A predictive model identifies patients most likely to have inadequate bowel preparation for colonoscopy.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: An inadequate level of bowel preparation can affect the efficacy and safety of colonoscopy. Although some factors have been associated with outcome, there is no strategy to identify patients at high risk for inadequate preparation. We searched for factors associated with an inadequate level of preparation and tested the validity of a predictive clinical rule based on these factors. METHODS: We performed a prospective study of 2811 consecutive patients who underwent colonoscopy examinations at 18 medical centers; clinical and demographic data were collected before the colonoscopy. Bowel preparation was classified as adequate or inadequate; 925 patients (33%) were found to have inadequate preparation. Multivariate analysis was used to identify factors associated with inadequate preparation, which were expressed as odds ratio (OR) and used to build a predictive model. RESULTS: Factors associated with inadequate bowel preparation included being overweight (OR, 1.5), male sex (OR, 1.2), a high body mass index (OR, 1.1), older age (OR, 1.01), previous colorectal surgery (OR, 1.6), cirrhosis (OR, 5), Parkinson disease (OR, 3.2), diabetes (OR, 1.8), and positive results in a fecal occult test (OR, 0.6). These factors predicted which patients would have inadequate cleansing with 60% sensitivity, 59% specificity, 41% positive predictive value, and 76% negative predictive value; they had an under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.63. Assuming 100% efficacy of a hypothetical regimen to address patients predicted to be at risk of inadequate preparation, the rate would decrease from 33% to 13%. CONCLUSIONS: We identified factors associated with inadequate bowel preparation for colonoscopy and used these to build an accurate predictive model.

Rescue endoscopy to identify site of gastric dysplasia or carcinoma found at random biopsies.

BACKGROUND: Incidental findings of high-grade dysplasia or gastric cancer at random biopsies with endoscopic diagnosis of chronic gastritis constitute a serious problem to clinical management of patients and sometimes requires blind gastrectomy. AIM: To evaluate diagnostic value of second-look endoscopy, called "rescue endoscopy", in order to identify focal lesions containing neoplastic changes. METHODS: Over a three-year period, 20 patients underwent rescue endoscopy using advanced endoscopy and mapping technique. All mucosal irregularities were identified and the locations of these areas were mapped onto a schematic diagram of gastric anatomy. Each area was biopsied and samples included in individually marked specimen containers, to evaluate the correlation between macroscopic and microscopic diagnosis. RESULTS: Rescue endoscopy identified a total of 68 focal lesions, 18 of which were focal areas of high-grade dysplasia (13 patients) or gastric cancer (5 patients). Two patients had no dysplastic change identified by our targeted biopsies. A second pathologist's opinion confirmed absence of dysplasia on random and targeted biopsies. All patients underwent a median follow-up of 15.2 months (2.6-43.5), and no residual or metachronous lesions were identified. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, rescue endoscopy is highly effective in localizing undetermined areas of high-grade dysplasia or carcinoma.

Comparison of cognitive function between patients on chronic hemodialysis who carry out assisted physical activity and inactive ones.

Physical inactivity is a determinant of clinical disorders and psychological problems in patients with chronic kidney disease patients. In two satellite clinics, a program of physical activity (PA) was offered to 86 patients undergoing hemodialysis. Of those, 49 patients entered the PA program spontaneously and 37 remained inactive. After six months, a satisfaction self-reported questionnaire and the Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) Examination for assessment of cognitive function were applied. Cognition was compared between inactive patients and those participating in the PA program for at least three months. Regardless of age and duration of dialysis, patients showed a cognitive deficit greater than expected. In the general group, better cognitive function was observed in active patients as compared to the inactive ones (p < 0.05). When separated by age groups, active patients over the age of 60 years had better results than the inactive ones (p < 0.05). We concluded that patients with better cognitive responses are more physically active and/or physical activity contributes to better cognitive function.

Phonemic fluency in Portuguese-speaking subjects in Brazil: ranking of letters.

Phonological verbal fluency studies in English most commonly employ the letters F-A-S as stimuli. We assessed the production of words with these and 14 other letters in Portuguese-speaking healthy subjects (n = 74). The letters F-A-S were ranked among the easiest to produce words in one minute, which is consistent with the findings of studies with English-speaking subjects. There were differences in the overall ranking of letters depending on whether the total word number or the latency between words were considered. Our findings provide a databank of phonological verbal fluency performance using different stimuli in Portuguese, and demonstrate that the ranking of the letters F-A-S is comparable between the English and Portuguese languages in terms of the level of difficulty to produce words, when the task is used in its traditional format.

Comparação da capacidade cognitiva de pacientes em programa de hemodiálise crônica entre os que realizam atividade física assistida e os inativos / Comparison of cognitive function between patients on chronic hemodialysis who carry out assisted physical activity and inactive ones

A inatividade física é um dos determinantes de agravos clínicos e problemas psíquicos em pacientes renais. Em duas clínicas-satélite, foi oferecido um programa de atividade física (AF) para 86 pacientes em hemodiálise. Destes, 49 pacientes iniciaram AF de forma espontânea e 37 permaneceram inativos. Após 6 meses, foi aplicado um questionário de satisfação autorreferido e o teste Miniexame do Estado Mental Modificado (3MS) para avaliação de capacidade cognitiva. A cognição dos pacientes inativos foi comparada com a daqueles que participaram do programa de AF por, no mínimo, três meses. Os pacientes, independentemente da idade e do tempo de tratamento dialítico, apresentaram déficit cognitivo acima do esperado. No grupo geral, os pacientes ativos obtiveram melhor desempenho cognitivo em comparação aos inativos (p < 0,05). Quando separados por grupos etários, os pacientes ativos acima de 60 anos apresentaram melhores resultados do que os inativos (p < 0,05). Concluímos que pacientes com respostas cognitivas melhores são mais ativos fisicamente e/ou a atividade física contribui para a melhor capacidade cognitiva nesse grupo.

Physical inactivity is a determinant of clinical disorders and psychological problems in patients with chronic kidney disease patients. In two satellite clinics, a program of physical activity (PA) was offered to 86 patients undergoing hemodialysis. Of those, 49 patients entered the PA program spontaneously and 37 remained inactive. After six months, a satisfaction self-reported questionnaire and the Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) Examination for assessment of cognitive function were applied. Cognition was compared between inactive patients and those participating in the PA program for at least three months. Regardless of age and duration of dialysis, patients showed a cognitive deficit greater than expected. In the general group, better cognitive function was observed in active patients as compared to the inactive ones (p < 0.05). When separated by age groups, active patients over the age of 60 years had better results than the inactive ones (p < 0.05). We concluded that patients with better cognitive responses are more physically active and/or physical activity contributes to better cognitive function.

Leiomiosarcoma de mama: presentación de dos casos y revisión de la bibliografía / Leiomyosarcoma of the breast: report of two case and review of the literature

Los sarcomas primitivos de mama son tumores infrecuentes que representan entre el 0,2% y 1,0% de las neoplasias mamarias y dentro de éstos, los leiomiosarcomas, de presentación excepcional, representan del 5% al 10% de los sarcomas mamarios. Hasta la fecha se han documentado aproximadamente 50 casos en la bibliografía. Debido a la baja incidencia de esta patología, varios aspectos importantes del diagnóstico y tratamiento se basan en datos escasos, todavía no hay consenso sobre el abordaje terapéutico óptimo de estas pacientes con relación al tratamiento primario y complementario. Se presentan 2 pacientes con nódulos mamarios, uno de crecimiento acelerado en meses y otra de crecimiento lento en años, se describen las dificultades diagnósticas que ocasionan este tipo de tumores con las imágenes, debido a su similitud con nódulos benignos; dificultades para el patólogo aun con la inmunohistoquímica, en la biopsia histológica con aguja gruesa y los inconvenientes del estudio intraoperatorio. Se efectuó mastectomía simple como tratamiento primario, con diagnóstico definitivo de leiomiosarcomas primitivos de mama, si bien es discutida la utilidad del tratamiento complementario, una paciente efectuó radioterapia y la otra no, ambas con supervivencia libre de enfermedad hasta la fecha. Se realiza una revisión de la bibliografía, se plantea y discute el manejo de estos casos.

Mielomeningoencefalitis candidiásica asociada a meningitis por Tripanosoma cruzi en un paciente portador de Sida / Candidiasis myelomeningo-encephalitis associated to meningitis for Trypanosoma Cruzi in a patient with Aids

Comunicamos el caso de un paciente de sexo masculino de 21 años de edad, enfermo de Sida por HIV que desarrolla mielomeningoencefalitis candidiásica asociada a meningitis por Tripanosoma cruzi. La enfermedad ocurrió en un paciente que vivía en un área de baja endemicidad para Tripanosomiasis Americana y sin antecedentes epidemiológicos compatibles con tal patología. El paciente es admitido en nuestro Servicio por presentar paresia braquial derecha, efectuándose punción lumbar que reveló parásitos flagelados móviles que correspondían a Tripanosoma cruzi. Dejamos abierto el interrogante acerca de la posibilidad que la transmisión pueda ocurrir a través de agujas compartidas por drogadictos intravenosos y el desarrollo de enfermedad en pacientes inmunodeficientes.