JerMa88/BMC_Gastroenterology_Peer_Reviews huggingface dataset:
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03380-y (2024)

Title: Application of antithrombotic drugs and risk factor analysis in ICU patients with lower
gastrointestinal bleeding from MIMIC-IV
Version: 7 Date: 14 Aug 2024
Reviewer:  Ali S. Taha
Reviewer's report:
I have no further comments. Thanks to the authors for the revised  manuscript
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03378-6 (2024)

Title: Evaluation of adverse clinical outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease
receiving different sequences of first- and second-line biologic treatments: findings from
ROTARY
Version: 0 Date: 16 Dec 2023
Reviewer's report:
This study utilizes a large clinical database to compare the incidence of adverse outcomes
between first- and second-line therapies in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. While the
study addresses a clinically significant topic, there are several critiques to be addressed.
1. A major limitation is the absence of disease activity measurement. Disease activity
significantly influences treatment choice and efficacy, making it a key confounder in the
analysis of adverse outcomes. The failure to adjust the results for disease activity challenges the
interpretability of the study's findings.
2. The inclusion period for patient treatment was between 2013 and 2020. It's noteworthy that
several advanced therapies emerged around 2020. The study should consider the potential impact
of the era of treatment on its results.
3. It is unclear why vedolizumab was not considered a second-line therapy for Crohn's disease.
4. The rationale behind the differing definitions of infection for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's
disease is not explained. For instance, Clostridioides difficile infection is a significant concern
in ulcerative colitis as well.
5. The study should specify the observation period for each drug. Moreover, given that the
observation periods might vary across drugs, the choice of using incidence rates as the primary
endpoint instead of the time to the occurrence of adverse outcomes warrants further explanation.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03378-6 (2024)

Title: Evaluation of adverse clinical outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease
receiving different sequences of first- and second-line biologic treatments: findings from
ROTARY
Version: 0 Date: 19 Dec 2023
Reviewer's report:
In a clinical practice setting, patients tend to worry about complications that they might develop
from the prescribed medication. Providers have to balance patient care by assessing both efficacy
and safety. Efficacy is less than 50% for almost all advanced treatment options and therefore,
patients tend to get exposed to at least two medications. How sequence impacts long term
efficacy and safety has been of great interest to providers.
In this manuscript, adverse outcomes are described in treatment sequence and findings are
notable and include risk of dysplasia and CRC.
One limitation is that the evaluable sample size is different for each of the 6 sequences. Authors
do not comment about this in the limitation section lines 333 to 343 in the manuscript.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03378-6 (2024)

Title: Evaluation of adverse clinical outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease
receiving different sequences of first- and second-line biologic treatments: findings from
ROTARY
Version: 1 Date: 06 Apr 2024
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for your responses to my commnets. The authors have appropriately responded to
my concerns.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03378-6 (2024)

Title: Evaluation of adverse clinical outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease
receiving different sequences of first- and second-line biologic treatments: findings from
ROTARY
Version: 1 Date: 06 Apr 2024
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for the opportunity to review this manuscript once more. The manuscript
addresses the increasingly complex landscape of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) treatment,
highlighting the critical issue of therapeutic sequencing amidst a growing arsenal of options
with novel mechanisms of action. The authors' focus on safety outcomes of these sequencing
strategies is not only original but also highly pertinent, potentially guiding physicians in making
more informed clinical decisions.
However, certain limitations within the manuscript significantly undermine the clarity and
interpretability of its results and conclusions. Primarily, the analysis presents a critical oversight
by relying solely on the absolute number of adverse events, without considering the duration
of treatment (e.g., incidence per patient-years). This lack of normalization complicates the
interpretation of the data, as it does not account for variations in exposure length across different
therapeutic options. Furthermore, the manuscript does not adjust for disease severity or activity,
factors often gauged by the use of steroids, number of hospital admissions, and other clinical
indicators. Such normalization is crucial for ensuring that the comparative safety profiles of the
therapeutic options are not misleadingly represented, offering a more accurate and contextually
relevant insight into their relative risks and benefits.
These gaps in the analytical approach detract significantly from the manuscript's ability to
provide a robust and reliable guide for clinical decision-making. Addressing these issues would
not only bolster the credibility of the findings but also enhance their practical value to the medical
community.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03398-2 (2024)

Title: Blood flow assessment of gastric tube with indocyanine green fluorescence angiography
and postoperative endoscopy during esophagectomy: Indocyanine green enhancement time
indicated congestion
Version: 2 Date: 25 Jul 2024
Reviewer's report:
This study is well described the evaluation of the relationship between ICG fluorescence
angiography finding during esophagectomy and postoperative endoscopy finding. This study is
interesting. Therefore, This would be accepted after minor revision.
1) The author determined that the time cutoff value until ICG enhancement of the gastric tube
tip was 55 s with an area under the ROC curve. What is this cutoff value for ? Could you explain
more details about that ?
2) Is there any correlation between congestion and ischemia ?
3) Is there any reason why the author only performed the univariate and multivariate analyses
of factors related to mucosal congestion. How about the results of the ischemia?
4) In the Table 2, how about showing the results of the anastomotic leakage?
5) Is the argument that this study is not an appropriate predictive assessment of anastomotic
leakage because intraoperative ICG examination reflects venous congestion rather than arterial
blood flow? It would be better to clarify in the discussion section
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03398-2 (2024)

Title: Blood flow assessment of gastric tube with indocyanine green fluorescence angiography
and postoperative endoscopy during esophagectomy: Indocyanine green enhancement time
indicated congestion
Version: 2 Date: 26 Jul 2024
Reviewer:  Elfriede Bollschweiler
Reviewer's report:
The authors of  the manuscript with title
Blood flow assessment of gastric tube with indocyanine green fluorescence angiography
and postoperative endoscopy during esophagectomy: Indocyanine green enhancement time
indicated congestion
analysed the blood flow in the gastric tube  during esophagectomy in correlation with the
endoscopic findings. The results showed a correlation between the ICG enhancement time and
the venous malperfusion.
This topic is of great importance because the rate of leakage is in some studies very high.
Especially after MIE.
The study is well performed and the results are of interest. But I have a little bit the problem
what are practical benefit to use this method.
First, please define the procedure if the cut-of f value is reached.
Second, discuss the problems if the so defined procedure  is used.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 5 Date: 09 Jun 2024
Reviewer:  Tamer A. A. M. Habeeb
Reviewer's report:
thanks for the revision
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 5 Date: 09 Jun 2024
Reviewer:  Nourhan Badwei
Reviewer's report:
It is an interesting study, however, minor issues need to be carefully addressed
_Kindly change the term NAFLD to SLD new nomenclatures as endorsed by EASL guidelines
in the introduction section
_Kindly illustrate the classification you follow to reach the pathological diagnosis of HCC in
the methods i.e. pathologically diagnosed HCC according to…….
_Kindly add in the inclusion criteria the HCC criteria fit for resection such as the BCLC staging
system including size/number with no vascular invasion or extrahepatic spread…….and the
contrary should be added in the exclusion criteria, also those who refuse to participate
_The discussion is poorly written with no in-depth explanations and discussions regarding your
significant results
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 5 Date: 10 Jun 2024
Reviewer:  Yoji Kishi
Reviewer's report:
The  authors compared short-term outcomes after hepatectomy for HCC between the  patients
with and without precious history of COVID-19 infection.
The study showed valuable data, but the impact from the aspect of clinical utility was not high.
The series included only a few eldery patiants and most patient with COVID-19 infection seemed
to undergo hepatectomy  after their pulmonary condition fully recovered.  I would like to know
how many patients with COVID-19 showed radiologic evidence of pulmonary disease at the
time of hepatectomy. If there were few such patients, the presented results were not at all novel
and just suggested the safety to perform haptectomy  after the interval of two to three months
in the patients infected with COVID-19.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 6 Date: 04 Jul 2024
Reviewer:  Yoji Kishi
Reviewer's report:
The authors adequately responded to each reviewer's comments. The revised manuscript
increased the persuasiveness and can be accepted.
I have no additional comments for further revision.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 6 Date: 04 Jul 2024
Reviewer:  Anwar Abouelnasr
Reviewer's report:
Dear Authors
Changes are done , accepted for publication
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 6 Date: 05 Jul 2024
Reviewer:  Tamer A. A. M. Habeeb
Reviewer's report:
Thanks for the authors and congratulations
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 6 Date: 06 Jul 2024
Reviewer:  Gustavo Nari
Reviewer's report:
Dear authors, I really liked the paper, it is well organized and measured. The paper has the
weaknesses you described. I have nothing to add. Congratulations
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 6 Date: 10 Jul 2024
Reviewer:  Yukiyasu Okamura
Reviewer's report:
Although the revision manuscript has been corrected, it seems to me that several points were
not revised correctly.
Major points
1. As the previous referee 2 suggested, I also do not think that the paper includes the high impact
from the aspect of clinical utility. Although the authors excluded the patients older than 80 years
old and the patients who underwent hepatectomy within 7 weeks after the resolution of COVID
symptoms, the readers rather interest in the outcomes for such patients.
2. Although the previous referee 1 suggested in comment 1, it seems that NAFLD is not changed
into SLD in the manuscript.
Minor points
1. I think Reference 19 and 20 are inappropriately quoted. There are more appropriate references
instead.
Ref 19: Nagtegaal ID, et al. WHO classification of tumours of the digestive system.
Histopathology. 2020.
Ref 20: Dindo D, Demartines N, Clavien PA. Classification of surgical com -plications: a
new proposal with evaluation in a cohort of 6336 pa-tients and results of a survey. Ann Surg.
2004;240(2):205–13
2. As a whole, all the tables are hard to see. The authors should make it easier to see.
3. Table 3 starts with lowercase letters. Correct to capital letters.
4. Reference 42 is duplicated. Revise the correct number.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 6 Date: 14 Jul 2024
Reviewer:  Nourhan Badwei
Reviewer's report:
Thanks to the response of the authors, however issues still not covered
1. Kindly change the term NAFLD to SLD new nomenclatures as endorsed by EASL guidelines
in the introduction section
2. The discussion is poorly written with no IN-DEPTH explanations and discussions regarding
your significant results
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 8 Date: 07 Aug 2024
Reviewer:  Yukiyasu Okamura
Reviewer's report:
Although the revision manuscript has been corrected, it seems to me that several points were
not revised correctly.
Comments
1. The tables did not seem to have changed much compared to the previous version. At least,
decimal values should be mentioned consistently.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 9 Date: 16 Aug 2024
Reviewer:  Yukiyasu Okamura
Reviewer's report:
1. The tables did not seem to have changed much compared to the previous version. At least,
decimal values should be mentioned consistently.
For example, 1.7 and 7.71 were shown in Table 1, which was not mentioned consistently about
decimal values.  The same is true for Table 2-4.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03412-7 (2024)

Title: Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on postoperative recovery in patients with
hepatocellular carcinoma resection
Version: 11 Date: 06 Sep 2024
Reviewer:  Tamer A. A. M. Habeeb
Reviewer's report:
Thanks for the authors for the response
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03410-9 (2024)

Title: Association between lipid accumulation products and gallstones: an analysis of the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2020
Version: 0 Date: 16 Aug 2024
Reviewer:  Ahmed Elgeidie
Reviewer's report:
Nice work.
The research idea is novel.
The methodology is quiet satisfactory.
The writings are very clear.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03410-9 (2024)

Title: Association between lipid accumulation products and gallstones: an analysis of the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2020
Version: 0 Date: 20 Aug 2024
Reviewer's report:
Many thanks for granting me the honour to review such an important well designed study.Its a
great study , however i have very few comments
first the paragraphs start at the beginning of lines and no tab is inserted
second in discussion ,line 203 in writing 1 2 3 4, can be written first second third and fourth
"as far as we are aware" may be better as far as we know
in line 206 after "normally" there is a box?
in diabetics there were less gall stones  and also there were more gall stones among younger  ,less
than 40 years old, and both those groups usually have more TG and BMI than younger and non
diabetics ; is there an explanation ?
Thanks once again
I look forewards to receive your comments and corrections
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03410-9 (2024)

Title: Association between lipid accumulation products and gallstones: an analysis of the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2020
Version: 3 Date: 29 Aug 2024
Reviewer:  Amira A A Othman
Reviewer's report:
- I want to thank the researchers and wish them success
- All directions and modifications have been carefully handled.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03410-9 (2024)

Title: Association between lipid accumulation products and gallstones: an analysis of the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2020
Version: 3 Date: 01 Sep 2024
Reviewer:  Toshio Tsuyuguchi
Reviewer's report:
This is a very interesting study showing a association between LAP and gallstones.
However, there are several problems.
#1. As the authors state, the presence or absence of cholelithiasis depends on the results of the
questionnaires. Some of those who responded that they did not have cholelithiasis did not have an
abdominal ultrasound or other diagnostic imaging. The quality of the study depends on whether
the subjects are receiving regular medical examinations, such as abdominal ultrasound, or
whether they are receiving appropriate medical care from their family physicians. Therefore, the
authors also need to describe the quality of health examinations and medical care as background
factors.
#2. The number of cases is considered too small to make a strong statement about the
association between LAP and gallstones, given that the data analysis was based on responses
to a questionnaire. In addition, as the authors state, it is not possible to conclude that there is
a true cause-and-effect relationship unless studies are conducted to examine the occurrence of
gallstones over time in a group of patients with high LAP.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03410-9 (2024)

Title: Association between lipid accumulation products and gallstones: an analysis of the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2020
Version: 3 Date: 02 Sep 2024
Reviewer:  Reda Elwakil
Reviewer's report:
Although this manuscript had been thoroughly revised by three reviewers beforehand, I still
have some comments that need to be addressed:
1- The main objective of the study which is the association between LAP and gall stones was
concluded based on  subjective data from a questionnaire study rather than objective data as
the result of ultrasonography or other imaging methods as CT or MRI which compromises the
result of the study.
2- In the multivariate analysis the authors ignored important variables that have an impact on
gall stones such as hepatic steatosis (NAFLD). Both NAFLD and GS share similar risk factors
leading to the development of each disease. On average, there’s an increase in the prevalence
of gallstones in NAFLD patients, and patients with GS were also more likely to have NAFLD.
There was a prevalence of NAFLD in those with asymptomatic gallstones as well, indicating
that the risk factors are crucial in the development of both (Slouha E, Biput SJ, Kuteyi A, Kalloo
AE, Gorantla VR. Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Gallstones: A Systematic Review.
Cureus. 2023 Sep 11;15(9):e45027. doi: 10.7759/cureus.45027. PMID: 37829934; PMCID:
PMC10566311.).
3- Insulin resistance diagnosed by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) in non-
diabetic patients has an impact on gall stones occurrence. Korean research studied 118 subjects
with no clinical evidence of diabetes mellitus and serum glucose <126 mg/dL. Compared with
controls (n=89), cases (n=29) had higher levels of serum insulin, glucose, triglyceride levels,
and BMI. In t-test and chi-square test for variables, the association between gallstone disease
and serum insulin, HOMA-IR index, and BMI were statistically significant (p<0.05). In multiple
logistic regression analysis, gallstone disease risk increased with the level of serum insulin
(p=0.024, odds ratio=1.376) and HOMA-IR index (p=0.013, odds ratio=2.006).The authors
suggested that hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance could be associated with gallstone
formation in individuals without clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and with normal serum
glucose level (Kim JM, Lee HL, Moon W, Koh DH, Lee OY, Yoon BC, Choi HS, Hahm JS, Lee
MH, Lee DH, Ahn YH. [Association between insulin, insulin resistance, and gallstone disease
in Korean general population]. Korean J Gastroenterol. 2007 Sep;50(3):183-7. Korean. PMID:
17885284.)
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03410-9 (2024)

Title: Association between lipid accumulation products and gallstones: an analysis of the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2020
Version: 4 Date: 04 Sep 2024
Reviewer:  Toshio Tsuyuguchi
Reviewer's report:
The authors responded appropriately to each question. Thank you very much.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03410-9 (2024)

Title: Association between lipid accumulation products and gallstones: an analysis of the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2020
Version: 4 Date: 06 Sep 2024
Reviewer:  Amira A A Othman
Reviewer's report:
-I want to thank the researchers and wish them success
- All directions and modifications have been carefully handled.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03408-3 (2024)

Title: Improved diagnostic efficiency of CRC subgroups revealed using machine learning based
on intestinal microbes
Version: 1 Date: 25 May 2024
Reviewer's report:
This paper reanalyzed previously published data on CRC and identified two microbiome-based
CRC subgroups using the PAM clustering algorithm. However, the authors did not clearly
explain the differences between the two subgroups. What factors are responsible for these
differences? Are they caused by different eating habits, tumor locations, disease stages, or patient
ages and genders? What are the clinical significances of these differences for the treatment
and diagnosis of CRC? The authors should conduct more in-depth research to answer these
questions. Researchers may be able to use technical means to analyze the intestinal flora and
divide CRC into more subgroups. However, if the reasons for the formation of these subgroups
and their clinical significance cannot be explained, such research lacks value.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03387-5 (2024)

Title: Prognostic Performance of Hong Kong Liver Cancer with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer
staging systems in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Version: 0 Date: 27 Jan 2024
Reviewer:  zeki Abdurahman
Reviewer's report:
I would like to thank the authors for conducting this very important study of external validation
of the HKLC staging in an African setting . The aggressive approach of HKLC staging and
treatment recommendation  system might be more appropriate  in the African setting than the
conservative BCLC approach for several reasons.
However, i have some issues that need clarification and a few comments
1-In the methodology, did you have any exclusion criteria? The original development of HKLC
staging paper by Thomas Yau et al (Gastroenterology2014;146:1691-1700) for instance , has
excluded patients who died within a week of diagnosis. such exclusions would affect the overall
survival comparisons between the papers.
2-The survival benefit observed in your study for selected patients with BCLC-B & BCLC-
C who received  more aggressive  treatment according to HKLC staging was only slight
compared to some other studies (Gastroenerology2014:146:1691-1700).This is probably due
to the very high number of HCV related HCC (almost 80%) in your patients.The benefit of
more aggressive HKLC recommended treatment for selected BCLC-B & BCLC-C patients has
been shown to be better for patients with HBV related HCC rather than HCV related HCC
patients(Medicine(Baltimore).2015 oct;95(41):e 17772). I feel it might be appropriate to discuss
this point in your discussion (evidence based) to emphasise the point that HCC  patients in most
of Africa, which are predominantly HBV related, might benefit more with HKLC staging &
treatment recomendation than the BCLC staging and treatment guideline.
3-The retrospective nature of the study should be mentioned as a limitation because certain
patient factors could have played a role in selecting some patients for HKLC recommended
aggressive  treatment rather than the BCLC recommended conservative treatment.
4- Few grammatical ,spelling and punctation errors need corrections
Overall,I believe It is an excellently conducted study addressing a very important issue as it
pertains to the region and internationally.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03387-5 (2024)

Title: Prognostic Performance of Hong Kong Liver Cancer with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer
staging systems in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Version: 0 Date: 19 Feb 2024
Reviewer:  Abate Bane
Reviewer's report:
It is generally a useful and informative study for practice improvement.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03405-6 (2024)

Title: Positioning exercises in improving the quality of Magnetic-controlled Capsule Endoscopy
Version: 1 Date: 09 Jul 2024
Reviewer's report:
The study is of interest and I agree with the authors that techniques to improve gastric preparation
which involve standing exercises such as those described are likely to be easier for patients to
comply with than distributing the intragastric water and simethicone by repeated rotations from
the supine to prone positions, which some find difficult.
It is not entirely clear, but as the document describes this as a retrospective study, I assume that
the two groups compared are historical cohorts in which the cmp-Group followed the original
protocol (n=159) which was changed at some point (to a pe protocol) following which all
followed the new protocol. (n= 148).
The pe protocol results in better cleanliness and mucosal visualisation compared  to the cmp
protocol. However, some of the claims are overstated because there are limitations to the study
which are not discussed and therefore, unwarranted conclusions are drawn:
1. The authors state that 'positioning exercises facilitated the distribution of defoaming and
mucolytic agents to more areas within the gastric cavity.' This might be inferred as the pe group
had better scores. However, they did not actually investigate  what effect the exercises had on
distribution of the water and ingested agents.
2. They claim that it was the exercises which led to improved visualisation. I think this is
overstated. If they were two historical cohorts, the pe protocol being the more recent one than the
original cmp protocol, there may be confounding factors which resulted in improved preparation
over time. These might include, for example, better adherence to preparation protocols as the
importance of these became better understood (including the omission of pre-procedure PPI
which may be associated with improved visualisation); better selection of appropriate patients
(the document describes excluding patients with cardiac, liver and renal disease, but the numbers
in each group  are not given and other conditions and medications which are associated with poor
gastric emptying such as diabetes, use of opioids, tricyclics etc are not described);  improving
MACE endoscopist skills (intragastric prep could be improved during the procedure by asking
patients to change position or drink more water). Therefore, at best, I would say that the exercises
might improve gastric prep, but that there are several confounding factors which cannot be
excluded and that a randomised trial is warranted.
3. As described in the first point above, movement of the intragastric content during the different
exercises was not studied, so the authors cannot say with confidence that the first set of
movements allowed the medication to reach the upper part of the gastric body and cardia etc
etc. It is possible that this might have occurred, but the study does not investigate this.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03405-6 (2024)

Title: Positioning exercises in improving the quality of Magnetic-controlled Capsule Endoscopy
Version: 1 Date: 13 Jul 2024
Reviewer's report:
There are still many missing and non-conventional abbreviations, the liberty of using CMP
groups and PE groups in the main text for the first time presented without explanation
(considering it is enough to report in the abstract), and a very short and dry sentence in the
background of the abstract (see the above file, where changes were made without track changes).
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03405-6 (2024)

Title: Positioning exercises in improving the quality of Magnetic-controlled Capsule Endoscopy
Version: 2 Date: 29 Jul 2024
Reviewer's report:
This manuscript is an original article to evaluation of positioning exercises in improving the
quality of MCE. The cleanliness is very important in MCE and positioning exercises may
improve the cleanliness of gastric field. However, there are several problems in this article.
Author should revise this manuscript according to reviewer’s comments following below.
1. The author should indicate by what method the two groups were divided.
2. The author should describe the usual criteria for adding an endoscope and compare the number
of cases requiring additional endoscopes in the two groups.
3. The authors should indicate how much the time between drinking the water and starting the
examination differs between the two groups.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03405-6 (2024)

Title: Positioning exercises in improving the quality of Magnetic-controlled Capsule Endoscopy
Version: 3 Date: 01 Aug 2024
Reviewer's report:
This revised manuscript has been addressed for the reviewers’ comments. The authors need to
respond to the following comments.
1. The authors need to explain what criteria were used to divide the patients into PE and CMP
groups. Was it random selection, patient preference, physician's decision, etc.?
2. On page 5, line 41, it says ‘Patients with poor visualization may require further traditional
endoscopic examination ‘. What score of cleanliness score or visibility score is an indication for
further traditional endoscopic examination? Author should indicate how many patients in each
group underwent traditional endoscopic examination because of poor visualization.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03418-1 (2024)

Title: The Impact of the COVID-19 Surge After the End of China's Zero-COVID Policy on the
Health-Related Quality of Life of IBD Patients
Version: 1 Date: 22 Jul 2024
Reviewer's report:
This is a well written study describing the experience of 224 patients with IBD and their quality
of life in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are a few critical limitations the author
team  should include when discussing shortcomings of the study:
-  Given this was a cross-sectional survey, and no pre-pandemic comparator survey data is
included, it is not possible to confirm that these data are specifically related/due to the pandemic
alone
- Given there was not a parallel survey conducted in healthy controls without IBD, it is not
possible to confirm that these results are worse than what would have been elicited from
participants without IBD
Additionally, the authors state their results confirm individuals with UC have higher QoL scores
than those with Crohn's, however their number of UC participants is likely too low to make this
statement.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03418-1 (2024)

Title: The Impact of the COVID-19 Surge After the End of China's Zero-COVID Policy on the
Health-Related Quality of Life of IBD Patients
Version: 3 Date: 13 Aug 2024
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for addressing the major revisions to your manuscript. I believe it is now in a much
better state and merits publication. However, I suggest a few minor changes for further clarity
and completeness:
1. As your secondary outcome is defined as “the factors related to COVID-19 infection,” it is
essential to provide detailed information about these factors. Alternatively, consider changing
this to the symptom distribution among IBD patients during the COVID-19 pandemic for clearer
understanding and alignment with the data presented.
2. Please add a limitation to your study addressing the lack of disease severity information in
the study cohort. This will provide readers with a clearer understanding of the study's context
and the potential implications of this limitation.
3. I recommend revising the beginning of your discussion section to focus more on the study
outcomes rather than comparing COVID-19 policies in different countries. This comparison
could be moved to a later part of the discussion, allowing the primary findings of your study to
take precedence in this section.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03411-8 (2024)

Title: Causal effects of genetically determined metabolites and metabolite ratios on esophageal
diseases: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study
Version: 0 Date: 19 Jun 2024
Reviewer's report:
In this study, the authors explored the causality of genetically determined metabolites (GDMs)
on ED through Mendelian Randomization (MR) study, uncovering several key metabolic
features in ED pathogenesis. These findings have potential as novel biomarkers for ED and
provide insights into the disease's etiology and progression. This study remains several issues
that should be addressed.
1. It would be helpful to mark line numbers in the text.
2. In Table 1, summary GWAS data for some of Eds were from UK Biobank (UKB) and others
were from FinnGen consortium R9 release data. How to choose these two datasets? Was there
any criterion?
3. In METHODS, SNPs associated with each metabolite at genome-wide significance (P <
 1E-05) was first screened as an IV. How was the P-value threshold determined and was there
a reference available?
4. In the first paragraph of DISCUSSION, the authors tried to discuss in detail the causal
associations they identified. It would be better to divide paragraphs according to diseases or
metabolite types, which makes it more clearer.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03411-8 (2024)

Title: Causal effects of genetically determined metabolites and metabolite ratios on esophageal
diseases: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study
Version: 0 Date: 03 Aug 2024
Reviewer's report:
There are several aspects of the manuscript that require clarification and further elaboration to
enhance its scientific rigor and readability.
Methods
GWAS data for esophageal diseases
1. As far as I know, finngen has been updated to R11, may I ask why the author is using the
R9 version of the data?
2. The GWAS data that the authors used for MR study were from European populations,
which might limit the reliability when extrapolating the findings to non-European populations.
I recommend that the authors could use available nonEuropean GWAS data.
Selection of genetic instrumental variables
3. Authors were asked to give a rationale for the choice of p-value (p < 1E-05) or references
4. The author refers to "quality control measures", could you please elaborate on how you
perform quality control on your data?
5. Can the authors please specify for each metabolite the instrument coverage in the outcome
GWAS?
MR statistical analysis
6. May I ask the authors what kind of inverse variance weighting method (fixed effects (IVW-
fixed) and random effects (IVW-random)) they used? Why?
7. Please evaluate statistical power in this study.
8. In most cases, the assumptions of MR are difficult to achieve. I am wondering whether the
authors try to use some alternative methods, like colocalization analysis and PrediXcan?
Results
Selection of genetic instrumental variables
9. How did the authors ensure that this study met the three assumptions mentioned? Please
elaborate in the result.
10. What confounding factors are, the control methods the author used, especially how many
SNPs are excluded accounting for each possible confounders. I suggest all the details should be
mentioned in this Methods part.
Causal effects of metabolites and metabolite ratios on esophageal diseases
11. The section appears to be extraordinarily complex, making it difficult for the reader to read.
Please reorganize the presentation of this section.
12. I think Fig3 could go in the supplemental material.
Discussion
13. The discussion section is too lengthy, and it is recommended that the authors divide the
discussion into subheadings.
Language
14. The manuscript demonstrates a high level of English proficiency overall, with appropriate
use of scientific terminology. However, there are minor grammatical errors and occasional
awkward phrasings that could benefit from careful proofreading and revision. Ensuring
consistent use of technical terms and improving clarity in complex sentences will further enhance
the readability and professionalism of the manuscript.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03406-5 (2024)

Title: Diagnostic yield of endoscopic ultrasound in dilated common bile duct with non-
diagnostic cross-sectional imaging
Version: 2 Date: 21 Jun 2024
Reviewer's report:
Thanks to the authors effort. Despite the detailed discussion, clear limitations and well designed
manuscript but the diagnostic role of EUS and higher sensitivity and specificity have been proven
many times in literature and no clear added value for the current study.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03406-5 (2024)

Title: Diagnostic yield of endoscopic ultrasound in dilated common bile duct with non-
diagnostic cross-sectional imaging
Version: 2 Date: 28 Jun 2024
Reviewer:  Yasir Khayyat
Reviewer's report:
The study is informative as a predictive investigation for a commonly encountered biliary
manifestaions of gall bladder diseases.
My inquiry to the authors:
Please state the reasons  for follow up at 1,3 and 6 months .
The endosonographers were not made blinded and no statements mentioned for that reasons.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03406-5 (2024)

Title: Diagnostic yield of endoscopic ultrasound in dilated common bile duct with non-
diagnostic cross-sectional imaging
Version: 2 Date: 10 Jul 2024
Reviewer's report:
I appreciate your invitation to review for BMC Gastroenterology.
This is a study of outcomes of EUS in the dilatation of BD. This is a very interesting subject for
a pancreato-biliary endoscopist, and I have a number of queries for the authors.
1) I think that ampullary mass can be diagnosed by endoscopy instead of EUS. Are you referring
to cases in which EUS was performed in cases with negative endoscopic findings?
2) Please describe the definition of bile duct dilation. How many millimeters or more is
considered a finding of dilation, and less than 10 mm cannot be defined as dilation?
3) We believe that 6 months follow-up after the examination is too short; please provide the
rationale for the 6 month follow-up.
4) The diagnostic performance of EUS for jaundice cases is stated to be high. We believe that
if jaundice is present, lesions are usually detected on thin-slice CT and MRI of 3T or higher.
We believe that CT and MRI should be performed again for these cases. Does this mean that
the lesion was not detected on the re-examination CT and MRI? In any case, please illustrate
the examination protocol.
5) Some bile duct lesions are difficult to diagnose by EUS alone; how many cases are
additionally examined by ERCP? ERCP is usually performed for treatment purposes, especially
in jaundice cases, and ERC images can change the diagnosis made by EUS.
6) On the point of Accuracy, EUS findings alone are a rather opaque argument. EUS-TA is
indispensable for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and it is necessary to specify how many
cases of EUS-TA were actually performed. It is necessary to specify how many patients actually
underwent EUS-TA.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03403-8 (2024)

Title: Comparative Real-world Outcomes between Ustekinumab, Infliximab, and Adalimumab
in Bio-naïve and Bio-experienced Crohn’s Disease Patients: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
Version: 1 Date: 12 Mar 2024
Reviewer's report:
This study investigated the effectiveness of UST, IFX, and ADA for treating Crohn's disease,
with a focus on their efficacy for bio-naive and bio-failure patients.
Comment 1:
The description of the evaluation method for propensity score matching is insufficient. It is
necessary to describe the specific matching method, covariates used for matching, and caliper
values used. Please add this information to the Method section.
Comment 2 :
In the Discussion section, the statement 'We could not compare efficacy based on the reasons for
discontinuing previous biologics' is a reasonable opinion. However, in Table 3, which presents
the baseline characteristics of bio-experienced Crohn's disease patients, details of past use of
each biologic product are required for both the UST group and the Anti-TNF agents group.
Additionally, it is important to consider that subsequent maintenance of remission may differ
depending on why the biologic was changed. For instance, it may introduce bias to not disclose
whether the change was due to surgery or if a lesion that is resistant to medical treatment has
developed. Additionally, since the UST group has a natural proficiency in using bio-preparations
compared to the anti-TNF agents group, it is possible that they make better treatment choices.
This limitation should be added in the Discussion section.
Comment 3:
In certain countries, it may be possible to shorten the duration or double the dose of IFX, ADA,
and UST. The Method section provides general dosages of those biologics, but it is important
to state in the Results section whether they were followed in all cases. If there are any relevant
cases, they should be described in the Results section.
Comment 4:
Please ensure that there are no spelling mistakes.
Ex) Immunomodulators
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03403-8 (2024)

Title: Comparative Real-world Outcomes between Ustekinumab, Infliximab, and Adalimumab
in Bio-naïve and Bio-experienced Crohn’s Disease Patients: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
Version: 1 Date: 17 Mar 2024
Reviewer's report:
I read with interest the paper by  Na et al. It is an interesting retrospective study comparing the
effectiveness of anti-TNFs and ustekinumab in patients with Crohn's Disease.
There is an important limitation not disclosed in the manuscript: the authors did not provide
results in terms of endoscopic and biochemical (in particular,  fecal calprotectin levels)
remission.
Since mucosal healing is the target of biological therapy in IBD, all the studies should be thought
with this endpoint. If not, the significance of the study  is limited and should be clearly indicated
in discussion section.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03403-8 (2024)

Title: Comparative Real-world Outcomes between Ustekinumab, Infliximab, and Adalimumab
in Bio-naïve and Bio-experienced Crohn’s Disease Patients: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
Version: 3 Date: 24 Apr 2024
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for your hard work.
With careful Revise work, the problems I thought were gone. I hope that in the future, this will
lead to further research and analysis that includes past treatment history and endoscopic severity.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03403-8 (2024)

Title: Comparative Real-world Outcomes between Ustekinumab, Infliximab, and Adalimumab
in Bio-naïve and Bio-experienced Crohn’s Disease Patients: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
Version: 3 Date: 11 Jun 2024
Reviewer's report:
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03403-8 (2024)

Title: Comparative Real-world Outcomes between Ustekinumab, Infliximab, and Adalimumab
in Bio-naïve and Bio-experienced Crohn’s Disease Patients: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
Version: 4 Date: 06 Aug 2024
Reviewer's report:
The study is well-reported for the South Korean experience.  The only suggestion I have is to
provide data on dose-escalation and outcomes for dose-escalation.
I have no other major concerns or critiques.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03403-8 (2024)

Title: Comparative Real-world Outcomes between Ustekinumab, Infliximab, and Adalimumab
in Bio-naïve and Bio-experienced Crohn’s Disease Patients: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
Version: 4 Date: 10 Aug 2024
Reviewer:  Milan Lukas
Reviewer's report:
Dear authors,
thanks very much for revision manuscript sending to the next review. I have no more comments
or questions. I suggest that manuscript is fit for publication now.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03401-w (2024)

Title: Netrin-1-CD146 and S100A9-CD146 are associated with early stage of lymph node
metastasis in colorectal cancer
Version: 1 Date: 30 Apr 2024
Reviewer's report:
In the present manuscript tilted“Netrin-1-CD146 and S100A9-CD146 are associated with
early stage of lymph node metastasis in colorectal cancer”#the authors have investigated the
relationship between the netrin-1/CD146 axis and S100 proteins in sentinel lymph node, and
revealed a possible new mechanism for vascular metastasis of CRC. Based on the results, they
found that the netrin-1/CD146 and S100A9/CD146 axis in CRC tissues might related with  early
stage of lymph node metastasis, thus providing potential novel channels for blocking lymphatic
metastasis and guiding biomarker discovery in CRC patients. These findings are interesting and
novel, the results are enlightening to peers. In summary, it is recommended to give priority to
publication..
Review for 10.1186/s12876-024-03401-w (2024)

Title: Netrin-1-CD146 and S100A9-CD146 are associated with early stage of lymph node
metastasis in colorectal cancer
Version: 1 Date: 23 May 2024
Reviewer's report:
The concept of the study is well described. However, the manuscript should go through
significant clarification to be useful for readers. Some of the points/suggestions regarding this
paper are given below:
1. The authors should ask the pathologist to check the colon tissue histology because some
images did not show representative disease histology. The presentation of such pathology images
may undermine the reliability of the results of subsequent analyses.
2. How did the authors identify the sentinel lymph nodes in this study?
3. For IHC experiments, the antigen retrieval condition should be described in detail.
4. The relationship between CD146 and S100 protein and CRC progression might be novel and
interesting. However, this study did not perform functional analysis using CRC cell lines. The
authors should conduct functional analysis experiments if they claim a novel relationship.
5. In this study, the authors focus on the relationship between lymph node metastasis and
netrin-1/CD146. If so, stratifying the prognostic analysis by the degree of lymph node metastasis
may support the authors' hypothesis more.