John Schembri
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View article: Pyloric botulinum toxin for diabetic gastroparesis: a case of sustained glycaemic improvement
Pyloric botulinum toxin for diabetic gastroparesis: a case of sustained glycaemic improvement Open
Introduction: Diabetic gastroparesis is a gastrointestinal motility disorder defined as a delay in gastric emptying time without any mechanical obstruction. This affects about 40% of patients with type 1 diabetes and up to 30% of patients …
View article: Acanthocybium solandri (Actinopterygii, Scombriformes, Scombridae) first record from Malta with notes on using its parasites as biological tags
Acanthocybium solandri (Actinopterygii, Scombriformes, Scombridae) first record from Malta with notes on using its parasites as biological tags Open
The wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri (Cuvier, 1832), an uncommon scombrid species for the Mediterranean, is hereby reported for the first time from Maltese waters. Details of this unusual capture, and characteristics of the specimens recovere…
View article: Do the Regional Upper GI Bleed Services can provide safe and effective services? (Outcome based analysis from a regional upper GI bleeding service centre in the United Kingdom)
Do the Regional Upper GI Bleed Services can provide safe and effective services? (Outcome based analysis from a regional upper GI bleeding service centre in the United Kingdom) Open
Background The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients who presented with AUGIB among two groups of patients who were transferred from local and district hospitals for endoscopy and s…
View article: Street Naming in Malta as a Geo-Cultural and Political Exercise as Seen from Local Sources
Street Naming in Malta as a Geo-Cultural and Political Exercise as Seen from Local Sources Open
Street naming in Malta is essentially a reflection of the colonial and post-colonial influences. This is seen within a number of spatial scales: the national (country), regional (towns and villages), and local (streets). A further factor t…
View article: Post-inflammatory Polyp Burden as a Prognostic Marker of Disease-outcome in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Post-inflammatory Polyp Burden as a Prognostic Marker of Disease-outcome in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Open
Background and Aims Post-inflammatory polyps [PIPs] are considered as indicators of previous episodes of severe inflammation and mucosal ulceration. Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], namely Crohn’s disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC],…
View article: HTH-14 A multi-centre analysis of AUGIB; urea-creatinine ratiois a useful predictor for bleeding, and endotherapy
HTH-14 A multi-centre analysis of AUGIB; urea-creatinine ratiois a useful predictor for bleeding, and endotherapy Open
Introduction The assessment of patients presenting with symptoms of acute upper GI bleed (AUGIB) is critical in determining if patients would benefit from a gastroscopy and endoscopically delivered therapy. The Rockall score, and superiorl…
View article: Oesophagomediastinal fistula: a rare complication of tuberculosis
Oesophagomediastinal fistula: a rare complication of tuberculosis Open
We report a case of a woman from Thailand, living in Malta, who was diagnosed with concomitant tuberculosis (TB) and HIV with depleted CD4 count. Her case was further complicated by the formation of a fistula between the mediastinal lymph …
View article: Transethnic analysis of the human leukocyte antigen region for ulcerative colitis reveals not only shared but also ethnicity-specific disease associations
Transethnic analysis of the human leukocyte antigen region for ulcerative colitis reveals not only shared but also ethnicity-specific disease associations Open
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gut. Genetic association studies have identified the highly variable human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region as the strongest susceptibility locus for IBD and specifica…
View article: A Rare Case of PEComa of the Liver
A Rare Case of PEComa of the Liver Open
Perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEC) are benign
\ncells with multiple differentiation potential capable of dif ferentiating into the vascular smooth muscle and epithe lial cells. Primary hepatic angiomyolipomas (HAMLs), a
\nsubset …
View article: Trans-ethnic analysis of the human leukocyte antigen region for ulcerative colitis reveals shared but also ethnicity-specific disease associations
Trans-ethnic analysis of the human leukocyte antigen region for ulcerative colitis reveals shared but also ethnicity-specific disease associations Open
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gut. Genetic association studies have identified the highly variable human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region as the strongest susceptibility locus for IBD, and specific…
View article: Multiorganism sepsis secondary to enteric aorto-iliac graft fistulation
Multiorganism sepsis secondary to enteric aorto-iliac graft fistulation Open
A woman in her early 70s with a history of infrarenal aortic endarterectomy and aorto-bi-iliac Dacron grafting 4 years before presented with recurrent septicaemias, occasionally polymicrobial and caused by a wide variety of organisms. Afte…
View article: P651 Does ambient temperature alter faecal calprotectin levels?
P651 Does ambient temperature alter faecal calprotectin levels? Open
Background Faecal Calprotectin (FCP) is a marker of intestinal inflammation and its measurement is useful in both the diagnosing and the evaluation of disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Limited and conflict…
View article: PTU-117 Split dose bowel preparation: assessing patients’ willingness to wake up early
PTU-117 Split dose bowel preparation: assessing patients’ willingness to wake up early Open
Introduction Split dose preparation has been shown to optimise mucosal cleansing, enhance endoscopic views, and improve pathology detection. Split dosing for morning appointments necessitates waking early to take the second dose at an appr…
View article: P825 Low-prevalence of NOD2 polymorphisms in a Maltese IBD cohort
P825 Low-prevalence of NOD2 polymorphisms in a Maltese IBD cohort Open
NOD2 was the first IBD susceptibility gene to be discovered, back in 2001. Despite the discovery of many other susceptibility loci, NOD2 remains of interest as it is one of the few risk loci that is not shared between Ulcerative colitis (U…
View article: P824 Phenotypic and genetic markers of disease severity in a Maltese IBD cohort
P824 Phenotypic and genetic markers of disease severity in a Maltese IBD cohort Open
Whilst most inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment algorithms depend on disease severity classification, no formal validated definitions exist on what constitutes mild, moderate and severe ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (C…
View article: P822 Genome-wide association study (GWAS) of a Maltese inflammatory bowel disease cohort
P822 Genome-wide association study (GWAS) of a Maltese inflammatory bowel disease cohort Open
Whilst most of the early inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) genetic studies were performed on Caucasian subjects, it is now increasingly recognised that different genes might be involved in different populations, especially from different et…
View article: The Geographical Context of the Maltese Islands
The Geographical Context of the Maltese Islands Open
ThisGeographical context chapter provides the background to the broad geomorphological properties of the Maltese Islands through a geographical lens. Principally it aims to provide a large-scale view of the integration of the landscape to …
View article: Construction and benchmarking of a multi-ethnic reference panel for the imputation of HLA class I and II alleles
Construction and benchmarking of a multi-ethnic reference panel for the imputation of HLA class I and II alleles Open
Genotype imputation of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region is a cost-effective means to infer classical HLA alleles from inexpensive and dense SNP array data. In the research setting, imputation helps avoid costs for wet lab-based HLA…
View article: Inflammatory Bowel Disease [IBD] and Physical Activity: A Study on the Impact of Diagnosis on the Level of Exercise Amongst Patients With IBD
Inflammatory Bowel Disease [IBD] and Physical Activity: A Study on the Impact of Diagnosis on the Level of Exercise Amongst Patients With IBD Open
Patients were significantly less physically active after a diagnosis of IBD and this was more apparent in UC. Identification of the risk factors associated with loss of fitness levels would help to address the reduced patient quality of li…
View article: P316 A study on the impact of diagnosis on the level of exercise amongst patients with IBD
P316 A study on the impact of diagnosis on the level of exercise amongst patients with IBD Open
IBD can impair the functional capacity of patients who may find it discouraging to maintain their level of fitness after diagnosis. Nevertheless, IBD patients perceive exercise and sports as being helpful in managing their psychological he…
View article: P296 Levels of engagement in physical activity and fatigue in IBD patients
P296 Levels of engagement in physical activity and fatigue in IBD patients Open
IBD can greatly affect patients’ work, personal and family lives, thus impacting on their quality of life. Regular physical activity may have a positive influence on one’s fitness level, general wellbeing and psychological health. The aim …
View article: PTU-054 Out of hours colonoscopy-are we compromising on quality?
PTU-054 Out of hours colonoscopy-are we compromising on quality? Open
Introduction Endoscopy units nationwide are now offering out of hours (OOH) endoscopy as a means of dealing with ever increasing service demands. It is known that quality of colonoscopy can vary with timing throughout the day and there is …
View article: Traditional Use of Shore Platforms: A Study of the Artisanal Management of Salinas on the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean)
Traditional Use of Shore Platforms: A Study of the Artisanal Management of Salinas on the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean) Open
Shore platforms and salinas in the Mediterranean region have a long-standing relationship, rooted in the traditional practice of salt making. On small islands with limited natural resources, the production of salt from seawater, through in…
View article: Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis: is it the coexistence of colonic diverticulosis and inflammatory bowel disease?
Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis: is it the coexistence of colonic diverticulosis and inflammatory bowel disease? Open
Segmental colitis associated with diverticulosis (SCAD) is an inflammatory process that affects colonic luminal mucosa in segments that are also affected by diverticulosis. Its prevalence varies between 1.15% and 11.4% amongst those suffer…
View article: Genetic and Serological Markers in Identifying Unclassified Colitis
Genetic and Serological Markers in Identifying Unclassified Colitis Open
In 5–15% of the patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) limited to the colon, it is difficult to distinguish histologically between ulcerative and Crohn’s colitis. This is described as unclassified colitis. Distinguishing between th…
View article: Letter: abnormal bone densitometry in patients with coeliac disease ‐ beyond malabsorption and sunlight exposure
Letter: abnormal bone densitometry in patients with coeliac disease ‐ beyond malabsorption and sunlight exposure Open
We read with interest the articles mentioning the role of chronic inflammation in abnormal bone mineral densitometry (BMD) in both patients with inflammatory bowel disease and coeliac disease.1, 2 We performed a prospective cohort study (J…
View article: Vascular Anomalies and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Vascular Anomalies and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Open
In our letter we presented a case following a similar case report in this journal1 where a patient with ulcerative colitis [UC] had the same vascular malformation, but located in the small bowel. The same nomenclature was also used in the …
View article: Intestinal Cavernous Haemangioma and Ulcerative Colitis: Co-incidence or Association?: Figure 1.
Intestinal Cavernous Haemangioma and Ulcerative Colitis: Co-incidence or Association?: Figure 1. Open
We have read with interest the report of a patient with ulcerative colitis who had an intestinal cavernous haemangioma.
Our patient was a 26-year-old female who presented with rectal bleeding and loose stools. All her blood investigations…