American Journal Of Gastroenterology - Author Podcasts

Ron Schey, MD, FACG, co-author of a recent article reviewing common bowel changes for women during pregnancy and in the postpartum period, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William Chey about the temporary and possibly permanent changes to pelvic floor anatomy and physiology during pregnancy and how preexisting functional GI disorders may change during and after pregnancy. The prevalence and risk factors constipation and fecal incontinence are discussed, as well as the safety and effectiveness of various treatments for both conditions. (21:34)

Joseph A. Murray, MD, co-author of a recent article on the racial/ethnic trends in celiac disease and gluten-free diets, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William Chey about the racial differences in the prevalence of celiac disease, the startling increase in this prevalence over the last 20 years, and how physicians should consider celiac disease in the context of related disorders for at-risk populations. Dr. Murray also discusses the puzzling recent trend of non-celiac patients adhering to a gluten-free diet for “health” reasons not supported by science. (24:57)

Mark E. Gerich, MD, co-author of a recent Red Section article on medical marijuana and digestive disorders, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. Paul Moayyedi about the controversies surrounding medical marijuana, the changing legal landscape, and the challenges of conducting clinical research on the drug’s effects. The specific pharmacological agents in marijuana and their potential treatment applications for a variety of digestive disease states and symptoms are also discussed. (18:32)

Philip Schoenfeld, MD, co-author of new Quality Indicators for Colonoscopy published on behalf of the ACG and ASGE, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William D. Chey about the transition of screening colonoscopy practice from a fee-for-service model to a quality-based model. Dr. Schoenfeld explains pre-procedure, intra-procedure, and post-procedural quality indicators, performance targets for meeting those indicators, and impact of performance data on reimbursement rates from both CMS and third-party payers. Compliance dates and reporting systems such as GIQuIC are also discussed in this essential podcast for any practicing gastroenterologist. (30:11)

Adil Bharucha, MBBS, MD, co-author of the NIDDK state of the science summary on fecal incontience, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William D. Chey about the highly common but often taboo topic of fecal incontinence. Dr. Bharucha discusses the personal and economic costs of a disorder affecting up to 15% of community-dwelling adults, as well as some key risk factors, diagnostic tests, and treatments. Clinicians will hear valuable advice on how to broach this topic with patients and how to provide meaningful care for a condition with significant emotional consequences. (26:35)

Dr. Loren Laine, MD, co-author of a new systematic review of the impact of bowel prep quality on early repeat colonoscopy and adenoma detection rate (ADR), talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William D. Chey about the real-world differences in ADR during colonoscopies with high, intermediate, and poor quality bowel preps. Meta-analysis of high-quality studies found no significant difference in ADR between high and intermediate quality preps, suggesting that intermediate preps might be “good enough.” Dr. Laine also discusses the impact of withdrawal time, documentation of prep quality, and recommendations for repeat colonoscopies after intermediate or poor quality preps. (20:55)

Drs. Eamonn Quigley and Paul Moayyedi, co-authors of the new ACG Monograph on the management of IBS and CIC, talk with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William D. Chey about the rapidly changing field of IBS and CIC treatments, the new relevance of products such as probiotics and antibiotics in altering the microbiome in IBS patients, recommendations for PEG and newer prosecretory agents in IBS-C and CIC, and the use of drugs such as alosetron and ondansetron for severe IBS-D. (22:44)

Joseph Ahn, MD, FACG, co-author of the new ACG Clinical Guideline on management of focal liver lesions talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William D. Chey about the epidemiology of focal liver lesions, use of imaging modalities and blood tests as diagnostic tools for this disorder, and treatment recommendations for different types of focal liver lesions, including hepatocellular carcinoma and adenoma, cholangiocarcinoma, hemangioma, nodular regenerative hyperplasia, and cystic liver lesions. (22:44)

Arnold Wald, MD, MACG, co-author of the new ACG Clinical Guideline on management of benign anorectal disorders, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. Paul Moayyedi about the definitions and treatment of dyssynergic defecation disorders, proctalgia syndromes, and fecal incontinence. They discuss the importance of determining the causes of these disorders before pursuing treatment, and the overall merits of conservative treatments over more invasive measures. (26:44)

Naga P. Chalasani, MD, FACG, and Herbert L. Bonkovsky, MD, FACG, co-authors of the new ACG Clinical Guideline on drug-induced liver injury (DILI) talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William D. Chey about the definition of DILI and its different subtypes, risk factors for the disorder, the drug classes that pose the greatest risk of liver injury, and the essentials of clinical work-up for DILI patients, including when to perform a liver biopsy. Special note is paid to herbal and dietary supplements, which are largely unregulated and have caused increasing harm to patients over the past few years. (32:17)

Joel H. Rubenstein, MD, MSc, co-author of new research on the synergistic effects of alcohol and tobacco consumption on the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. Paul Moayyedi about the concept of synergy in epidemiological research, the potential confounding factors and variability of the studies included in the meta-analysis, and the explanations and implications of this synergistic effect of tobacco and alcohol on esophageal cancer. (16:10)

Elena F. Verdu, MD, PhD, co-author of new research on the role of the serine protease inhibitor elafin in celiac disease published in the May 2014 issue of AJG, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William D. Chey about the pathophysiology of celiac disease, the role of various serine proteases, including elafin, in the inflammatory processes of celiac disease, and the potential diagnostic and treatment implications of the study findings. (15:37)

Christina M. Surawicz, MD, MACG, author and presenter of the J. Edward Berk Distinguished Lecture at ACG 2013, which was published in the April 2014 issue of AJG, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. Paul Moayyedi about physician burnout, which has been defined as "a state of mental exhaustion caused by one's professional life." She discusses the components of burnout (namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment), frequent contributing factors to burnout such as work-home conflicts, and suggestions for how to prevent and manage burnout if it occurs. (21:00)

Nicholas J. Shaheen, MD, MPH , author of an editorial on a recent article on esophageal adenocarcinoma trends across three nations published in the March 2014 issue of AJG, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. William Chey about the rising incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma, the most important and interesting conclusions drawn from this ecological study, and the role that GERD, Barrett's esophagus, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity all play in the pathogenesis of this disease.

Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, co-author of new research on the correlation between self-ratings of health and IBS symptom severity published in the February 2014 issue of AJG, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. Paul Moayyedi about how fatigue, somatization, and negative social interactions might serve as key predictors for self-rated health in IBS, how IBS symptom severity has a surprisingly modest role in self-rated health, and how doctors can better consider the psychological experience of IBS and how that impacts treatment and patient response.

Robin C. Spiller, MD, FRCP, co-author of new research on the effect of FODMAPs such as fructose and fructans on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms published in January 2014 issue of AJG, talks with AJG co-Editor Dr. William D. Chey about the dietary substances included in the FODMAP classification, the MRI imaging techniques used to measure FODMAP impact on colonic distention and gas production in this study, and how clinicians might consider FODMAPs along with gluten and lactose when recommending dietary interventions for IBS patients.

Evan S. Dellon, MD, MPH, co-author of new research on the distinguishing features of PPI-responsive esophageal eosinophilia and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) published in December issue of AJG, talks with AJG co-Editor Dr. Paul Moayyedi about the clinical features evaluated in the study, the lack of significant distinguishing association of these features to either disease, the role of PPIs in reducing eosinophils, and potential future studies worthy of pursuit in this area.

David A. Johnson, MD, FACG, co-author of new research on the emerging impact of online patient evaluation websites (PEWs) published in the Red Section of the November issue of AJG, talks with AJG co-Editor William D. Chey, MD, FACG, about the rating metrics used by these websites, the characteristics of typical users, and the potential ways in which physicians can interact with these sites to improve doctor-patient communication and manage their online reputation.

Sieglinde Angelberger, MD, and David Berry, PhD, co-authors of new research on the efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in patients with ulcerative colitis published in the October issue of AJG, talk with AJG co-Editor Dr. Paul Moayyedi about the highlights of their case series, including choice of stool donors, route and duration of administration, impact of FMT on these patients' gut microbiota, and what the disappointing response to FMT in these ulcerative colitis cases suggests for further research into this practice.

Scott Tenner, MD, MPH, FACG, co-author of the American College of Gastroenterology's new Clinical Guideline on the Management of Acute Pancreatitis, published in the September issue of AJG, talks with co-Editor Dr. William Chey about the increasing prevalence of acute pancreatitis; the appropriateness of CT, MR, ERCP, and genetic testing in diagnosis of the disease; and the role of antibiotics, re-feeding, surgical debridement, and lactated ringer's solution versus normal saline in the management of acute pancreatitis.