International on-line questionnaire about severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding management: Do we have it clear? / Encuesta internacional on-line sobre el manejo de la hemorragia digestiva baja grave. ¿Lo tenemos claro?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The diagnostic and therapeutic strategy in severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) varies depending on the patient's clinical situation. Actual clinical practice guidelines propose different management strategies. We aim to know the attitude of the gastroenterologists from different hospitalary centers in the management of this entity. METHODS: Descriptive and observational study using an on-line questionnaire, addressed to gastroenterologists in Spain and Latin America, in December 2021. RESULTS: We included 281 anonymous questionnaires of gastroenterologists from Spain and Latin America. Diagnostic and therapeutic management of severe LGIB was heterogeneous among the participants. Regarding to the first diagnostic modalities they showed variability between performing computed tomography angiography (CTA) (44.5%), gastroscopy (33.1%), colonoscopy (20.6%) and arteriography (1.1%). The therapeutic attitude after a positive CTA mostly varied between performing arteriography (38.1%) and colonoscopy (44.1%). If negative CTA, in the majority of cases a gastroscopy was performed. If the patient needed intensive critical unit (ICU) care and to undergo colonoscopy, most participants performed an urgent colonoscopy (<24h) (31% always, 43.4% in most cases); while if the patient did not require ICU admission this percentage was lower (10% always, 33.8% in most cases). The 40.9% of the participants admitted having doubts about the management of this patients and the 98.2% considered the need for a creation of an action protocol. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high interhospitalary variability on the management of severe lower gastrointestinal bleeding among gastroenterologists. It is necessary to unify the diagnostic and therapeutic management of this pathology.

Validity of bioelectric impedance analysis for body composition assessment in interstitial lung disease patients.

Introduction: Background: changes in body composition (BC) are common in interstitial lung disease, which leads to an increased risk of complications and infections, and are associated with poor quality of life and worse outcomes. BC assessment is important to identify malnutrition and sarcopenia. However, gold-standard techniques are not available in all clinical settings. Aims: this study aimed to evaluate the agreement and reliability of body composition estimated by bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) and measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in women with interstitial lung disease. Methods: this is a cross-sectional study. BC (fat mass and appendicular skeletal muscle mass) were assessed using BIA multifrequency and DEXA in standardized conditions. Agreement and reliability between techniques were evaluated using Bland-Altman plots and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: a total of 50 women were evaluated. No differences were observed for FM (BIA, 25.8 ± 10.2 kg and DEXA, 26.3 ± 10.0 kg, p = 0.77) and ASMM (BIA, 14.1 ± 2.7 kg and DEXA, 13.9 ± 2.3 kg, p = 0.83). Based on ICC, good reliability was observed for FM (ICC, 0.98) and ASMM (ICC, 0.93). Conclusion: BC estimated by BIA showed good agreement and reliability with DEXA measurements. In the absence of this method, BIA can replace the DEXA technique for body composition assessment.

Introducción: Introducción: los cambios en la composición corporal son comunes en la enfermedad pulmonar intersticial, lo cual incrementa el riesgo de complicaciones e infecciones, además de asociarse a peor calidad de vida y peores desenlaces clínicos. La evaluación de la composición corporal es importante para identificar la desnutrición y la sarcopenia, sin embargo, las técnicas consideradas "estándar de oro" no se encuentran disponibles en todos los entornos clínicos. Objetivo: este estudio tiene por objetivo evaluar la validez y concordancia de los parámetros de composición corporal obtenidos por análisis de bioimpedancia eléctrica (BIA) en comparación con la técnica de absorciometría de rayos X de doble energía (DEXA) en mujeres con enfermedad pulmonar intersticial. Métodos: estudio transversal donde se midió la composición corporal (masa grasa y masa muscular apendicular esquelética) utilizando un equipo de bioimpedancia eléctrica multifrecuencia y DEXA en condiciones estandarizadas. Se evaluó la concordancia y validez entre las técnicas utilizando gráficos Bland-Altman y el coeficiente de correlación intraclase (CCI). Resultados: se evaluaron un total de 50 mujeres. No se observaron diferencias en los valores de masa grasa (BIA: 25,8 ± 10,2 kg y DEXA: 26,3 ± 10,0 kg, p = 0,77), ni en los de masa muscular apendicular esquelética (BIA: 14,1 ± 2,7 kg y DEXA: 13,9 ± 2,3 kg, p = 0,83). Acorde a los valores del CCI, se observa una validez buena para los valores de masa grasa (CCI: 0,98) y de masa muscular apendicular esquelética (CCI: 0,93). Conclusión: la composición corporal estimada por BIA muestra una buena concordancia y validez con el resultado obtenido por DEXA en mujeres con enfermedad pulmonar intersticial. En ausencia de este método, la BIA puede utilizarse para la valoración de la composición corporal en este grupo de pacientes.

Feeding intolerance during prolonged prone position in overweight and obese patients with severe COVID-19.

Introduction: Objective: the aim of this study was to compare the incidence rate of feeding intolerance (FI) during supine (SP) or prone positioning (PP) in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Methods: this was a retrospective cohort study of critically ill patients with overweight or obesity who received enteral nutrition (EN) in prone or supine positioning continuously during the first five days of mechanical ventilation. Nutritional risk, anthropometric measurements and body composition were assessed at the first 24 hours upon Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Biochemical and clinical variables (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [SOFA], Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II [APACHE II], Acute Kidney Injury [AKI] or comorbidities diagnosis) were collected. Pharmacotherapy (prokinetics, sedatives or neuromuscular blocking agents) and FI incidence (gastric residual volume [GRV] ≥ 200 ml or ≥ 500 ml, vomiting or diarrhea) were daily recorded. Constipation was defined as the absence of evacuation for five consecutive days. Results: eighty-two patients were included. Higher rate of prophylactic prokinetic prescription was observed in PP (42.8 vs 12.5 %, p = 0.002). GRV ≥ 200 in supine position was not different when compared to PP (p = 0.47). Vomiting episodes in supine compared to PP showed no difference between groups (15 % vs 24 %, p = 0.31). No differences in diarrhea events were detected (10 % vs 4.7 %, p = 0.36). Constipation was common in both groups (95 % vs 82 %, p = 0.06). Conclusion: FI during prone position was not different in comparison to supine position. Routinely use of prokinetics in continuous prone position may help to prevent FI incidence. Algorithm development is necessary for FI prevention and treatment so to avoid EN interruptions and adverse clinical outcomes.

Introducción: Objetivo: comparar la incidencia de intolerancia a la alimentación entre pacientes críticos en posición supino (PS) o prono (PP). Métodos: cohorte retrospectiva de pacientes bajo ventilación mecánica por distrés respiratorio por COVID-19 y sobrepeso y obesidad, quienes recibieron nutrición enteral (NE) en PP o PS. Se evaluaron riesgo nutricional, mediciones antropométricas y composición corporal en las primeras 24 horas de ingreso a la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI). Se recolectaron variables bioquímicas y clínicas (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [SOFA], Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II [APACHE II], lesión renal aguda y otras comorbilidades). Se registró el esquema de farmacoterapia prescrita durante los primeros cinco días (procinéticos, sedantes y bloqueadores neuromusculares). Se evaluó la incidencia de intolerancia a la alimentación, definida como la presencia de residuo gástrico (RG) ≥ 200 o ≥ 500 ml, vómito, diarrea o estreñimiento. Resultados: fueron incluidos 82 pacientes. Se observó una mayor prescripción de procinéticos como terapia profiláctica en PP (42,8 vs. 12,5 %, p = 0,002). No se observaron diferencias en RG ≥ 200 ml (p = 0,47) ni vómito (p = 0,31) entre ambos grupos. No se observaron diferencias en episodios de diarrea (10 % en PS vs. 4,7 % en PP, p = 0,36). El estreñimiento fue común en ambos grupos de estudio (95 vs. 82 %, p = 0,06). Conclusiones: la PP no se relaciona con una mayor incidencia de intolerancias a la alimentación. El uso rutinario de procinéticos durante la PP continua puede ayudar a prevenir la incidencia de dichas intolerancias. Es necesario el desarrollo de algoritmos para la prevención y tratamiento de las intolerancias a la alimentación para evitar interrupciones en la NE y desenlaces no deseables.

Spiritual pain as part of the hospitalization experience of children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A phenomenological study.

PURPOSE: To explore the experience of hospitalization among children and adolescents in treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. METHODS: Qualitative phenomenological study informed by grounded theory and involving a convenience sample of children and adolescents attending an oncology unit in Spain. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with seven children aged between 9 and 18 years and analyzed using ATLAS.Ti 7.1. software in order to identify themes in the participants' narratives. Specific strategies were applied to support the validity and reliability of the findings. RESULTS: The analysis of interviews revealed three themes in the participants' accounts of their experience of hospitalization: 1) It's normal to feel afraid when being treated in hospital; 2) Needle procedures are associated with pain, illness, and dying; and 3) Difficulty of expressing the suffering that is experienced in hospital. CONCLUSIONS: A core experience among children and adolescents who are hospitalized for cancer treatment is the spiritual pain that results from feeling afraid. These fears are especially associated with the needle procedures that are routinely performed in the diagnosis and treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Perceptions of diabetes obtained through drawing in childhood and adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether drawing is useful in the detection of problems of psychosocial adaptation in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and in improving communication with health professionals. METHODS: We performed an exploratory descriptive study in 199 children and adolescents with T1D aged 4-13 years. The participants were asked to render a drawing on a suggested topic. The variables analyzed were related to the drawing and to clinical and sociodemographic data. RESULTS: Most participants showed evidence of having a well-balanced personality, but there were also signs of affective or psychosocial difficulties. CONCLUSION: Drawing is a useful technique by which to identify children's and adolescents' feelings and possible problems in adapting to T1D, as well as to gain information directly from the children themselves. Future studies should delimit the possibilities of this technique in clinical practice in greater detail.