Carafate

This study examines whether participating in poetry workshops can improve emotional well-being among patients with chronic digestive symptoms. Many individuals with long-standing digestive conditions experience distress, anxiety, isolation, and difficulty expressing their emotions in clinical settings. These emotional challenges can negatively affect daily life, relationships, and overall health. Poetry writing offers a creative and supportive way for participants to explore their feelings, express their experiences, and build emotional resilience. It also allows individuals to focus on aspects of their identity beyond their illness. The purpose of this research is to evaluate whether poetry workshops can reduce anxiety, lessen feelings of isolation, and strengthen participants' sense of community and well being. 1\. Why is this study being done? The purpose of this research study is to offer a creative outlet for patients to explore their identity and story, build resilience, and seek hope. This study is being done because we understand that the psychological discomfort that can come upon hearing a diagnosis can lead to increased anxiety levels, negatively impacting a patient's well-being and relationships. Often healthcare practitioners may merely view a patient through the lens of their diagnosis, neglecting other aspects of their identity and humanity. Through reading various poems, crafting their own poems, and sharing their work with their peers, we hope the workshops offer a comforting opportunity for the participants to explore their identities and creativity.

This is a prospective, within-subject controlled study involving simultaneous dual placement of wireless Bravo pH probes in each participant. Patients will receive pH testing when symptomatic for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) to confirm diagnosis as part of standard of care. Each test is 96 hours with a symptom diary, GERD-HRQL, and RSI collected, which is also standard of care for patients presenting with GERD symptoms.

Medication non-adherence is associated with greater morbidity and mortality in chronic disease, and has been estimated to increase healthcare costs by over $170 billion annually in the United States.1 Medication adherence is challenging for patients across the spectrum of medical disorders that are treated with long-term use of oral medications. Poor medication adherence can result in increased risk of complications, disease progression, increased healthcare utilization and poor therapeutic outcomes.2 Adherence is typically tracked using measures based on pharmacy fill data such as the medication possession ratio (MPR) and/or proportion of days covered (PDC).3 Although MPR and PDC are associated with a higher likelihood of using medication as prescribed at the population level, when compared to direct assessments or patient reports, they are not accurate enough for making individual management decisions and likely to underestimate non-adherence.4 However, real-time documentation methods using direct video observation are expensive and cumbersome for patients and providers. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is among the most prevalent gastrointestinal conditions in the United States, affecting an estimated 20-30% of the adult population.5 Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the cornerstone of pharmacologic management for GERD forming the standard of care for erosive esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus, and symptomatic non-erosive reflux disease.6 Despite their established efficacy, suboptimal medication adherence remains a significant clinical barrier: estimates of PPI adherence in real-world populations range from 50-70% at one year7, with non-adherence associated with symptom recurrence, mucosal injury, and increased healthcare utilization.8 FORTISKAP™ (Cosmos Rx, Inc.) is a digital adherence monitoring device consisting of a sensor-embedded cap that attaches to standard prescription medication bottles. The device records the date and time of each bottle opening event and transmits this data wirelessly to a paired smartphone application, which generates adherence metrics and patient-facing reminders. Prescribers may access aggregated adherence data through a connected provider portal. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that the Fortiskap™ prescription bottle-top, medication adherence device results in a higher detection rate of medication non-adherence compared to pharmacy fill-data assessment and/or compared to ARMS adherence self-assessment.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if people can safely skip a test called esophageal manometry before surgery for acid reflux (gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD) or a hiatal hernia. Manometry measures the muscles of the food pipe using a thin tube passed through the nose. The test can be uncomfortable and can delay surgery. The main questions this study aims to answer are whether people can skip manometry and still have good swallowing one year after surgery, and whether skipping the test lowers discomfort, shortens the wait for surgery, and lowers cost. To answer this, researchers will compare two groups. One group will have surgery without manometry. The other group will have manometry first, the way it is usually done. Everyone will get the same operation, a partial wrap called a Toupet fundoplication, so the study tests the value of the test and not the surgery. Participants will be placed by chance into one of the two groups, have the same standard operation, and fill out short questionnaires about their swallowing before surgery and again at 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Researchers want to find out if skipping manometry works just as well as the usual approach for people who do not have trouble swallowing before surgery.

Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is an effective, minimally invasive treatment for achalasia, offering excellent rates of symptom relief. However, a significant drawback is the high incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) following the procedure. One proposed technical modification, the selective preservation of the sling fibers during gastric myotomy (SFP-POEM), may reduce this risk without compromising efficacy as compared to a conventional POEM procedure, which includes myotomy of the sling fibers. In this study, adults with achalasia will be randomly assigned to receive one of the two POEM technical approaches. Researchers will monitor whether preserving sling fibers reduces the rates of reflux esophagitis (classified as Los Angeles Grade B or higher) on follow-up endoscopy. Participants will be followed for up to 1 year after the procedure.

The study purpose is to gain a better understanding of the needs of adults aged 65 and older while they are receiving chemotherapy by measuring their resilience and tailor care plans based on their individual needs.

Scientists do research to answer important questions which might help change or improve the way we do things in the future. The investigators know that using Enamel Matrix Derivatives results in thicker gum tissues around teeth. This study will test to see if using EMD around implants results in thicker gum tissues around implants.

Dyspepsia is a common problem attributed to gastric sensorimotor dysfunctions ie, delayed, or less frequently rapid gastric emptying (GE), impaired gastric accommodation, and increased gastric sensation. Therapeutic options manage symptoms, and there is no FDA approved medical therapy for dyspepsia. There is a need for better objective understanding of sensorimotor dysfunction in dyspepsia, as well as noninvasive, efficacious, safe, and inexpensive treatments for dyspepsia. The purpose of this research is to identify disturbances and characterize phenotypes in patients with functional dyspepsia, and to assess the correlations between symptoms (during the manometry and in daily life), gastric emptying, electrical activity (BSGM), and pressure activity (manometry).

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if study drug Fosamprenavir administered orally improves symptoms for Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI)-refractory Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does fosamprenavir significantly improve heartburn severity over the 8-week treatment period 2. Does fosamprenavir significantly improve regurgitation frequency over the 8-week treatment period 3. Does fosamprenavir significantly improve symptoms of persistent GERD over the 8-week treatment period Researchers will compare fosamprenavir to a placebo (a look-alike substance that contains no active drug) to see if fosamprenavir works to treat PPI-refractory GERD. Participants will: 1. Take fosamprenavir or placebo every day BID (twice a day) for 8 weeks 2. Visit the Adult Translational Research Unit (ATRU) seven times for consenting, screening, and checkups and tests 3. Keep a daily diary of their symptoms of persistent GERD

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the eGERD device, which is a novel device for treating Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). The main questions this research aims to answer are: 1. Does the eGERD device reduce acidity in the esophagus? 2. Does the eGERD device reduce GERD symptoms such as heartburn and regurgitation? 3. What medical problems do participants have when using the eGERD device? To assess the acidity in the esophagus, a wireless standard-of-care capsule called Bravo will be placed in the participants esophagus (throat) for several days. To assess GERD symptoms, participants will be requested to report symptoms they experience using a smartphone application. Researchers will compare a real version of the eGERD device to a sham version (a look-alike device that has no therapeutic effect) to see if the eGERD device is effective in treating GERD.

The objective of the study is to investigate the treatment of marginal ulcers with Low Thermal plasma in an endoscopic setting. By a treatment of the ulcerated areas with argon plasma with low power settings (\~ 1 W) we hypothesize that the size of the ulcers will shrink, and the healing is accelerated compared to standard of care alone. Patients will benefit from this minimally invasive approach compared to a much more invasive surgical approach that comes with higher risks and hospital stay length time. From a societal and scientific perspective, this study aims to extend the well-documented clinical benefits of plasma technology - from external wound healing to internal ulcer treatment - within an endoscopic framework. The success of this study could pave the way for broader applications of LTP in the treatment of other endoscopically accessible conditions such as peptic ulcers, duodenal ulcers and esophageal ulcers. This advancement has the potential not only to improve patient outcomes through less invasive methods, but also to position LTP as a cornerstone in the future of gastroenterological wound management strategies.

The aim of this study is to compare intravenous famotidine, an H2 receptor antagonist, and Maalox/ Mylanta, an oral antacid, in treatment of dyspepsia in the emergency department. The goal of this study is to reduce patients' pain based on the verbal numerical pain scale. The anticipated outcome is for pain levels in both groups to decrease. It is expected that antacids will improve symptoms more quickly and to a greater degree within an hour of taking medication based on the results of similar studies.