomatic or asymptomatic liver disease. Timely diagnosis and treatment of liver disease in RA patients can significantly influence the course and outcome of rheumatoid arthritis.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic and relapsing functional gastrointestinal disorder that affects 9-23% of the population across the world. Patients with IBS are often referred to gastroenterology, undergo various investigations, take various medicines, take time off work and have a poor quality of life. The pathophysiology of IBS is not yet completely understood and seems to be multifactorial. Many pathogenetic factors, in various combinations, and not all necessarily present in each patient, can play an important role. Discomfort or abdominal pain relieived by defacation, asociated with a change in stool form, is a typical clinical manifestation of IBS. Many factors, such as emotional stress and eating, may exacerbate the symptoms. A timely diagnosis of IBS is important so that treatment which will provide adequate symptomatic relief (diarrhoea, constipation, pain and boaring) can be introduced. The diagnosis of IBS is not confirmed by a specific test or structural abnormality. It is made using criteria based on clinical symptoms such as Rome criteria, unless the symptoms are thought to be atypical. Today the Rome Criteria IV is the current gold-standard for the diagnoses of IBS. Treatment of patients with IBS requires a multidisciplinary approach. Some patients respond well to non-pharmacological treatment, while others also require pharmacological treatment. This review will provide a summary of pathophysiology, diagnostic criteria and therapies for IBS.

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Some biochemical parameters can be potential predictors of alcoholic acute pancreatitis (lipase/amylase ratio > 2, greater ratio of aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase, enhanced triglycerides and values of mean corpuscular volume.

In case of recurrent pancreatitis, hyperparathyroidism is to be considered even if a significant elevation of serum calcium is not present. This is especially the case for patients with chronic renal insufficiency or impaired vitamin D metabolism, who have a higher risk of secondary hyperthyroidism.