Gut Check on Gastroenterology Archive

October 15th, 2010

Plavix (Clopidogrel) and endoscopy: the great dilemma!

Plavix and other platelet inhibitors have saved countless lives by preventing cardiovascular events. But those same inhibitory effects on platelets theoretically could increase bleeding risks after GI procedures that include biopsy or tissue removal (polypectomy). Unfortunately there are little data regarding whether bleeding risk is increased when patients on Plavix undergo endoscopy procedures. The clinical […]

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October 1st, 2010

Esophageal food impaction: Are you a secret pusher?

I, like most endoscopists, remember being told that you should never push an esophageal food impaction into the stomach but instead all food should be removed first, then the cause of the impaction determined and treated. Well I suspect that most endoscopists do what I do and that is try and safely push the impaction into […]

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October 1st, 2010

The New Epidemic: Narcotic Bowel and Abdominal Pain

I remember clearly when “pain” became a vital sign. As I suspect most medical professionals felt, chronic pain was a serious and disabling symptom that was poorly treated for the most part. The last decade of expanding research into mechanisms and treatments of chronic pain has brought enormous relief to the millions that suffer from […]

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