[The effectiveness of a probiotic containing Bifidobacterium longum BB-46 and Enterococcus faecium ENCfa-68 in the treatment of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome. Prospective randomized comparative study].

BACKGROUND: In the treatment of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS), the leading role belongs to the normalization of the composition of the intestinal microbiome, the disturbances of which are associated with previous intestinal infections. AIM: To study the effectiveness of the drug Bifiform in the treatment of PI-IBS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An open, prospective, comparative, randomized study included 62 patients with PI-IBS. The diagnosis was confirmed by the results of clinical, laboratory and endoscopic examination of the intestine and met the diagnostic criteria for IBS of the Rome Consensus IV. The patients were randomized into 2 groups depending on the therapy. The patients of the main group received an antispasmodic drug (mebeverin 200 mg 2 times a day or trimebutin 200 mg 3 times a day for 4 weeks), an antibiotic (rifaximin 400 mg 3 times a day or nifuroxazide 400 mg 2 once a day for 1 week), a drug that normalizes the consistency of feces (dioctahedral smectite or macrogol 4000) and Bifiform 2 capsules 2 times a day for 2 weeks. For patients of control group similar therapy was performed without the Bifiform. Evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment was carried out at the end of the course of therapy and 6 months after its termination. RESULTS: All included patients with PI-IBS had abdominal pain, flatulence and tenderness to palpation along the bowel, most of them had diarrhea. Disorders of the intestinal microbiota were detected in 77.4% of patients, while excessive bacterial growth in the small intestine occurred in 72.6%, disorders of the colon microbiocenosis with the presence of opportunistic bacteria in 62.9% of patients. A significant part of the patients had a combination of small and large intestinal dysbiosis. Histological examination of the colon mucosa showed signs of low degree of inflammation activity in all patients. The moderate increase in the level of fecal calprotectin was found in 62.2% of patients with colonic dysbiosis. The majority of patients in the main group showed a pronounced positive dynamics of clinical manifestations of the disease, restoration of the normal composition of the intestinal microbiota and normalization of the content of fecal calprotectin at the end of the course therapy. The good result was observed much more often in the main group at the end of the course of treatment and 6 months after its termination. CONCLUSION: The inclusion of Bifiform in the complex therapy of PI-IBS significantly increases its effectiveness both in arresting the clinical manifestations of the disease, and in restoring the normal composition of the intestinal microbiome and reducing the inflammatory process in the intestinal mucosa. In the majority of patients receiving Bifiform, the remission of the disease achieved at the end of the course of treatment and persisted even 6 months after its termination.

[A prospective randomized comparative study of the efficacy and safety of a two-week bismuth-based quadrotherapy of Helicobacter pylori infection with the inclusion of the probiotic containing Bifidobacterium longum BB-46 and Enterococcus faecium ENCfa-68 ].

AIM: To study the efficacy and safety of a two-week bismuth-based quadruple of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection with the inclusion of a probiotic Bifiform. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An open prospective comparative randomized study included 68 Hp-positive patients: 22 with a confirmed diagnosis of peptic ulcer disease, 46 with chronic gastritis, gastroduodenitis and erosions in the pylorobulbar zone. The diagnosis and Hp infection were verified by the results of endoscopic and morphological studies, as well as using the 13C-urease breath test and determination of the Hp antigen in the feces. Depending on the therapy, the patients were randomized into 2 groups: the main group was taken 2 times a day for 14 days omeprazole 20 mg + amoxicillin 1000 mg + clarithromycin 500 mg + bismuth tripotassium dicitrate 240 mg + Bifiform 2 capsules 2 times a day; control similar therapy was carried out, but without the inclusion of Bifiform. Repeated testing for Нр was carried out one month after the termination of the course of treatment. RESULTS: When using bismuth-containing quadruple, a high frequency of Hp eradication was noted, which in the ITT analysis was 86.1 and 68.8% (p0.05) and in the PP analysis it was 93.9 and 95.7% (p0.05) in patients of the main and control groups, respectively. Side effects of drug therapy were detected in 16.7 and 43.8% (p0.05), which was the reason for the early termination of therapy as a result of their development in 5.6 and 28% (p0.05) in patients of the main and control groups, respectively. The inclusion of the probiotic Bifiform in the eradication triple therapy of Hp infection reduced the frequency of detection of colonic dysbiosis from 27.8 to 3.6% and had a positive effect on the indices of local immunity (increased content of plasma cells in the inflammatory infiltrate and a stable level of secretory immunoglobulin A in coprofiltrate). CONCLUSION: A prospective, comparative, randomized study has shown that when using a two-week bismuth-based quadruple the eradication rate exceeds 90%. The inclusion of Bifiform in the eradication scheme dramatically reduces the frequency of adverse events and increases patient compliance, and also maintains the protective factors of the gastrointestinal mucosa at a higher level.

[Disorders of gut microflora in the pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis and complications of portal hypertension].

A total of 85 patients with alcoholic and viral cirrhosis were included in study to assess the prevalence of dysbiosis and its relationship with the severity of disease, and with development of dyspeptic disorders. Intestinal bacterial over-growth was measured by means of a lactulose breath test, fecal flora was cultured under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Intestinal bacterial overgrowth and colon dysbiosis were determined in 82.4% of patients with equal prevalence in alcoholic and viral cirrhosis. Intestinal dysbiosis was found to be risk factor of increasing cirrhosis severity and liver dysfunction, as well as development of complications of portal hypertension. It was documented, that intestinal dyspepsia syndrome in cirrhotic patients is strongly associated with the presence of gut microflora disorders.

[Meteospazmil for correction of motor disorders in functional colon diseases].

This article describes meteospazmil clinical effectiveness in problem of abdominal pain syndrome and flatulence reduction at IBS and gastrointestinal diseases that are attended with secondary colon motor disorders.

[The use of bismuth tripotassium dicitrate (De-Nol), a promising line of pathogenetic therapy for irritated bowel syndrome with diarrhea].

The aim of the study was to assess the expediency of prescription and efficiency of bismuth tri-potassium di-citrate in different therapeutic schemes for the management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) dominated by diarrhea. The open prospective study of de-nol efficacy and safety included 30 patients with this disorder allocated to 2 groups. Patients of the main group (n=20) were given 120 mg of de-nol thrice daily in combination with meteospasmyl (a spasmolytic and antifoaming agent). Control patients (n=10) received aluminium phosphate with meteospasmyl (1 capsule thrice daily). Duration of the treatment was 3 weeks. Therapeutic efficiency was assessed from the dynamics of abdominal pain syndrome, stool frequency, properties of faeces, results of their microscopic and microbiological studies, lactulose breath hydrogen test, rectoromanoscopy with rectal mucosal biopsy, and hepatic biochemical test. Before the study, all patients had abdominal pain, diarrhea, meteorism, altered composition of fecal bacteria, their excessive growth in the intestines, and morphological signs of chronic inflammation. Bacterial activity was recorded in 80 and 40% of the patients of the respective groups. By the end of therapy, abdominal pain was eliminated in 90 and 60%, meteorism was absent in 80 and 40%, diarrhea in 75 and 50%, excessive bacterial growth in small intestine in 75 and 30%, changes of fecal microflora persisted in 20 and 70%, histological signs of active mucosal inflammation remained in 40 and 85.7% of the patients of the main and control groups respectively. It is concluded that all patients with irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhea show altered composition of intestinal microflora, morphological signs of moderate chronic inflammation of intestinal mucosa. Most of them have apparent bacterial activity. Treatment with de-nol and spasmolytics for 3 weeks effectively eliminated clinical manifestations of the disease, restored normal composition of intestinal microflora, normalized faeces properties, and resolved active inflammation.

[The clinical course of portal hypertensive gastropathy after ligation of esophageal varicose veins].

Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is a pathological process in the gastric mucosa (GM) that develops due to portal hypertension (PH) and bears a high risk of hemorrhage. Eradication of esophageal varicose veins (EVV) is one of important factors influencing the course of PHG. The purpose of this study was to investigate the course of PHG after eradication of EVV in patients with hepatic cirrhosis (HC). Fifty-two HC patients (39 men, 13 women, mean age: 56.5 years), who underwent EVV ligation, were included in the study. The number of patients with PHG increased three months after EVV ligation; the severity of EVV also increased. The course of PHG differed depending on the time of its onset after surgery. Patients who had not had PHG before EVV ligation developed its signs in 75% of cases. In 31.3% of these patients PHG was resolved, while in 43.6% it did not change during the whole term of observation. In patients who had had PHG before EVV ligation, the latter resolved in 8.3% of cases, became more severe in 33.3% of cases, and remained at the same level in 58.3%. The authors distinguish four types of PHG course. Newly-developed PHG that occurred after EVV eradication, the signs of which remained during the whole period of observation (type I), took place in 13.5% of patients; transient PHG, the signs of which disappeared within three months of observation (type II), was seen in 15.4% of patients; persisting PHG, which was observed before EVV ligation and did not change during the whole study period (type III), was found in 40.3% of patients; progressing PHG, observed before or after EVV ligation and the severity of which grew during the observation period (type IV), was revealed in 23.1% of patients. In 4 (7.7%) of patients PHG signs were absent during the whole time of the study. PHG hemorrhage was observed in 11.5% of the patients. Thus, EVV ligation presents a risk factor of the onset and progression of pre-existing PHG in patients with HC.

[Effects of probiotic bifiform on efficacy of Helicobacter pylori infection treatment].

AIM: To study effects of the probiotic bifiform on efficacy of Helicobacter pylori (HP) eradication in patients with chronic gastritis and ulcer disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 98 patients with verified HP infection were divided into two groups. The study group received a week three-component anti-HP therapy+a probiotic. The control group received the same treatment without the probiotic. All the patients were tested for HP before the treatment and one month after the end of the treatment. Cell composition of duodenal mucosa (DM), tissue proinflammatory cytokines, secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in coprofiltrates, serum IgA, IgM, IgG, phagocytic parameters and copromicrobiology were studied. RESULTS: HP eradication rate in the study group was higher than in the control group (89.1 vs 63.5, respectively, p < 0.05). After the treatment, patients of the study group had lower rates of side effects, impaired intestinal biocenosis, tissue cytokines levels but higher concentration of plasmatic cells in CO and cIgA in coprofiltrates. CONCLUSION: The addition of probiotic bifiform to the standard three-component antihelicobacter scheme of the treatment raises its efficacy and is promising treatment of HP. Mechanisms of a potentiating action of the probiotic are related to enhancement of antibacterial activity of local immune reactions.

[Effect of H2-blockers and proton pump inhibitors on intragastric acidity and intraesophageal pH in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease]. / Vliianie H2-blokatorov i ingibitorov protonnoi pompy na intragastral'nuiu kislotnost' i intrapishchevodnyi pH u bol'nykh gastroézofageal'noi refliuksnoi bolezn'iu.

We investigated 53 patients with GORD symptoms and a various grade (A-C according to the Los Angeles classification) of reflux oesophagitis diagnosed in the course of upper endoscopy. By using 24-hour gastric and esophageal pH-metry we investigated the antisecretory effect of single-dose morning or evening administration of famotidine, omeprazole and rabeprazole. We revealed essential superiority of single-dose morning omeprazole and rabeprazole administration in daily gastric acid release suppression and gastro-esophageal reflux prevention as compared with morning famotidine and evening omeprazole and rabeprazole administration in GORD patients.

[Methods to optimize the management of Helicobacter pylori infection. The comparative efficacy of the triple and quadruple therapy used as a first line therapy]. / Puti optimizatsii lecheniia Helicobacter pylori-infektsii. Sravnitel'naia éffektivnost' troinoi i kvadroterapii, ispol'zuemykh v kachestve skhem pervoi linii.

The study involved a dynamic comparative efficacy survey of the standard triple and quadruple therapies recommended by the Maastricht Consensus as first line therapies for eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection with the time period of 5 years. The study included 199 Hp-positive patients with stomach ulcer; 101 of them were under examination in 1997 and 98 in 2002. Depending on the therapy type, patients were assigned to one of two groups: the OCM/A group (48 and 53 patients in 1997 and 2002, respectively) was treated with Omeprazole, Clarithromycin and Metronidazole for 7 days and ODTM group (46 and 52 patients in 1997 and 2002, correspondingly) was treated with Omeprazole, De-Nol, Tetracycline and Metronidazole. To discover and confirm Hp eradication, cytological, histological and rapid urease tests were used. Hp eradication was considered as successful when all the tests were negative. The eradication frequency was assessed with the help of ITT and PP analyses. In the OCM/A group Hp was eradicated in 81.3% and 62.3% (p<0.05) of patients when analyzed by the intention-to-treat and in 88.6% and 66.0% (p<0.01) of patients when analyzed by per-protocol in 1997 and 2002, respectively. In the ODTM group Helicobacter pylori was eradicated in 89.1% and 88.5% (p<0.05) of patients when analyzed by intention-to-treat and 95.3% and 93.9% (p<0.05) when analyzed by per-protocol in 1997 and 2002, respectively. The frequency of ulcer cicatrisation and cuticularization of erosions did not depend on the type of the treatment. There was no significant difference between the compliance and side effects of the triple and quadruple therapies. Taking into account the decrease in the efficacy of the triple anti-Hp therapy, the need to use the quadruple therapy as a first line therapy for Hp infection eradication was substantiated.

[Current methods of ulcer therapy and their efficacy and cost]. / Sovremennye metody terapii iazvennoi bolezni, ikh éffektivnost' i stoimost'.

The purpose of this study is to assess the efficiency of the anti-ulcer therapy taking into account the economic aspects of treatment. We have examined 708 HP-positive(+) patients with stomach ulcers (SU) and duodenal ulcers (DU). Various schemes of anti-helicobacter and anti-secretory therapy were administered to them. Positive dynamics of some clinical data (local palpatory tenderness and abdominal wall resistance) and gastritis (gastroduodenitis) activity was discovered in all groups of patients. The cost of the treatment was determined with the help of marketing studies by taking the lowest price of drugs. There were no statistically reliable differences found groups of traditional treatment regimens by both results of HP eradication and the cost of eradicative and anti-secretory therapy. All drugs under study are highly effective for rapid relief of symptoms at an exacerbation of stomach ulcer associated with HP as well as the decrease of gastritis (gastroduodenitis) activity. It is possible to recommend them for both eradicative therapy and prolonged treatment.

[Status of the upper parts of the digestive tract and Helicobacter pylori infections in patients with chronic kidney failure after kidney transplantation]. / Sostoianie verkhnikh otdelov pishchevaritel'nogo trakta i Helicobacter pylori-infektsiia u bol'nykh khronicheskoi pochechnoi nedostatochnost'iu posle transplantatstii pochki.

The purpose of the study was to examine the state of upper parts of the digestive tract, prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and its relation to the pathology revealed in patients with chronic renal insufficiency after kidney transplantation.

[Stages in the improvement of drug therapy at a polyclinic]. / Etapy sovershenstvovaniia medikamentoznoi terapii v usloviiakh polikliniki.

Within 1968-1997 the authors studied the steps of introduction of the achievements of the medical science, technology and pharmacology to therapy of exacerbations and complications of peptic ulcer (PU). The scientific and practical value of endoscopic, histological, biochemical and bacteriological examinations in the improvement of the methods of pharmacotherapy of exacerbations and complications of PU was shown. Three phases of the PU development were indicated by the clinical signs and results of esophagogastroduodenoscopy, target biopsy and histological examinations. These data and available scientific achievements were assumed as a basis for the design of optimal drug combinations and their introduction to the medical practice. The use of such combinations made it possible to prevent relapses and life-threatening complications of the disease in the overwhelming majority of the patients. The best results of the pharmacotherapy were recorded in the years (1988-1997) when the drug combinations began to be used. The combinations provided eradication of Helicobacter pylori in the gastroduodenal mucosa and it was proved that in all the patients with PU and the relapsing lesions in the duodenum and in the overwhelming majority of the patients with gastric ulcer the disease developed at the background of chronic active gastroduodenitis associated with H.pylori. The success of the pharmacotherapy in the patients with PU was due to the use of the rational combinations of antibacterial and antisecretory agents.