Aorto-enteric fistula: a dilemma for the endoscopist as a rare cause of gastro-intestinal bleeding.

A 78-year-old man with a history of aorta-femoral graft operation was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of syncope, melena and haematemesis. He reported several episodes of melena during the previous year for which he underwent repeated gastro-intestinal endoscopic examinations, which were unable to show the site of the gastro-intestinal bleeding. The third upper gastro-intestinal endoscopic examination disclosed a yellowish ulcerative lesion with irregular borders in the third part of the duodenum, which was considered to be a fistula, between the aorta and the duodenum. The patient underwent an explorative operation that revealed an intact aortic graft, firmly adherent to the duodenal wall, and the duodenum that was eroded in the third portion. The duodenum was transected and a duodenoduodenostomy was performed. Although re-bleeding did not occur, the patient died of sepsis eight days after the operation. Aorto-enteric fistulae can be missed due to the common practice of limiting the endoscopic examination to the second part of the duodenum and not considering them in the differential diagnosis of gastro-intestinal bleeding because of their rarity. Possibly, a number of prior endoscopic examinations may be inconclusive until a correct diagnosis is reached in most of the cases.

Adrenomedullin in cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic portal hypertension.

AIM: Adrenomedullin (ADM) is a potent vasodilator peptide. ADM and nitric oxide (NO) are produced in vascular endothelial cells. Increased ADM level has been linked to hyperdynamic circulation and arterial vasodilatation in cirrhotic portal hypertension (CPH). The role of ADM in non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (NCPH) is unknown. plasma ADM levels were studied in patients with NCPH, compensated and decompensated cirrhosis in order to determine its contribution to portal hypertension (PH) in these groups. METHODS: There were 4 groups of subjects. Group 1 consisted of 27 patients (F/M: 12/15) with NCPH due to portal and/or splenic vein thrombosis (mean age: 41+/-12 years), group 2 consisted of 14 patients (F/M: 6/8) with compensated (Child-Pugh A) cirrhosis (mean age: 46+/-4), group 3 consisted of 16 patients (F/M: 6/10) with decompensated (Child-Pugh C) cirrhosis (mean age: 47+/-12). Fourteen healthy subjects (F/M: 6/8) (mean age: 44+/-8) were used as controls in Group 4. ADM level was measured by ELISA. NO was determined as nitrite/nitrate level by chemoluminescence. RESULTS: ADM level in Group 1 (236+/-61.4 pg/mL) was significantly higher than that in group 2 (108.4+/-28.3 pg/mL) and group 4 (84.1+/-31.5 pg/mL) (both P<0.0001) but was lower than that in Group 3 (324+/-93.7 pg/mL) (P=0.002). NO level in group 1 (27+/-1.4 micromol/L) was significantly higher than that in group 2 (19.8+/-2.8 micromol/L) and group 4 (16.9+/-1.6 micromol/L) but was lower than that in Group 3 (39+/-3.6 micromol/L) (for all three P<0.0001). A strong correlation was observed between ADM and NO levels (r=0.827, P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Adrenomedullin and NO levels were high in both non-cirrhotic and cirrhotic portal hypertension and were closely correlated, Adrenomedullin and NO levels increased proportionally with the severity of cirrhosis, and were significantly higher than those in patients with NCPH. Portal hypertension plays an important role in the increase of ADM and NO. Parenchymal damage in cirrhosis may contribute to the increase in these parameters.

Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in Turkey.

The contribution of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and excess alcohol intake to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in Turkey was assessed. The study was conducted through a questionnaire sent to seven major medical referral centers in different regions of Turkey and is based on 207 patients seen in the period 1994-1997. Of the seven centers, two were located in West Turkey (54 patients), two were in Central Turkey (85 patients), and two were in south and southeast Turkey (68 patients). In 196 of the 207 patients (94.7%), there was a history of chronic liver disease, and in 180 patients (87%) liver cirrhosis was documented. Of the 207 patients, 116 (56%) had hepatitis B, 48 (23.2%) had hepatitis C, and 33 (15.9%) had a history of excess alcohol intake. Anti-delta testing was available in 69 of 116 patients with hepatitis B, and anti-HDV was positive in 13 of these patients (13/69, 18.8%). Of the 33 patients with a history of heavy alcohol intake, 18 had concomitant chronic viral hepatitis infection, and alcohol alone was the etiology of hepatocellular carcinoma in only 15 cases (7.2%). The distribution of etiologic factors was not homogenous in different geographical regions in Turkey. In central, south, and southeastern Turkey, the predominant etiology of hepatocellular carcinoma was hepatitis B, whereas in western Turkey the impact of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and alcohol was similar. This study indicates that hepatitis B virus infection is the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma in Turkey, followed by hepatitis C infection and alcoholic liver disease.

Cerebral echinococcosis multilocularis. Case report.

Cerebral occurrence of Echinococcus multilocularis is very rare and there is no widely accepted therapeutical method. In this report we present a case with an intracranial mass lesion and a palpable hepatic mass, which appeared to be due to Echinococcus multilocularis in the histopathological examination.

Effect of diltiazem on renal function in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Calcium channel blockers have strong vasodilator, natriuretic and diuretic actions in normal and hypertensive subjects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of diltiazem on renal function, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis (RAA) and atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) in patients with liver cirrhosis. Seven patients (3 females and 4 males) with a mean age of 56.3 +/- 11.1 years (36-68) entered the trial. All of the patients had HBV (6 cases) or HCV (1 case) related Child A (3 cases) or Child B (4 cases) liver cirrhosis proven by liver biopsy. Patients were given placebo for 15 days followed by p.o. diltiazem 30 mg t.i.d. for 15 days. Urinary volume, natriuresis, creatinine clearance, plasma renin activity (PRA), ANF and aldosterone (ALD) levels were determined after the washout period and during the first and second weeks of drug treatment. Urinary volume increased by 25-170% in 5 cases but this difference did not reach statistical significance. Slight increases in natriuresis occurred in some cases on the 3rd day of the trial but the overall results were not statistically significant (191.50 +/- 26.85 vs 204.07 +/- 39.83 mmol/l). Diltiazem induced no significant changes in PRA, ALD and ANF levels or creatinine clearance during the first or second weeks of the trial. There was a significant drop in the pulse rate on the first or second weeks of the treatment (p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.05, respectively). No significant changes were noted on mean arterial pressure (MAP).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)