Dr. Christina Surawicz is part of a small, but growing group of gastroenterologists working on demonstrating that fecal flora reconstitution, also known as fecal transplantation, is a viable treatment option for patients suffering from recurrent clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection. C. diff is a growing disease that can range from mild diarrhea to life-threatening colitis, producing toxins that destroy the mucosal lining of the gut. While normally thought of as a hospital infection, there has been a rise in community-acquired C. diff infection and is estimated to be responsible for as many as 15,000 deaths per year. C. diff is resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat other infections and, in fact, most often strikes people whose intestinal flora has been disrupted by antibiotic treatment. Relapse is common after C. diff infection. The results and methodology of a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and highlighted in the Washington Post show promise for the probiotic treatment of C. diff – using good bacteria to fight the bad by transplanting stool from a healthy donor into the colon of a sick patient.
A/P Washington Post Article » | Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology Article »

Meg Coyle, anchor of KING 5's Weekend Morning News, visits Drs. Teresa Brentnall and Michael Saunders to see if her family history puts her at risk for developing pancreatic cancer. Her mother died of the disease when she was only 42 years old, a factor that may mean Meg has a genetic pre-disposition and increased risk for developing this deadly disease herself. In this segment, Meg consults with Dr. Teresa Brentnall, who leads the University of Washington Pancreatic Cancer Surveillance Program, and then undergoes an endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), performed by Dr. Michael Saunders, Director of the Digestive Disease Center. EUS is one of the surveillance methods used to detect any abnormalities in the pancreas that may indicate cancer. Watch the Video »

Research done by the UW Pancreatic Cancer Surveillance Program has shown that pancreatic cancer is hereditary in at least 10% of cases; the risk of pancreatic cancer is increased 3-fold if one first-degree relative is affected. Having multiple affected members increases the risk even more, so that some family members have a 50-50 chance of inheriting pancreatic cancer. Learn More »

Dr. Robert Carithers, Professor and Director of the Liver Care Line, and Dr. Jorge Reyes, Professor and Chief of Transplantation Surgery, appear on Patient Power with Andrew Schorr to discuss liver transplant and recovery in a segment titled, Progress in Liver Transplant: The Team's Perspective. Listen to Interview »
In addition to the procedure and recovery, Drs. Carithers and Reyes discuss research and progress being made in transplantation. The segment also features inspiring commentary from a liver transplant recipient and a member of a unique training/excercise program called Team Transplant, which promotes fitness and organ donation awareness. The group consists of UWMC staff, transplant recipients and their friends and family members Patient Power® is an online resource devoted to helping patients and their families through knowledge, to get the best medicine and return to good health.

"SEATTLE — Nov. 24, 2010 —A decade of refinements in marrow and stem cell transplantation to treat blood cancers significantly reduced the risk of treatment-related complications and death, according to an institutional self-analysis of transplant-patient outcomes conducted at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Among the major findings of the study, which compared transplant-patient outcomes in the mid-‘90s with those a decade later: After adjusting for factors known to be associated with outcome, the researchers observed a statistically significant 60 percent reduction in the risk of death within 200 days of transplant and a 41 percent reduction in the risk of overall mortality at any time after transplant.

“Everything we looked at improved a decade after the initial analysis,” said George McDonald, M.D., a Hutchinson Center gastroenterologist and corresponding author of the paper, which was published Nov. 25, 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine..." Read Full FHCRC Press Release » | Read NEJM Editorial »

Reduced Mortality after Allogeneic Hematopoietic-Cell Transplantation
Ted A. Gooley, Ph.D., Jason W. Chien, M.D., Steven A. Pergam, M.D., M.P.H., Sangeeta Hingorani, M.D., M.P.H., Mohamed L. Sorror, M.D., Michael Boeckh, M.D., Paul J. Martin, M.D., Brenda M. Sandmaier, M.D., Kieren A. Marr, M.D., Frederick R. Appelbaum, M.D., Rainer Storb, M.D., and George B. McDonald, M.D. N Engl J Med 2010; 363:2091-2101. Read NEJM Article »

The UWMC Liver Transplantation Program has received national recognition from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) for superb performance in transplantation. Out of 740 organ donation and transplant programs evaluated for the award, only 10 silver medals and 1 gold medal were awarded across the entire country. Transplant programs were evaluated based on a combination of factors, including 1-year post transplant survival rates, deceased donor transplantation rates, and waitlist mortality rates. With a 1-year survival rate of 90.8%, the UWMC Liver Transplantation Program received one of only two silver medals awarded for performance in liver transplantation. The Kidney Transplantation Program also won a silver medal, making UWMC the only medical center in the U.S. to be awarded two medals of honor in the silver category. UWMC also received a bronze medal for its Kidney/Pancreas Transplantation Program. Awards were handed out by HRSA officials at the Sixth Annual Learning Congress for the Donation and Transplantation Community of Practice in Grapevine, Texas.

Dr. Robert L. Carithers, Jr. (pictured, left). is the Medical Director of the UWMC Liver Transplantation Program, as well as Director of the Liver Care Line. UWGI Hepatology faculty also responsible for the success of this program are Drs. Renuka Bhattacharya (pictured, middle), Iris Liou (pictured, right), Lei Yu, and Charles Landis. The transplant team includes surgeons, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, social workers, coordinators, and dietitians.

HRSA Press Release »| UW DOM Press Release » | UWeek Article »

UWGI attended the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, held from October 29 - November 2 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachussetts. The Liver Meeting® provides a forum of exchange for groundbreaking basic, translational and clinical research in diseases of the liver and biliary tract, and in liver trasnplantation. It is the premier event in the science and practice of hepatology, where the cutting edge in the study and treatment of liver and biliary diseases is defined. Below is a list of research UWGI shared with the AASLD scientific and clinical community:

• Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection and Pathogenesis: From Systems Biology to Translational Research. D. L. Diamond; A. L. Rasmussen; N. J. Susnow; S. Datta; C. Magaret; B. M. Webb-Robertson; A. Krasnoselsky; K. E. Burnum; M. M. Yeh; J. McDermott; J. M. Jacobs; M. A. Gritsenko; R. Bhattacharya; J. D. Perkins; R. L. Carithers; I. W. Liou; S. Strom; C. LeCiel; V. S. Carter; D. E. Purdy; K. Walters; A. M. Larson; X. Peng; S. C. Proll; K. M. Waters; R. D. Smith; S. Self; M. G. Katze Read Abstract »
• Patient and Graft Survival Following Liver Retransplant for Recurrent Hepatitis C Cirrhosis: A Single Center Experience. T. E. Halterman; L. Yu; R. Bhattacharya Read Abstract »
• A response-guided therapy for a better management of patients severe alcoholic hepatitis treated with corticosteroids. A. Louvet; F. Artru; F. Wartel; J. G. O'Grady; R. L. Carithers; M. Phillips; C. L. Mendenhall; S. Naveau; V. Canva-Delcambre; T. R. Morgan; P. Mathurin Read Abstract »

Dr. Cynthia Ko’s publication in the American Journal of Gastroenterology titled, Utilization and Predictors of Early Repeat Colonoscopy in Medicare Beneficiaries, was recently featured in a Reuters Health article. According to the article (9/3, Norton), “Older adults who have a colonoscopy performed by a family doctor, internist or general surgeon are somewhat more likely to need another one within a year compared with those who have the procedure done by a gastroenterologist, a new report finds. The study, based on Medicare data for more than 300,000 colonoscopy procedures, found that 5 percent of patients had a repeat colonoscopy within a year.”
Read Full Article »| Read Journal Abstract »

UWGI attended the ACG 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course, held from October 15-20 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. This meeting offers the latest clinical information on key and cutting-edge topics for the GI physician, showcases research, and provides a wealth of patient-related clinical data and experiences. Below is a list of research UWGI shared with the ACG scientific and clinical community:

• A Prospective Study of Aspirin Use and the Risk of Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Men. Edward Huang, MD, MPH, Lisa Strate, MD, MPH, Wendy Ho, MD, MPH, Salina Lee, MD, Andrew Chan, MD, MPH. Read Abstract »
• Comorbid Diabetes Mellitus Increases the Risk for Surgery in Patients with Crohn’s Disease. Jason Harper, MD; Mariko Welch, MS; Mika Sinanan, MD; Ghassan Wahbeh, MD; Scott Lee, MD. Read Abstract »
• Assessment of the Safety of Certolizumab Pegol Associated with the Time of Previous Biologic Treatment of Crohn’s Disease at a Single North American Site. Chelle Wheat, BS, Cynthia Ko, MD, Ghassan Wahbeh, MD, Cory Cullinan, RN, Scott Etter, RN, Mika Sinanan, MD, Scott Lee, MD. Read Abstract »
• IBS Symptoms: It’s in the Genes. Ashley Evans, MD, Sang-Eun Jun, PhC, RN, Margaret Heitkemper, PhD, Monica Jarrett, PhD, Kevin Cain, PhD, Christopher Carlson, MD. Read Abstract »
• Assessment of the Efficacy of Certolizumab Pegol for the Treatment of Crohn’s Disease at a Single North American Center. Scott Lee, MD, Cynthia Ko, MD, Ghassan Wahbeh, MD, Jason Harper, MD, Cory Cullinan, RN, Scott Etter, RN, Mika Sinanan, MD, Christopher Naumann, MD, Chelle Wheat, BS. Read Abstract »

John Inadomi has worn many hats at different times in his career, and as the new division head of Gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine he now intends to wear them all at once. “I started out as a pure clinician, then became a pure investigator, and in between ran a training program,” he said recently. “Here I have a fantastic faculty to help carry out all of those missions.”

Inadomi become the fourth division head on September 1 and was appointed to the Cyrus E. Rubin Endowed Chair in Medicine. He succeeds Sum Lee, who stepped down in 2008, and Toan Nguyen, who served as acting division head for two years. The new chief came to the department from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine where he held the Dean M. Craig Endowed Chair in Gastrointestinal Medicine. He directed the Gastrointestinal Health Outcomes, Policy and Economics Research Program and served as chief of clinical gastroenterology at San Francisco General Hospital. Read Full Article »

The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the leading international organization of scientists and healthcare professionals for preventing and curing liver disease, has selected Sum-Ping Lee, M.D., Ph.D., to be the recipient of their 2010 Distinguished Achievement Award. Dr. Lee, currently Dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, was an active member of our GI Division for 23 years (1985-2008) and was the Cyrus E. Rubin Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Gastroenterology from 1995 to 2007...
Read Article & Testimonials »

The UW GI Division was also pleased to welcome Dr. Lee as this year's 2010 Wade Volwiler Visiting Professor, an annual lectureship named for the division's first Head, Dr. Wade Volwiler. A graduate of Harvard and a fellowship trainee of the Mayo Foundation, Dr. Volwiler led the GI Division for 31 years. Dr. Lee is also a former Head of the UW GI Division, which he led for 13 years, from 1995 to 2007. Dr. Lee presented at the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds lecture series, the PNWGS Meet the Professor Evening Program, and the GI Division's Frontiers in Gastroenterology & Hepatology series. His lecture topics included (1) A Tale of Two Oppossums and a Discussion on Gallstones, (2) China Rising & Health Care Reform, and (3) Why Are Lampreys Green and a Discussion on Liver Stem Cells. Dr. Lee's lecture on gallstones is available to view online (Video) , along with a "muscial review" of the gastrointestinal system, as sung by UW GI Division faculty each year to second year medical students at the end of the Gut Course (lyrics by, Dr. David Saunders).