La administración de ondansetrón no mejora la evolución de los niños con gastroenteritis aguda sin deshidratación / Administration of ondansetron does not improve the course of children with acute gastroenteritis without dehydration

Sobre la base de una viñeta clínica de un niño con gastroenteritis aguda sin deshidratación, el autor de este artículo realiza una búsqueda bibliográfica para revisar la evidencia que avala el uso de ondansetrón para tratar sus vómitos, práctica bastante común en instituciones con acceso a este fármaco en sus centrales de emergencia. Luego de dicha búsqueda, el autor concluye que en niños con gastroenteritis aguda sin deshidratación, la administración de ondansetrón no reduce la necesidad de hidratación intravenosa ni la frecuencia ni la severidad de los vómitos. (AU)

Based on a clinical vignette of a child with acute gastroenteritis without dehydration, the author of this article performs a literature search to review the evidence supporting the use of ondansetron to treat his vomiting, a fairly common practice in institutions with access to this drug in their emergency rooms. After this search, the author concludes that in children with acute gastroenteritis without dehydration, the administration of ondansetron does not reduce the need for intravenous hydration or the frequency or severity of vomiting. (AU)

Efficacy of an elimination diet in a patient with eosinophilic gastroenteritis : a pediatric case with multiple food allergies.

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders are chronic inflammatory diseases in which eosinophils highly infiltrate into gastrointestinal tissue, resulting in gastrointestinal dysfunction. Here, we report a case of pediatric eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE). A 7-year-old boy with multiple food allergies (cow milk, hen's egg, fish,shellfish, and chicken) was admitted to our hospital because of continuous abdominal pain and vomiting. His soy allergy had been diagnosed to have oral tolerance based on an oral food challenge at the age of 6 years. He was diagnosed with EGE based on biopsy findings showing eosinophilic infiltration ( 20 eosinophils per high-power field) into the gastrointestinal mucosa. A diet eliminating soy, wheat, beef, pork, rice, and sesame in addition to the food that had already been eliminated and oral corticosteroids improved his symptoms and peripheral eosinophilia. A relapse of both abdominal pain and peripheral eosinophilia after the reintroduction of soy or pork identified them as foods causative of EGE. This report highlights the utility of elimination diets in improving EGE symptoms and the subsequent reintroduction of offending foods in identifying causative foods. Furthermore,EGE onset should be considered when introducing potentially allergic food in the management of food allergy. J. Med. Invest. 66 : 201-204, February, 2019.

Feeding strategies in pediatric cancer patients with gastrointestinal mucositis: a multicenter prospective observational study and international survey.

INTRODUCTION: Currently, there is no adequate prevention or treatment for both oral and gastrointestinal mucositis induced by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Supportive care of symptoms plays a primary role during mucositis in the pediatric clinical setting. We aimed to get insight in the currently used feeding strategies in clinical practice in pediatric cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced mucositis. METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed to identify feeding strategies after chemotherapy courses causing mucositis in almost all patients at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), the Academic Medical Center Amsterdam (AMC), and the Princess Maxima Center Utrecht (PMC). Consecutive patients, aged 0-18 years, either diagnosed with B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) or scheduled for autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) between April 2015 and September 2016 were included in this study. In addition to the observational study in the Netherlands, an international online questionnaire was conducted for pediatric oncology centers. RESULTS: A total of 13 patients were included, after 21 chemotherapy courses. No nutritional support was administered after 23.8% courses, tube feeding after 19.0% of the courses, TPN in 19.0% of courses, and 38.1% received a combination of tube feeding and TPN. The international survey revealed that 63.2% of the centers administered tube feeding as first choice, 31.6% administered only TPN as first choice, and one center administered a combination as first choice. CONCLUSIONS: There is a variability in feeding strategies in the clinical practice both in the Netherlands as well as worldwide. This study is a basis for future studies in this important clinical field to develop clinical trials comparing tube feeding and TPN both in adult and pediatric patients.

Nutrient Deprivation Affects Salmonella Invasion and Its Interaction with the Gastrointestinal Microbiota.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is a foodborne enteric pathogen and a major cause of gastroenteritis in humans. It is known that molecules derived from the human fecal microbiota downregulate S. Typhimurium virulence gene expression and induce a starvation-like response. In this study, S. Typhimurium was cultured in minimal media to mimic starvation conditions such as that experienced by S. Typhimurium in the human intestinal tract, and the pathogen's virulence in vitro and in vivo was measured. S. Typhimurium cultured in minimal media displayed a reduced ability to invade human epithelial cells in a manner that was at least partially independent of the Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 1 (SPI-1) type III secretion system. Nutrient deprivation did not, however, alter the ability of S. Typhimurium to replicate and survive inside epithelial cells. In a murine model of S. Typhimurium-induced gastroenteritis, prior cultivation in minimal media did not alter the pathogen's ability to colonize mice, nor did it affect levels of gastrointestinal inflammation. Upon examining the post-infection fecal gastrointestinal microbiota, we found that specifically in the 129Sv/ImJ murine strain S. Typhimurium cultured in minimal media induced differential microbiota compositional shifts compared to that of S. Typhimurium cultured in rich media. Together these findings demonstrate that S. Typhimurium remains a potent pathogen even in the face of nutritional deprivation, but nevertheless that nutrient deprivation encountered in this environment elicits significant changes in the bacterium genetic programme, as well as its capacity to alter host microbiota composition.

Perforated duodenal ulcer: An unusual manifestation of allergic eosinophilic gastroenteritis.

Spontaneous perforation of a duodenal ulcer secondary to allergic eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE) has not been previously reported. We present such a case in a teenager who presented with peritonitis. After exploration and operative repair of his ulcer, he continued to experience intermittent abdominal pain, and further evaluation revealed eosinophilic gastroenteritis in the setting of multiple food allergies. His EGE resolved after adhering to a restrictive diet. Both duodenal ulcers and EGE are very rarely seen in pediatric patients. EGE has a variable presentation depending on the layer(s) of bowel wall affected and the segment of the gastrointestinal tract that is involved. Once diagnosed, it may respond to dietary changes in patients with recognized food allergies, or to steroids in patients in whom an underlying cause is not identified. Our case highlights the need to keep EGE in the differential diagnosis when treating pediatric patients with duodenal ulcers. The epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of EGE are also discussed, along with a review of the current literature.

Molecular identification and characterization of ileal and cecal fungus communities in broilers given probiotics, specific essential oil blends, and under mixed Eimeria infection.

Broiler digestive tract fungal communities have gained far less scrutiny than that given corresponding bacterial communities. Attention given poultry-associated fungi have focused primarily on feed-associated toxin-producers, yeast, and yeast products. The current project focused on the use of pyrosequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to identify and monitor broiler digestive fungal communities. Eight different treatments were included. Four controls were an Uninfected-Unmedicated Control, an Unmedicated-Infected Control, the antibiotic bacitracin methylene disalicylate plus the ionophore monensin as Positive Control, and the ionophore monensin alone as a Negative Control. Four treatments were two probiotics (BC-30 and Calsporin) and two specific essential oil blends (Crina Poultry Plus and Crina Poultry AF). All chickens except the Unmedicated-Uninfected Control were given, at 15 days of age, a standard oral Eimeria inoculum of sporulated oocysts. Ileal and cecal digesta were collected at pre-Eimeria infection at 14 days of age and at 7 days post-Eimeria infection at 22 days of age. Extracted cecal DNA was analyzed by pyrosequencing to examine the impact of diet supplements and Eimeria infection on individual constituents in the fungal community, while DGGE was used to compare more qualitative changes in ileal and cecal communities. Pyrosequencing identified three phyla, seven classes, eight orders, 13 families, 17 genera, and 23 fungal species. Ileal and cecal DGGE patterns showed fungal communities were clustered mainly into pre- and post-infection patterns. Post-infection Unmedicated-Uninfected patterns were clustered with pre-infection groups demonstrating a strong effect of Eimeria infection on digestive fungal populations. These combined techniques offered added versatility towards unraveling the effects of enteropathogen infection and performance enhancing feed additives on broiler digestive microflora.

Prebiotics and the health benefits of fiber: current regulatory status, future research, and goals.

First defined in the mid-1990s, prebiotics, which alter the composition and activity of gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota to improve health and well-being, have generated scientific and consumer interest and regulatory debate. The Life Sciences Research Organization, Inc. (LSRO) held a workshop, Prebiotics and the Health Benefits of Fiber: Future Research and Goals, in February 2011 to assess the current state of the science and the international regulatory environment for prebiotics, identify research gaps, and create a strategy for future research. A developing body of evidence supports a role for prebiotics in reducing the risk and severity of GI infection and inflammation, including diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, and ulcerative colitis as well as bowel function disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome. Prebiotics also increase the bioavailability and uptake of minerals and data suggest that they reduce the risk of obesity by promoting satiety and weight loss. Additional research is needed to define the relationship between the consumption of different prebiotics and improvement of human health. New information derived from the characterization of the composition and function of different prebiotics as well as the interactions among and between gut microbiota and the human host would improve our understanding of the effects of prebiotics on health and disease and could assist in surmounting regulatory issues related to prebiotic use.

Coping mechanisms used by women in an attempt to avoid symptoms of chronic radiation enteritis.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 12,000 individuals undergo pelvic radiotherapy in the UK every year and up to 50% may develop symptoms of chronic radiation enteritis (CRE). Health professionals often give inappropriate dietary advice to patients in an attempt to avoid CRE symptoms, such as avoiding fibre, despite a lack of evidence to support this. METHODS: The present study aimed to explore dietary advice and changes made to the diet by women treated with pelvic radiotherapy. A questionnaire was distributed to 117 women attending Liverpool Women's Hospital, exploring symptoms of CRE and asking questions about diet and medication advice received, as well as changes made to the diet. RESULTS: Ninety-five (87.2%) women completed the questionnaire and 47% had changed their diet. No significant relationship was observed between receiving dietary advice and making changes to the diet (P > 0.05), although those advised by a dietitian were more likely to be taking regular anti-diarrhoeal medication (P < 0.05) and those taking regular medication found that it helped most/all of the time (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: CRE sufferers should be dissuaded from unnecessarily restricting their diet, which may result in malnutrition. Regular follow-up screening should lead to the identification of sufferers and the offer of individual advice if necessary.

Probiotics and intestinal health effects: a clinical perspective.

Probiotics are viable non-pathogenic micro-organisms which, when ingested, exert a positive influence on host health or physiology. We have critically analysed the evidence for the efficacy of specific probiotic strains in human gastrointestinal diseases. The best evidence can be obtained with randomised controlled trials which avoid bias. Good evidence has been obtained with several strains in the prevention or treatment of antibiotic-associated disorders, in the treatment (and to a lesser extent prevention) of gastroenteritis and acute diarrhoea and in the alleviation of lactose intolerance. We also analysed the recent randomised controlled trials performed in patients with Clostridium difficile or Helicobacter pylori, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, non-ulcer dyspepsia and colon cancer.

[Eosinophilic gastroenteritis in food allergy]. / Eosinophile Gastroenteritis bei Nahrungsmittelallergie.

A 23-year-old woman suffered from chronic abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea. The clinical symptoms particularly increased after ingestion of several foods. Laboratory investigation revealed a moderate eosinophilia in peripheral blood, elevated serum IgE-level and specific IgE against food allergens in radioallergosorbent testing. The patient exhibited exsudative ascites with eosinophiles. CT scan revealed a thickened wall of the small bowel. There was no evidence of a parasitic or extraintestinal disease. Endoscopically, the gastrointestinal tract appeared normal. Histological examinations of biopsies of the gastrointestinal tract led to the diagnosis of eosinophilic gastroenteritis. Under an elimination diet the patient is symptom-free since 16 months without ascites.

[Secondary carbohydrate and protein intolerances following gastroenteritis]. / Sekundäre Kohlenhydrat-und Protein-Intoleranzen nach Gastroenteritis.

After acute gastroenteritis, delayed recovery and protracted diarrhoea may occur, particularly in very young infants, in bottle-fed malnourished infants, and after rota virus infection. Monosaccharide and disaccharide malabsorption have been demonstrated to contribute to postenteritis problems in these children. The contribution of secondary food protein intolerance to the perpetuation of diarrhoea after gastroenteritis is less well understood. Secondary sugar intolerance is diagnosed by estimation of stool pH, Clinitest, H2 breath testing and, in some cases, direct enzyme determination from biopsy material. Diagnosis of secondary cow's milk or soy-protein intolerance has to be done by clinical challenge. Dietary therapy consists of elimination of the malabsorbed food compound. A general elimination diet (lactose-free protein hydrolysate formula) is not necessary in the majority of cases but may be life-saving in individual infants. In West European countries postenteritis problems have become less in quality and quantity during the last few years.

Gradual reintroduction of full-strength milk after acute gastroenteritis in children.

46 children (26 boys and 20 girls) admitted with mild acute gastroenteritis were randomly allocated to a regimen of continuing on full-strength milk, or to one of taking clear fluids until the diarrhoea settled before full-strength milk was reintroduced either immediately, or gradually in quarter-strength steps. There was no difference in length of hospital stay between the three groups.