The gender gap in the authorship of scientific research may affect career advancement. Our aim was to assess the potential gender gap in gastrointestinal (GI) journals.
A systematic review was ...performed of the GI literature and ongoing research in the period 2020-2022. A total 10 GI journals and ongoing research on clinicaltrials.gov were selected for review. The gender gap in first and senior authorship was evaluated for each article and ongoing research project. Associations between the gender gap and possible predictors were measured and results are presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95%CI.
The number of first female authors (FFAs) and senior female authors (SFAs) in published articles were 1408/4207 (33.5%) and 911/4207 (21.7%), respectively. There were 781/2654 (29.4%) female principal investigators (PI)s for the ongoing research. On comparison of non-endoscopic vs. endoscopic topics, the latter were associated with the gender gap (hepatology, OR 2.15 95%CI 1.83-2.55; inflammatory bowel disease, OR 2.12 95%CI 1.60-2.45; upper and lower GI, OR 1.31 95%CI 1.18-1.73); as well as the type of article (original article vs. editorial, OR 1.92 95%CI 1.58-2.33). The type of research was also associated with the gender gap (clinical vs. preclinical studies, OR 0.88 95%CI 0.66-0.91).
Our results demonstrated a correlation between the gender gap and the design and topic of the research. Future strategies for improving equity in career development in GI endoscopy should focus on closing the gender gap in equity of authorship.
Adequate bowel cleansing is critical to ensure quality and safety of a colonoscopy. A novel 1-L polyethylene glycol plus ascorbate (1L-PEG+ASC) regimen was previously validated against low-volume ...regimens but was never compared with high-volume regimens.
In a phase IV study, patients undergoing colonoscopy were randomized 1:1 to receive split-dose 1L PEG+ASC or a split-dose 4-L PEG-based regimen (4L-PEG) in 5 Italian centers. Preparation was assessed with the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) by local endoscopists and centralized reading, both blinded to the randomization arm. The primary endpoint was noninferiority of 1L-PEG+ASC in colon cleansing. Secondary endpoints were superiority of 1L-PEG+ASC, patient compliance, segmental colon cleansing, adenoma detection rate, tolerability, and safety.
Three hundred eighty-eight patients (median age, 59.8 years) were randomized between January 2019 and October 2019: 195 to 1L-PEG+ASC and 193 to 4L-PEG. Noninferiority of 1L-PEG+ASC was demonstrated for cleansing in both the entire colon (BBPS ≥ 6: 97.9% vs 93%; relative risk RR, 1.03; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.001-1.04; P superiority = .027) and in the right-sided colon segment (98.4% vs 96.0%; RR, 1.02; 95% CI, .99-1.02; P noninferiority = .013). Compliance was higher with 1L-PEG+ASC than with 4L-PEG (178/192 92.7% vs 154/190 patients 81.1%; RR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.12), whereas no difference was found regarding safety (moderate/severe side effects: 20.8% vs 25.8%; P = .253). No difference in adenoma detection rate (38.8% vs 43.0%) was found.
One-liter PEG+ASC showed noninferiority compared with 4L-PEG in achieving adequate colon cleansing and provided a higher patient compliance. No differences in tolerability and safety were detected. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT03742232.)
Multiple therapeutic modalities including surgery and rigid and flexible endoscopy have been adopted to manage Zenker's diverticulum (ZD). Minimally invasive flexible endoscopic septotomy (FES) ...techniques have been increasingly favored over the past 20 years; however, long-term data are still scanty. The aim of this study is to evaluate early and long-term outcomes of FES for naive ZD in a single-center setting.
From 2010 to 2017, ZD patients treated with FES were included in a prospectively maintained database (NCT03948438). Those who had already been treated surgically or endoscopically were excluded from the analysis. The Dakkak and Bennett dysphagia scale was used to rate the dysphagia. Persistent complete or near-complete resolution of symptoms (Dakkak and Bennett 0 or 1) was defined as clinical success. Postprocedural adverse events were reported according to ASGE lexicon.
Overall, 256 consecutive patients were treated. Mean pouch size was 29.8 ± 11.3 mm. The procedure was successfully completed in all scheduled patients, with an early clinical success of 96.1%. Adverse events occurred in 3.5% (9/256) of patients. Eight of them were mild/moderate with no fatal events, whereas one patient required surgery. Recurrences occurred in 31.3% (80/256) of treated patients after a mean time of 9 ± 3 months and 95% of recurrences were treated by a second FES. At an average follow-up of 5.5 years, 95.3% of patients were asymptomatic after a mean number of 1.3 procedures.
FES is a safe and effective treatment modality for patients with ZD. Recurrence rate is significant; however, endoscopic reintervention is associated with long-term relief of dysphagia.
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