Gastroenterology

The number of people contracting the hard-to-control bacterial infection Clostridium difficile is increasing.  According to Sahil Khanna, M.D., Mayo Clinic Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, “We have ...

Rochester, Minn. — May 17, 2012.  A study presented by Mayo Clinic researchers during Digestive Disease Week 2012 provides clear evidence that the number of people contracting the hard-to-control and treat bacterial infection Clostridium difficile (C. difficile or C. diff) is increasing, and that the infection is commonly contracted outside of the hospital. "We have seen C.difficile infection as a cause for diarrhea in humans for more than 30 years, and the incidence of infections has been increasing in the last decade," says Sahil Khanna, M.B.B.S., Mayo Clinic Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and lead author of the study. "It has been believed that the typical profile of a person with C. difficile is an older patient, taking antibiotics, while in the hospital. For the first time, we have described a significantly increased incidence of C. difficile in children with diarrhea in a population-based cohort. Importantly, we also found that more than three-quarters of cases of C. difficile in children are being contracted in the community, not in the hospital." Results of the study showed that the incidence of C.difficile infection (CDI) in children was more than 12 times higher between 2004 and 2009, compared to the period 1991–1997 (32.6 cases per 100,000 vs. 2.6). In addition, 75 percent of cases were "community-acquired," meaning that the patients had not been hospitalized for at least four weeks prior to contracting C. difficile. C. difficile is an environmental infection, commonly seen on surfaces in the hospital and described to be present in some food sources, including ground beef. Because the infection can be spread from person to person, Mayo Clinic researchers recommend practicing prevention, including: Wash hands with soap and water. Clean suspected contaminated surfaces with bleach-based solutions. Avoid contact with people who are known to have CDI. Take extra hygiene precautions if you are living with a person who has CDI or who works in a health care setting where a person might be exposed to patients with CDI.

If you have chronic acid reflux disease you'll be interested in this newly approved procedure.  It's a ring of tiny magnetic titanium beads that can keep stomach ...

You can add lower gastrointestinal problems like ulcers, bleeding and perforations to the list of serious complications facing many rheumatoid arthritis patients.  In a recent ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — April 2, 2012.  A study presented today by Mayo Clinic researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research(AACR) Annual Meeting 2012 in ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Doctors have known for years that the incidence of deadly liver cancer is on the rise, but what is causing that trend has remained a mystery. Two recent Mayo Clinic studies published in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings offer a clearer picture of the rise of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, which has tripled in the U.S. in the last three decades and has a 10 to 12 percent five-year survival rate when detected in later stages.  "The studies illuminate the importance of identifying people with risk factors in certain populations to help catch the disease in its early, treatable stages," said W. Ray Kim, M.D., a specialist in Gastroenterology and Hepatology and principal investigator of one study. Dr. Kim's research group looked at several decades of records in the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a database that accounts for an entire county's inpatient and outpatient care. The study found the overall incidence of HCC in the population (6.9 per 100,000) is higher than has been estimated for the nation based on data from the National Cancer Institute (5.1 per 100,000). The study also found that HCC, which two decades ago tended to be caused by liver-scarring diseases such as cirrhosis from alcohol consumption, is now occurring as a consequence of hepatitis C infection. "The liver scarring from hepatitis C can take 20 to 30 years to develop into cancer," Dr. Kim says. "We're now seeing cancer patients in their 50s and 60s who contracted hepatitis C 30 years ago and didn't even know they were infected." Eleven percent of cases were linked to obesity, in particular fatty liver disease.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Results of two studies suggest that a new, investigational colorectal cancer screening test developed in a collaboration between Mayo Clinic and Exact Sciences Inc. of Madison, Wis., is highly accurate and significantly more sensitive than other noninvasive tests at detecting precancerous tumors (adenomas) and early-stage cancer. These findings have important implications for clinicians and tens of thousands of Americans. Early detection is a key driver of better outcomes for colorectal cancer — a disease that affects 1 in every 17 persons and is the second-leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths. VIDEO ALERT: Additional audio and video resources, including excerpts from an interview with Dr. David Ahlquist describing the research, are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog. The first study, to be published in the February issue of Gastroenterology, shows that a new multi-marker stool DNA test is highly accurate at detecting precancerous polyps and early-stage colorectal cancer. This is the first large-scale, blinded study to measure the new test's effectiveness. The second study, to be published in the March issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, shows that the stool DNA test is significantly more accurate than a new plasma test for identifying patients with large precancerous polyps or colorectal cancer, while delivering fewer false-positive results.

Pancreatic cancer and bile duct cancer are difficult to diagnose and often fatal because they are discovered in the advanced stages of the disease. Researchers ...

In a large study, a national team of researchers led by Mayo Clinic scientists observed that self-reported use of hormone therapy was associated with a ...

Dr. Todd Baron, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, discusses symptoms, diagnoses, and management of bile duct stones. Many bile duct stones are found in the gall ...

Mayo Clinic researchers have demonstrated that a noninvasive screening test can detect not only colorectal cancer but also the common cancers above the colon — ...

The use of infliximab (IFX) plus azathioprine (AZA) and infliximab monotherapy increase the likelihood of patients achieving long-term steroid-free clinical remission in patients with moderate ...