[Octreotide long acting release for severe obscure gastrointestinal haemorrhage in elderly patients with serious comorbidities]. / Octreótido long acting release para la hemorragia digestiva en pacientes de edad avanzada con comorbilidad.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Octreotide LAR has shown preliminary promising results in the treatment of recurrent obscure gastrointestinal haemorrhage. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eleven patients with severe comorbidities were treated with continuous octreotide LAR 20mg once a month. No changes were performed in concomitant drugs. Haemoglobin levels, blood transfusions, hospital admissions and adverse effects were recorded every three months. RESULTS: Median age and follow-up were 74 yr (65-86) and 15 months (5-48). Five patients were on acenocoumarol therapy and other five on antiplatelet drugs. Eight patients (72%) had diffuse small bowel angiodysplasia and 4 patients died during follow-up. Only two patients (18%) remained free of transfusions but it resulted for the first year in an outstanding decrease in the need of red cell packets (14 (9-49) vs 4 (0-9), p=0,002) and in admission days related to gastrointestinal bleeding (27 (10-99) vs 7(0-23), p=0,001). No side effects were reported. CONCLUSION: Octreotide LAR is an effective, safe and comfortable palliative therapy for severe obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Medical resources saving and improved quality of life may warrant its use irrespective of comorbidities or life expectancy.

Overlap of reflux and eosinophilic esophagitis in two patients requiring different therapies: a review of the literature.

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have overlapping clinical, manometric, endoscopic and histopathologic features. The diagnosis of EE is nowadays based upon the presence of 15 or more eosinophils per high power field (eo/HPF) in esophageal biopsies. We report the cases of two young males suffering from dysphagia and recurrent food impaction with reflux esophagitis and more than 20 eo/HPF in upper-mid esophagus biopsies, both of which became asymptomatic on proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy. The first patient also achieved a histologic response, while EE remained in the other patient after effective PPI treatment, as shown by 24-h esophageal pH monitoring. Topical steroid therapy combined with PPI led to complete remission in this latter patient. GERD and EE may be undistinguishable, even by histology, so diagnosis of EE should only be established after a careful correlation of clinical, endoscopic and pathologic data obtained under vigorous acid suppression. These diagnostic difficulties are maximal when both diseases overlap. Limited data are available about this topic, and the interaction between EE and GERD is a matter of debate. In this setting, upper-mid esophagus step biopsies and esophageal pH monitoring of patients on PPI therapy are pivotal to evaluate the role of each disease. A PPI trial is mandatory in patients with a histopathologic diagnosis of EE; in those unresponsive to PPI treatment, EE should be suggested. However, a clinical response to PPI may not rule out quiescent EE, as shown in this report.

Plexiform fibromyxoma, a rare mesenchymal gastric tumor / Fibromixoma plexiforme, un tumor gástrico mesenquimal poco frecuente

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Endoscopic trimming of an embedded distally migrated metallic rectal stent with argon plasma coagulation.

There is little experience regarding the use of argon plasma coagulation (APC) to trim malpositioned or migrated, endoscopic, metallic, self-expanding, colorectal stents. We report a case of a distally migrated, uncovered rectal stent complicated with several ulcerations because of impaction against the rectal wall and embedment within the healthy mucosa distal to the neoplasm. Endoscopic en bloc removal was not possible because of diffuse tumoral ingrowth. By using a second generation APC device (60 W, 0.6 L/min), the stent was trimmed allowing access to the back wall, which was tailored after digging up the embedded wires with gentle traction of the stent. Complete extraction of the protruding end of the stent by a 2.5 cm, fully covered pseudoepithelization tissue, was carried out through a flexible overtube. This is the first report of APC endoscopic transection of a long embedded segment from a distally migrated colorectal stent.

Colitis por Aeromonas hydrophila como primera manifestación de un cáncer de colon / Aeromonas hydrophila colitis as the initial presentation of colon cancer

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Octreótido long acting release para la hemorragia digestiva en pacientes de edad avanzada con comorbilidad / Octreotide long acting release for severe obscure gastrointestinal haemorrhage in elderly patients with serious comorbidities

Fundamento y objetivo: El octreótido long acting release (OCT-LAR) ha demostrado resultados preliminares prometedores en el tratamiento de la hemorragia recurrente digestiva de origen oscuro. Pacientes y método: Once pacientes con comorbilidades graves se trataron con 20mg intramusculares mensuales de OCT-LAR. No se cambió la medicación concomitante y se monitorizaron trimestralmente los requerimientos transfusionales, los días de ingreso hospitalario y los efectos secundarios. Resultados: La mediana (extremos) de edad y de seguimiento fue de 74 años (65–86) y 15 meses (5–48), respectivamente. Cinco pacientes estaban anticoagulados y otros 5 antiagregados; 8 pacientes tenían (72%) angiodisplasias difusas de intestino delgado. Cuatro pacientes (36%) fallecieron durante el estudio. Únicamente 2 pacientes (18%) permanecieron libres de transfusiones, aunque durante el primer año se redujeron significativamente los requerimientos transfusionales (mediana de concentrados de hematíes de 14 [extremos 9–49] frente a 4 [0–9]; p=0,002) y los días de ingreso hospitalario (mediana de 27 [10–99] frente a 7 [0–23] días; p=0,001). No se registraron efectos secundarios (AU)

Background and objective: Octreotide LAR has shown preliminary promising results in the treatment of recurrent obscure gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Patients and methods: Eleven patients with severe comorbidities were treated with continuous octreotide LAR 20mg once a month. No changes were performed in concomitant drugs. Haemoglobin levels, blood transfusions, hospital admissions and adverse effects were recorded every three months. Results: Median age and follow-up were 74 yr (65–86) and 15 months (5–48). Five patients were on acenocoumarol therapy and other five on antiplatelet drugs. Eight patients (72%) had diffuse small bowel angiodysplasia and 4 patients died during follow-up. Only two patients (18%) remained free of transfusions but it resulted for the first year in an outstanding decrease in the need of red cell packets (14 (9–49) vs 4 (0–9), p=0,002) and in admission days related to gastrointestinal bleeding (27 (10–99) vs 7(0–23), p=0,001). No side effects were reported. Conclusion: Octreotide LAR is an effective, safe and comfortable palliative therapy for severe obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Medical resources saving and improved quality of life may warrant its use irrespective of comorbidities or life expectancy (AU)