Randomized clinical trial comparing octreotide and scopolamine butylbromide in symptom control of patients with inoperable bowel obstruction due to advanced ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this randomized controlled study was to determine whether octreotide (OCT) or scopolamine butylbromide (SB) was the more effective antisecretive drug controlling gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms due to malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) caused by advanced ovarian cancer. METHODS: Ninety-seven advanced ovarian cancer patients with inoperable MBO were randomized to OCT 0.3 mg/day (OCT group, n = 48) or SB 60 mg/day (SB group, n = 49) for 3 days through a continuous subcutaneous infusion. The following parameters were measured: episodes of vomiting, nausea, dry mouth, drowsiness, and continuous and colicky pain, using a Likert scale corresponding to a numerical value (none 0, slight 1, moderate 2, severe 3) recorded before starting the treatment (T0) and 24 h (T1), 48 h (T2), and 72 h after (T3) and the daily quantity of GI secretions through the Nasogastric tube (NGT) during the period of study. One patient in the SB group is not included in any assessments since she withdrew consent prior to receiving any treatment because of rapidly progressing cancer. RESULTS: OCT significantly reduced the amount of GI secretions at T1, T2, and T3 (P < 0.05) compared with SB. NGT secretions significantly reduced at T1, T2, and T3 compared with T0 (P < 0.05) in the OCT group, while in the SB group, only at T3, NGT secretions significantly reduced compared with T0. OCT treatment induced a significantly rapid reduction in the number of daily episodes of vomiting and intensity of nausea compared with SB treatment. No significant changes were observed in dry mouth, drowsiness, and colicky pain after either drug. Continuous pain values were significantly lower in the OCT group than in the SB group at T2 and T3 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: At the doses used in this study, OCT was more effective than SB in controlling gastrointestinal symptoms of bowel obstruction. Further studies are necessary to understand the role of hydration more clearly in such a clinical situation.

Topologically Enhanced Dual-Network Hydrogels with Rapid Recovery for Low-Hysteresis, Self-Adhesive Epidemic Electronics.

Dual-network conductive hydrogels have drawn wide attention in epidemic electronics such as epidemic sensors and electrodes because of their inherent low Young's modulus, high skin-compliance, and tunable mechanical strength. However, it is still full of challenges to gain a dual-network hydrogel with high stretchability, low hysteresis, and skin-adhesive performance simultaneously. Herein, to address this issue, a novel dual-network hydrogel (denoted as PAa hydrogel) with polyacrylamide as the first network and topologically entangled polydopamine as the secondary network was prepared through a facile gel-phase in situ self-polymerization and soaking treatment. Benefiting from the topological enhancement as well as the synergetic effects of hydrogen bonds and metal coordination bonds, low modulus (∼10 kPa), excellent stretchability (1090.8%), high compression (90%), negligible hysteresis (η = 0.019, energy loss coefficient), rapid recovery in seconds, and self-adhesion are obtained in the PAa hydrogels. To demonstrate their practical use, a states-independent and skin-adhesive epidemic sensor was successfully attached on human skin for motion detection. What is more, by using the hydrogel as an epidemic electrode, electromyogram signals were accurately detected and wirelessly transmitted to a smart phone. This work offers a new insight to understand the strengthening mechanism of dual network hydrogels and a design strategy for both epidemic sensors and electrodes.