Briefs

GI Nurses, Associates Day at Baptist Hospital of Miami Endoscopy Center

This special day was celebrated in our department by all the staff. We started our day by taking care of our patients. Mid-afternoon, we took a break and started the festivities with 15-minute chair massages. This was enjoyed by all! After we were all fully relaxed, we had a delicious lunch sponsored by Roche Pharmaceuticals. After lunch, one or our physicians, Miguel Rodriguez, MD,who specializes in hepatology, gave us a very informative lecture on portal hypertension. We got a CEU for the lecture as well. We all had fun and we even managed to learn something. After our break it was back to doing what we do best, taking care of our patients.

The last year has been very special to us because several of our nurses obtained their CGRN. We have also maintained very high ratings on our patient satisfaction surveys. We look forward to an even better year!

Chesapeake General Endoscopy Turns GI Day into Week-long Celebration

CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- Nurses and technicians working in the endoscopy suite of Chesapeake General Hospital turned national GI Nurse and Associates Day in March into a week-long celebration.

Each morning, team members competed for prizes by answering trivia questions. Prizes were contributed by a variety of sponsors. Mildred Rose won the grand prize -- an Olympus camera.

Other events included a lecture by Patricia Raymond, MD, followed by a vendor-donated breakfast. Lunches were also provided daily by product representatives.

Endoscopy team members took this time to reach out to the community as well. They worked a table outside of the hospital cafeteria with information about colon cancer prevention and screening. They also distributed leaflets and ribbons from the American Cancer Society.

Chesapeake General Hospital is a 291-bed facility with four endoscopy suites. The department assists in an estimated 6,600 procedures annually.

For more information, visit: www.chesapeakehealth.com.

Study Shows Effectiveness of Capsule Endoscopy in Diagnosing Crohn's Disease

YOQNEAM, Israel, April 9 -- A recent study published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology 2003, 15:363-367 concluded that the M2A capsule is an effective, sensitive and valuable diagnostic tool in the early diagnosis of Crohn's disease.

"Capsule endoscopy is a superior and more sensitive procedure than barium follow-through and entero-CT in establishing the diagnosis and estimating the extent of Crohn's disease," says Rami Eliakim, MD, head of the department of gastroenterology, Rambam Medical Centre, Bat Galim, Haifa, and president of the Israeli Gastroenterology Association. "It is conceivable that it will become the first line of investigation in patients with early or suspected Crohn's disease."

The study examined 20 patients with suspected Crohn's disease who experienced symptoms which included recurring abdominal pain, weight loss or chronic diarrhea. The mean duration of symptoms before enrollment in the trial was 8 months. The group of patients had to undergo a total of 48 procedures including gastroscopy, colonoscopy, small bowel follow-through, plain abdominal and computer tomography prior to the trial.

Capsule endoscopy established new diagnoses, confirmed existing diagnoses, enlarged the extent of the disease and ruled out the suspicion of Crohn's disease in 70 percent of patients. In comparison, barium follow-through established diagnoses, measured the extent of the disease, and ruled out the suspicion of Crohn's disease in 37 percent of patients. In addition, capsule endoscopy detected all of the lesions diagnosed by barium follow-through and entero-CT, and detected additional lesions that were not detected by other modalities in 47 percent of cases and ruled out lesions detected by other modalities in 16 percent of cases.

For more information, visit www.givenimaging.com.

Smith & Nephew Releases New Meniscal Repair System

ANDOVER, Mass. -- Officials at endoscopy manufacturer Smith & Nephew have announced the release of the FasT-Fix AB Meniscal Repair System.

An update of the original, which was released in April 2001, the FasT-Fix AB system allows for vertical or horizontal mattress suture stitches without the open incision normally associated with the procedure.

"Because of its ability to provide superior fixation strength without the need for a posteromedical or posterolateral skin incision, the system remains at the forefront of meniscal repair," says William G. Clancy Jr., MD, American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala. "Offering an alternative with a bioabsorbable feature further illustrates Smith & Nephew's focus on innovation."

Mensical tears often occur in young adult athletes. The menisci, two half-moon shaped cartilage pads located near the top of tibia, can be torn during twisting motions. Older patients may need the repair surgery from menisci degeneration.

More than 225,000 people globally had arthroscopic meniscal repair in 2002.

For more information, visit www.endoscopy1.com.

DDW Experts: Need for Alternative Medical Intervention Identified

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Health officials attending the annual Digestive Diseases Week, May 17-22, in Orlando said conventional medicine is failing the American public.

Statistics show digestive disorders, including indigestion, nausea and vomiting, currently drive almost 38 million Americans into their doctor's offices each year, and this epidemic is quickly spiraling out of control.

Brenda Watson, author of "Renew Your Life," and founder and president of ReNew Life Formulas, Inc., believes that there is an urgent need to effectively reach out to the general population with better education in support of preventative medicine.

"Traditional medical experts and counselors need to offer more options for treatment and prevention," says Watson. "Currently, the public is primarily dependent on over-the-counter drugs that often mask the symptoms of serious underlying conditions, leading to medical emergencies and irreversible damage to the gastrointestinal system."

Watson continued, "Physicians too readily try to resolve these problems with prescription drugs that come with a range of unnecessary and often harmful side effects, or invasive procedures that can require hospitalization at great expense to both the patient and society. While alternative medicine may not offer solutions for everyone, it can provide additional healthful and preventive measures for many."

Leonard Smith, MD, a general, gastrointestinal and vascular surgeon, and medical director at ReNew Life Formulas, adds, "As a surgeon, I have first-hand experience with the problems associated with faulty digestion and the surgical necessities they can cause. I view my role as a doctor to include teaching, and my career as a surgeon has always incorporated teaching the laws of healthy digestion, so my patients may avoid surgery."

Digestive disorders may arguably be the most insidious cause of hospitalizations, disability, school and workplace absenteeism and illness-related economic costs to society. Often trivialized, untreated, over- self-medicated and misunderstood, gastrointestinal disorders chronically plague more than 95 million Americans. Some estimates suggest that this number represents a 60 percent increase during the past decade.

For more information, visit: http://www.renewlife.com/

Talk Back!
What is the No. 1 CEU topic you would like to see offered for endoscopy team members?

I would like to see some kinds of CEUs concerning the techs. I don't know if techs are certified in other states, but they need a certification course in Texas for sure. Everyone could always use information to brush up on conscious sedation, ACLS and all the different diseases that are in the endoscopy realm.

--Sherree Hopkins, endoscopy technician, Cleveland Regional Medical Center in Cleveland, Texas

Upcoming Endo Events:

September
6 Fall Seminar
Central Oklahoma SGNA
Integris Baptist Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Contact: Kathy South

13 Fall Course
New York/New Jersey SGNA
Mt. Sinai Medical Center

20 Annual Fall Half Day Course
New England SGNA
Burlington Marriott, MA
Contact: lisa.heard@tch.harvard.edu

20 Fall Conference Northern California SGNA
San Francisco
Contact: marian.kerbleski@med.va.gov

19-20 Beyond the Scope
Connecticut SGNA
Fox Woods Casino
Contact: Gail Steel: 860.225.4770

20 Fall MSGNA Educational Course
Michigan SGNA
Grand Rapids, MI
Contact: DebAnderson:e.msgna@inserv.net

27 Fall Meeting
Arkansas SGNA
Little Rock, AR
Contact: Faith Morrison: 501.364.4633

October:
4 Fall Conference
Wisconsin SGNA
Embassy Suites, Brookfield, WI
Contact: Nancy Megow: Nmegow530@aol.com

18-19 Tennessee SGNA 23rd Annual Course
"Hitting the Jackpot with Continuing Education"
Grand Casino Convention Center, Tunica, MS.
Contact: Diane Moore: dmoore@vista-express.com.

18-19 Multi-Regional Conference
Marriott O'Hare, Chicago
Contact: Diane Thompson: dathompson@genesys.org

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