Grecia Santaella Méndez

Island gal🇵🇷@LLUHealth ‘24 @ACG_EBGI Ambassador| AOA | GI Fellow @ Cook County 💩✨

[Grecia Santaella Méndez @SantaellaMD]

She persisted and her dreams came true 😭

Somebody pinch this girl from the 100x35 island as she matches in her dream subspecialty 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 so so excited and humbled!!

[NEJM @NEJM]

Presented at #EULAR2026:

In a phase 3 trial, obexelimab led to a lower risk of disease flares than placebo among patients with IgG4-related disease. Glucocorticoid use was lower and the incidence of remission was higher with obexelimab than with placebo. Full INDIGO trial results: https://t.co/Lynf6nmA9N

Editorial: Obexelimab and the Promise of Nondepleting B-Cell Therapy in IgG4-Related Disease https://t.co/BUQ7r8jVWz

@eular_org

[Mark Lewis, MD, FASCO @marklewismd]

Cheers, chills, and a standing ovation when RASolute 302 showed unprecedented survival on daraxonrasib for patients with progressive pancreatic cancer

Seldom do you sense you’re witnessing a historic moment in cancer care but this feels like ras targeting has arrived

#ASCO26

[Keith Siau @drkeithsiau]

Is it possible to get diarrhoea symptoms after gallbladder surgery?

The answer is yes - it’s called bile acid diarrhoea (BAD) and it’s more common than we think.

[Dan Patel, MD, FACG, AGAF @EsophagusDoc]

How to manage acute pancreatitis in 2026? Great talk by @DeMadaria the lead author of the landmark Waterfall trial @DDWMeeting!

COX-2 inhibitors might be helpful.

@AmerGastroAssn @ASGEendoscopy @ibdgijami @JElmunzer #DDW2026 #PGcourse

[Florian Rieder MD @IBD_FloMD]

Ustekinumab for ileal stricturing Crohn’s disease—an international multicenter retrospective cohort study https://t.co/BLz8IUcX22. Congratulations to @SaraElOualiMD and the #STARConsortium. Stay tuned for more coming soon… @tinahamd @ownyourcrohns @MRegueiroMD @DrsMeena

[Evidence-Based GI: An ACG Publication (EBGI) @ACG_EBGI]

🚨 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

🔥 BLOCKBUSTER multilingual collab from our GI fellows for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month 🫱🏻‍🫲🏾🎬

🇺🇸🇱🇧🇫🇷🇪🇸🇮🇳🇵🇰🇨🇳🇳🇬

‼️ Colorectal Cancer Screening Saves Lives ‼️

Send this to family and friends 📲 Stay on top of your health! 🫵

[Joseph Sleiman, MD, FACP @JosephHabibi_MD]

#CGH4ALL @AGA_CGH
📣 JAKi vs TNFi in IBD (2016–2023 cohort), Important real-world data to guide biologic selection in #IBD

🔹 Higher overall infection risk with JAK inhibitors
🔹 No increased risk of serious infections, VTE, or MACE
🔹 Overall safety profile comparable for major AEs

#IBD #GITwitter #MedTwitter #AdverseEffects

🔗https://t.co/fMxGKC1WMk

Reported by @AasthaBharwad

@vipuljairath, @ChrisMa_YYC, @virgisolitano, @eathar_s, @DhruvAh08, @TakuKobayashiM1 , @PolychronisP, @ErnstKuipers, @DaniyalAbbasMD, @LaurenLoebMD, @MarkPochapin, @SunandaKaneMD

[EndoCollab™ | GI Endoscopy Community @EndoCollabcom]

🔥 Most endoscopists start their biopsies in the wrong place.

(And the AGA guidelines might be leading you astray...)

The full 19-minute lecture reveals:

→ The Prague Classification secret that changes how you measure Barrett's
→ Why palisade veins matter MORE than gastric folds for finding the true GE junction
→ The "pseudo-fold" trap that makes esophagus look like stomach → Where dysplasia REALLY hides (hint: it's not evenly distributed) → The Seattle Protocol modification that doubled detection sensitivity

You don't want to be the endoscopist sending the pathologist gastric mucosa when you're hunting for Barrett's dysplasia.

Full lecture here: https://t.co/JYrfDWkkbH

(19 minutes that could change how you approach every Barrett's case)

[Grecia Santaella Méndez @SantaellaMD]

9/9 Thank you & please check out @ACG_EBGI summaries @ https://t.co/z4gyFSNywt

Stay tuned for next week w @Montalvan214 !🌟

[Grecia Santaella Méndez @SantaellaMD]

8/9 Caution
⚠️ Population was mostly older M veterans, limiting applicability to other populations
⚠️Measurement of mucosa is subjective
⚠️Absolute # of dysplasia events in the USBE subgroup was modest, causing wide CIs
⚠️Retrospective data collection can introduce bias

[Grecia Santaella Méndez @SantaellaMD]

7/9 My Practice🩺🩺
💠For @RomyChamoun & @SamSchuelerMD their biopsy approach remains consistent with guidelines from the ACG and most other national/international guidelines

[Grecia Santaella Méndez @SantaellaMD]

6/9 Results🧪

💠Persistence was notable: >½ of USBE cases had BE/intestinal metaplasia on follow up➡️ many of these represent true metaplasia vs sampling artifact or inflammation.
💠Race & ethnicity influence outcomes➡️White &Hispanics having⬆️ risk of persistence vs Black pts

[Grecia Santaella Méndez @SantaellaMD]

5/9 Results🧪
💠USBE was nearly 1/4 of new Barrett’s cases
💠Persistent USBE was associated with 11.6% cumulative dysplasia risk
💠Dysplasia incidence rate didn't differ significantly from ≥1 cm BE.

📍USBE may carry more prognostic weight than previously thought‼️

[Grecia Santaella Méndez @SantaellaMD]

4/9 Design
💠A Retrospective cohort seeing long-term endoscopic & histologic outcomes over 32 years @ a VAH in TX
💠Patients diagnosed with BE from 1990-2022 with 🔬-confirmed intestinal metaplasia and at least 1 follow-up endoscopy, compared to BE ≥1 cm by Prague criteria.

[Grecia Santaella Méndez @SantaellaMD]

3/9 Definitions & Primary Endpoints
💠Ultrashort Barrett’s esophagus (USBE): <1 cm of columnar-lined mucosa w/ intestinal metaplasia
💠1∘ endpoint: persistence of BE/intestinal metaplasia on follow-up endoscopy.
💠2∘ endpoint: development of definite dysplasia/neoplasia

[Grecia Santaella Méndez @SantaellaMD]

2/9 Importance🌟
This study 🔍 provides long-term outcome data 🖥️ to help 👩‍⚕️understand if USBE is clinically meaningful

It challenges the assumption that short segments are benign and transient.

[John Damianos, M.D. @john_damianosMD]

Eosinophilic esophagitis: step up 🆚 step down with @JoyWChang

#ACG2025

[Yeshika Thapa @yessthapa767]

Exceptional presentation by Dr. Afzali on treatment strategies for Ulcerative Colitis at #ACG2025.
Great takeaways on optimizing outcomes and personalizing IBD care! 🌿💊 #GI #IBD #UlcerativeColitis 📚📚

@IBD_Afzali #ACG2025
#IBD #GI

[Carl Kay, MD @CarlKayMD]

GI Toolkit for Gastroparesis (more than prokinetics)

▪️Ondansetron 8 mg TID
▪️Granisetron patch 34 mg weekly
▪️Prochlorperazine 5-10 mg QID
▪️Chlorpromazine 10-25 mg QID
▪️Scopolamine patch q3d
▪️Aprepitant 80 mg QD
▪️Meclizine 12.5-25 mg TID
▪️Dronabinol 5-10 mg TID

#ACG2025

[Andy Tau, MD @DrBloodandGuts]

The Difficult Colonoscopy is humbling to all endoscopists.

My Pearls :

#1 Female Patients
If hysterectomy or diverticulitis, use pedi colonoscope + water immersion. (Angulated colon)

If chronic idiopathic constipation or visceral obese, use adult colonoscope (redundant colon)