Gastrointestinal Conditions News

To kick off the new year, IDC has assembled a list of the 10 most-read stories of 2019. Please follow the links to access the full stories.

Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty was found to be safe and effective in children and adolescents with obesity, according to data published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

According to study results published in JAMA, during a nearly 6-year period, only 30% of 13- to 21-year-olds with identified opioid, cocaine or amphetamine use who accessed U.S. federally qualified health centers in 19 states were tested for hepatitis C virus, suggesting a need to improve screening.

NEW YORK — In this video, Joseph A. Bocchini Jr., MD, professor and chairman of the department of pediatrics at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, discusses common travel-related infections.

Norovirus has become the leading cause of medically attended acute gastroenteritis in countries with national rotavirus vaccination programs, including the United States, and is a common cause of outbreaks worldwide. There is still no licensed vaccine against norovirus, but there are promising candidates in the pipeline, experts said, and researchers are working to define which genotypes and populations to target.

Rising temperatures, declining crop yields, air pollution and other adverse environmental outcomes of climate change pose a threat to the long-term health of children, according to The Lancet’s annual update on health and climate change.

BOSTON — Maralixibat demonstrated durable control of serum bactericidal antibody, pruritus, and xanthoma in children with Alagille syndrome, according to data from the ICONIC study presented at The Liver Meeting 2019.

NEW ORLEANS — Quality improvement projects focused on education and multidisciplinary cooperation have been successful at improving hepatitis B vaccination rates among neonates, according to a pair of studies presented at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition.

NEW ORLEANS — Children with acute gastroenteritis with dehydration receive unequal treatment in the ED because of race, according to a retrospective analysis of more than 30,000 patients.

In August, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a draft recommendation that encourages clinicians to screen all adults aged 18 to 79 years for HCV infection, including pregnant women. According to the USPSTF, HCV prevalence doubled among women aged 15 to 44 years between 2006 and 2014. Due to the increasing prevalence of the disease in this age group, the task force said clinicians “may want to consider screening pregnant persons aged younger than age 18 years.”