Subacute distal ileitis in a healthy young adult.

A previously healthy 36-year-old male presented with pain in the right lower abdomen associated with weight loss, diarrhea and fever, after suffering blunt abdominal trauma during a vehicular collision 4 weeks earlier. An explorative laparoscopy was performed. A plastron composed of the appendix, caecum and 30 cm of small bowel loops was found.

HEPLA: A multicenter study on demographic and disease characteristics of patients with hepatitis C in Latin America.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Currently, there are limited data on the epidemiology and disease characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in Latin America. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate demographic and disease characteristics of patients with CHC in Latin America. PATIENTS AND METHODS: HEPLA was a non-interventional, multicenter study of the epidemiology and disease characteristics of patients with CHC in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. RESULTS: Of the 817 included patients, the median age was 58 years, 53.9% were female, and 39.3% had cirrhosis. Overall, 41.2% were treatment naive, 49.8% were treatment experienced, and 8.9% were currently undergoing treatment. In patients with available data, genotype 1b accounted for 41.6% of infections, followed by genotype 1a (29.9%) and genotype 3 (11.3%). Probable mode of infection was transfusion in 46.8% of patients. Liver-related comorbidities were present in 26.4% of patients and non-liver-related comorbidities were present in 72.3%. Most patients (71.8%) received concomitant medications, with proton-pump inhibitors (20.8%) being the most commonly reported. CONCLUSIONS: At the time the HEPLA study was carried out, the data from this cross-section of patients in Latin America showed that the CHC population has variation in disease and viral characteristics, with a minority of patients receiving treatment and many patients having advanced disease. Increased awareness and access to treatment are necessary in Latin America in order to meet the goal of hepatitis C virus elimination by 2030.

Intrauterine device in the rectal cavity.

We report a case of a 51-year- old woman who had an intrauterine contraceptive device, which migrated to the rectum and it was seen in a videocolonoscopy.

Dispositivo intrauterino en cavidad rectal / Intrauterine device in the rectal cavity

No disponible

Occurrence of Mutations in the Antimicrobial Target Genes Related to Levofloxacin, Clarithromycin, and Amoxicillin Resistance in Helicobacter pylori Isolates from Buenos Aires City.

Domain V of 23S rRNA, gyrA and gyrB Quinolones Resistance-Determining Region (QRDR), and pbp-1A gene point mutations were investigated in Helicobacter pylori-resistant isolates from three centres of Buenos Aires. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were performed in 197 isolates from 52 H. pylori-positive naive patients by agar dilution method. Point mutations were achieved by amplification and sequencing of the target genes, and their association with resistance was determined by natural transformation assays. Resistance rates were as follows: metronidazole 28.8%, clarithromycin (CLA) 26.9%, levofloxacin (LEV) 32.7%, and amoxicillin (AMX) 7.6%. Nearly one-third of patients carried multidrug-resistant isolates. A2143G or A2142G in domain V of 23S-rRNA was found in all isolates showing high level of resistance to CLA (MIC >2 mg/L), accounting for 76.0% (38/50) of those with the resistant phenotype. The mutations A2267G or T1861C carried by 8/12 isolates with MIC 1-2 mg/L (low level) did not confer resistance by transformation. Substitutions at GyrA position 87 or 91, mainly N87K and D91G, were found in 92.8% (52/56) of the LEV-resistant isolates: 48 isolates with MIC 4-64 mg/L and 4/8 isolates with MIC 2 mg/L. The remaining four harboured K133N, also present in susceptible isolates. None of the substitutions in GyrB demonstrated to confer resistance. Transformation proved that PBP-1A N562Y and/or T556S substitutions confer the AMX resistance in our isolates, showing an additive effect. In conclusion, the usually reported mutations related to CLA, LEV, and AMX resistance were found in our isolates. However, low-level CLA resistance seems not to be due to mutations in Domain V of 23S rRNA gene.

Prevalence and risk factors of acute-on-chronic liver failure in a single center from Argentina.

AIM: To study the prevalence, characteristics, risk factors and mortality at 28 d of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). METHODS: A total of 100 cirrhotic patients admitted to our hospital for more than one day were included during the period between June 2013 and December 2015. We used the European Association for the Study of the Liver-Chronic Liver Failure-Consortium diagnostic criteria for ACLF, considering it as the acute decompensation of cirrhosis associated with the presence of one or more organ failure. For the diagnosis of organic failure the Chronic Liver Failure-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was used. Our population was divided into patients with and without ACLF. Clinical characteristics, presence of precipitating events, potential risk factors for developing ACLF and causes of mortality were analyzed. Mortality at 28 d was evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients (29%) developed ACLF criteria. Alcoholism, detected in 58 patients (58%), was the major etiological agent of cirrhosis. Bacterial infections were recognized as a precipitating event in 41.3% of cases and gastrointestinal bleeding in 27.5%. No precipitating event was identifiable in 27.5% of patients with ACLF. Comparing patients with and without ACLF, statistically significant risk factors were: Child Pugh score 10.2 ± 2.1 vs 8.4 ± 1.6 (P ˂ 0.0001), MELD score 20.7 ± 8.5 vs 12.3 ± 4 (P ˂ 0.0001), presence of ascites 27 (93%) vs 43 (60.5%) (P = 0.001), leukocytosis 15300 ± 8033 per cubic millimeter vs 10770 ± 5601 per cubic millimeter (P ˂ 0.0001), and high plasma levels of C reactive protein values 50.9 ± ​​46.4 mg/L vs 28.6 ± 23.4 mg/L (P ˂ 0.0019). Mortality rate was 62% (18 patients) vs 5.6% (4 patients), respectively (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: We observed that the ACLF is a frequent entity in this group of patients and has a significantly higher mortality rate.

Implementation of a program to improve the quality of colonoscopy increases the neoplasia detection rate: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Endoscopists worldwide have been encouraged to report quality indicators in order to evaluate their performance. We aimed to determine whether a program to improve the quality of colonoscopy results in better rates of neoplasia detection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a prospective study set in a private endoscopy center. From May 2009 to March 2010, we evaluated 1573 consecutive colonoscopies (group 1). After the implementation of a quality program, from February 2011 to January 2012, we prospectively evaluated 1583 colonoscopies (group 2). Our quality-enhancing intervention consisted of instructing both patients and endoscopists. We measured the cecal intubation rate and the neoplasia detection rate. Overall neoplasias, high-risk adenomas, carcinomas, right colon adenomas, and adenomas detected in screening studies were analyzed. RESULTS: Cecal intubation was documented in 1384 cases from group 1 (88 %) and 1534 from group 2 (96.9 %) (P < 0.0001). The neoplasia detection rates in groups 1 and 2 were, respectively: neoplasias 288 (18.3 %) and 427 (27 %) (P < 0.0001), high-risk adenomas 76 (4.8 %) and 142 (9 %) (P < 0.0001), carcinomas 16 (1 %) and 21 (1.3 %) (P = 0.52), right colon adenomas 112 (7.1 %) and 154 (9.7 %) (P = 0.01), and adenomas 141 (16.5 %) and 233 (28 %) (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a quality program improves the neoplasia detection rate. Because of the small number of cancerous lesions found in both groups, we were unable to identify differences in the carcinoma detection rate.

Helicobacter pylori heterogeneity in patients with gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.

Genetic diversification allows Helicobacter pylori to persist during chronic colonization/infection. We investigated the intra-host variation of several markers that suggested microevolution in patients with chonic gastritis (CG) and peptic ulcer disease (PUD). One-hundred twenty-six isolates recovered from 14 patients with CG and 13 patients with PUD were analysed. cag pathogenicity island (cagPAI), oipA, vacA, bab gene status and the presence of jhp0926, jhp0945, jhp0947, jhp0949 and jhp0940 genes from the genomic Plasticity Zone (PZ) were taken into accout to investigate intra-host variation. lspA-glmM-RFLP was performed to identify mixed infections. Only one patient was colonised/infected by two ancestrally unrelated strains. Among the 126 isolates, a significant association among cagPAI genotypes, oipA status and vacA alleles was indicated. Complete cagPAI, oipA "on", and vacA s1-m1 variants were significantly found in patients with PUD, without intra-host variations. Isolates from 7/14 patients with CG lacked babA in all chromosomal loci. In contrast, isolates from all or several biopsies of PUD patients carried babA, but in one patient only, the isolates showed positive Lewis b (Leb) binding assay. Considering cagPAI, vacA, oipA, bab genotypes, intra-host variation was also significantly higher in patients with CG. Conversely, a similarly high intra-host variation in almost PZ genes was observed in isolates from patients with CG and PUD. In conclusion, the lowest intra-host variation in cagPAI, oipA, vacA, and bab genes found in patients with PUD suggests the selection of a particular variant along the bacteria-host environment interplay during ulceration development. However, the predominance of this variant may be a refletion of the multifactorial etiology of the disease rather than the cause, as it was also found in patients with CG. The intra-host variation in PZ genes may predict that this genomic region and the other markers of microevolution studied evolve under diverse pressure(s).

Fundic gland polyps and association with proton pump inhibitor intake: a prospective study in 1,780 endoscopies.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Fundic gland polyps (FGPs) are incidentally found when an endoscopy is performed for a non-related indication. Some authors suggested a relationship with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) intake. We aimed to determine their prevalence and association with PPI intake. METHODS: We prospectively studied 1,780 patients who underwent a gastroduodenal endoscopy at our ambulatory care center between June 2007 and August 2008. PPI intake during a period of at least 12 months, female gender and age were statistically evaluated as risk factors for the presence of FGPs. Then, a multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to these variables. RESULTS: Gastric polyps were found in 129 patients (7.2%) and 77 (4.33%) were FGPs. Five patients with no available histology were excluded for the assessment of risk factors. PPI intake was detected in 49 patients with FGPs (63.6%) and 264 without FGPs (15.5%) (P < 0.0001). Fifty-nine patients with FGPs (76.7%) and 987 without FGPs (58.1%) were women (P < 0.001). The mean age was 58.91 ± 11.82 years in patients with FGPs and 50.34 ± 15.04 years in patients without FGPs (P < 0.0001). The three variables remained significant in the multiple model: PPI intake: P < 0.0001, OR 9.00 (95% CI 5.44-14.89); female gender: P = 0.0001, OR 2.95 (95% CI 1.69-5.15); age: P = 0.001, OR 1.03 (95% CI 1.01-1.05). CONCLUSIONS: In our population, the prevalence of FGPs was high. Although female gender and age were also significant, PPI intake was the strongest risk factor associated with the presence of FGPs.

[Liver trasplantation for the treatment of non-resectable metastases of neuroendocrine tumors: first report in Argentina]. / Trasplante hepático como tratamiento de las metástasis de tumores neuroendócrinos: primer reporte en la Argentina.

Neuroendocrine tumors are uncommon cancers characterized by a slow grow rate. Unresectable liver metastases are the main cause of death in patients with these tumors. This is the first Argentine report of a liver transplantation as an indication for the treatment of unresectable liver metastases from a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. We present a 48-year-old woman with diagnosis of a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor with multiple bilobar unresectable liver metastases. A splenopancreatectomy was performed after a complete staging revealed absence of extrahepatic disease. Six months later, a follow-up performed with thoracoabdominal CT scan and octreo-scan was consistent with no tumor recurrence or extrahepatic disease. As the huge hepatomegaly caused a notorius deterioration in the patient's quality of life, we decided to include her in the waiting list for liver transplantation. Priority points were requested to the MELD (model for end stage liver disease) Exceptions Experts Committee with a positive response. Twelve months after the primary surgery, with a MELD score of 23 points, a deceased donor liver transplantation was performed without evidence at that moment of residual disease. Eighteen months after liver transplantation, the patient required the surgical repair of a stenosis in the biliary anastomosis. At the surgery peritoneal tumor recurrence was diagnosed. Now, 24 months after liver transplantation the patient has an excellent quality of life and a well functioning graft. We report this case of a liver transplantation as an indication for the treatment of liver metastases from a neuroendocrine tumor and we review the literature on this controversial issue.

[Liver transplantation during pregnancy in a patient with acute liver failure]. / Trasplante hepático durante el embarazo en una paciente con insuficiencia hepática aguda grave.

Liver transplantation is the best therapeutic approach in patients with acute liver failure. This clinical presentation during pregnancy is an unusual and dramatic event. We report the case of a 18 year-old woman with cryptogenic acute liver failure who underwent successful orthotopic liver transplantation at 20 weeks of pregnancy. Both outcomes were analyzed. Fetal death was observed within 48 hours after liver transplant. After six months of follow-up, the patient is doing well. This case illustrates the challenge of treating acute liver failure during pregnancy and demonstrates that liver transplantation is a feasible therapeutic option for treatment of patient with this condition.

Recidiva de la microlitiasis vesicular: estudio controlado con diferentes dosis de acido ursodesoxicolico / Recurrence of vesicular microlithiasis: controlled study with different dosis of ursodeoxycholic acid

Con la finalidad de hallar la dosis óptima de mantenimiento en pacientes, que previamente habían disuelto médicamente la microlitiasis vesicular (MLV) dentro de un protocolo establecido con ácido ursodesoxicólico (AUDC), fueron randomizados por el método "doble ciego" a recibir un comprimido diario posprandial de 150 mg de AUDC (grupo A, 15 pts.) o bien en la misma forma pero 300 mg (grupo B, 15 pts). Valorando el período libre de enfermedad con entrevistas clínicas periódicas y ecografías semestrales (días 0, 180 y 360). Al cabo de 12 meses de seguimiento terapéutico, la recidiva litiásica fue del 6.7 por ciento (1/15) en el grupo B vs un 66 por ciento (10/15) en el grupo A, (P< 0.005). Cuando se examina la recidiva en función del tipo de cálculos, esta fue del 8 por ciento (1/12) en las formas únicas vs un 55,5 por ciento (10/18) en las litiasis múltiples (P< 0.005). La recurrencia fue siempre sintomática (cólico vesicular), presentándose en 11 de 30 recidivados, como MLV en 7 y como "barro biliar" en los 4 restantes. Se concluye que 300 mg/día de AUDC fueron eficaces para prevenir la recidiva al cabo de un año en más del 90 por ciento de los tratados y sin efectos adversos. Los dos factores de riesgo estadísticamente signigicativos asociados a recurrencia fueron: las dosis bajas de AUDC y las MLV múltiples pretratamiento. El "barro biliar" se presentó conformando el espectro de la enfermedad vesicular litiásica, constituyendo el 36 por ciento de las recidivas.

Recidiva de la microlitiasis vesicular: estudio controlado con diferentes dosis de acido ursodesoxicolico / Recurrence of vesicular microlithiasis: controlled study with different dosis of ursodeoxycholic acid

Con la finalidad de hallar la dosis óptima de mantenimiento en pacientes, que previamente habían disuelto médicamente la microlitiasis vesicular (MLV) dentro de un protocolo establecido con ácido ursodesoxicólico (AUDC), fueron randomizados por el método "doble ciego" a recibir un comprimido diario posprandial de 150 mg de AUDC (grupo A, 15 pts.) o bien en la misma forma pero 300 mg (grupo B, 15 pts). Valorando el período libre de enfermedad con entrevistas clínicas periódicas y ecografías semestrales (días 0, 180 y 360). Al cabo de 12 meses de seguimiento terapéutico, la recidiva litiásica fue del 6.7 por ciento (1/15) en el grupo B vs un 66 por ciento (10/15) en el grupo A, (P< 0.005). Cuando se examina la recidiva en función del tipo de cálculos, esta fue del 8 por ciento (1/12) en las formas únicas vs un 55,5 por ciento (10/18) en las litiasis múltiples (P< 0.005). La recurrencia fue siempre sintomática (cólico vesicular), presentándose en 11 de 30 recidivados, como MLV en 7 y como "barro biliar" en los 4 restantes. Se concluye que 300 mg/día de AUDC fueron eficaces para prevenir la recidiva al cabo de un año en más del 90 por ciento de los tratados y sin efectos adversos. Los dos factores de riesgo estadísticamente signigicativos asociados a recurrencia fueron: las dosis bajas de AUDC y las MLV múltiples pretratamiento. El "barro biliar" se presentó conformando el espectro de la enfermedad vesicular litiásica, constituyendo el 36 por ciento de las recidivas. (AU)