Diseases of the Gallbladder and Biliary Tree.

Diseases of the gallbladder include a spectrum of gallstone diseases (cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, choledocholithiasis, and cholangitis), cysts, polyps, and malignancy. In this review, we present the incidence, risk factors, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of these various conditions. Importantly, we report when more urgent referral is indicated, as well as red flags that warrant further intervention and/or management.

Veillonella Bacteremia in Alcoholic Hepatitis.

Veillonella species are commensal bacteria of the human oral, gut, and vaginal microbiota that are rarely identified as clinically relevant pathogens. Here, we describe a novel case of Veillonella atypica bacteremia in a patient with biopsy-proven alcoholic hepatitis. Veillonella species have been correlated with disease severity and hepatic encephalopathy in liver diseases such as autoimmune hepatitis and cirrhosis. Their abundance has also been recently observed to be increased in alcoholic hepatitis, where postinflammatory infections are known to impact mortality. This case report highlights the possible clinical manifestations that result from significant gut dysbiosis in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis. Early identification and treatment of Veillonella bacteremia in susceptible populations could be crucial to survival given this organism's predilection for causing life-threatening infections, including meningitis, endocarditis, and osteomyelitis.

Nephrotic Syndrome.

Nephrotic syndrome is one cause of end-stage kidney disease. Because edema is a common presenting feature and hypertension and dyslipidemia are often present in nephrotic syndrome, it is important for the primary care physician to suspect this entity. Common causes in adults include diabetic nephropathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and membranous nephropathy. In adults, many primary causes are due to an underlying disease. A cause of the nephrotic syndrome should be established with serologic workup and renal consultation. Renal biopsy is necessary in those with an unknown cause to or classify disease. Treatment focuses on symptoms, complications, and the primary cause.

Second-line chemotherapy use in metastatic colon cancer varies by disease responsiveness.

BACKGROUND: Improved survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) has been shown to correlate with increased utilization of the 3 active cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents: 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), irinotecan, and oxaliplatin, usually administered in 2 lines of therapy. However, it is unclear which patient, disease, and treatment characteristics are associated with the utilization of a second-line regimen. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review. Patients with metastatic CRC treated with bevacizumab outside of a clinical trial and any infusional 5-FU/leucovorin (LV) regimen off-protocol (ie, 5-FU/LV/irinotecan [FOLFIRI]/bevacizumab or 5-FU/LV/oxaliplatin [FOLFOX]/bevacizumab) at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center between February 2004 and September 2005 were included. Prespecified characteristics of age, tumor burden, severe toxicity, and front-line regimen efficacy were compared with exploratory analyses of additional patient, disease, and treatment characteristics. RESULTS: Eighty-seven sequential patients treated with the specified front-line regimens were identified. Seventy-six percent of the eligible patients were treated with a second-line regimen. Despite equal treatment durations, patients with a better response of stable disease were significantly less likely to receive a third cytotoxic agent than patients with a partial response (68% vs. 95%; odds ratio, 8.2; P = .02) due to declining performance status (86%) or patient preference (14%). This was associated with a decreased 2-year overall survival (86% vs. 55%). Neither age, tumor burden, nor development of toxicities were associated with a different utilization of a second-line regimen. CONCLUSION: Failure to obtain a response to initial chemotherapy for metastatic disease appears to be associated with decreased utilization of a second-line regimen.