Tratamiento de la hemorragia digestiva alta de origen no variceal: evaluación de diez años de experiencia / Treatment of upper gastrointestinal bleeding of non variceal origin: assessment of 10 years experience

La hemorragia digestiva alta (HDA) es una emergencia médico-quirúrgica cuyo enfrentamiento diagnóstico y terapéutico ha variado en los últimos años desde la introducción de la termocoagulación endoscópica (TCE). Con el objeto de evaluar el impacto de la TCE en el pronóstico de la HDA de origen no variceal (HDANV) se revisaron retrospectivamente los registros endoscópicos de todos los pacientes admitidos por HDANV, y los registros clínicos de los pacientes operados por esta causa desde 1985 a 1989 y en forma prospectiva desde la introducción de la TCE en 1989 hasta 1995, comparándose la evolución en cuanto a morbimortalidad entre ambos grupos. El análisis de los resultados se realizó con las pruebas de Chi cuadrado y exacto de Fisher. En total se evaluaron 1734 pacientes admitidos por HDANV, de los cuales 77 (4,44 por ciento) debieron operarse de urgencia; 78 por ciento eran hombres, con una edad promedio ponderada de 60 años, y el 60 por ciento fue clasificado como ASA III, IV o V. La causa de la HDA fue una úlcera duodenal en el 53 por ciento de los casos y una úlcera gástrica en el 45 por ciento. A todos los pacientes se les practicó una endoscopia digestiva alta que demostró un sangrado activo (Forrest la o lb) en el 51 por ciento y signos de sangrado reciente (Forrest lla o llb) en 37 por ciento.La decisión quirúrgica se basó en los criterios clásicos (hemorragia > 2), resangrado, etc.), como también en los casos en que falló la TCE. La cirugía más efectuada fue la gastrectomía subtotal en la úlcera gástrica (77 por ciento) y la hemigastrectomía con vagotomía en la úlcera duodenal (63 por ciento). Murieron 14 de los pacientes operados (18 por ciento), la mayoría en falla orgánica múltiple y todos ASA IV o V. Posterior a la introducción de la TCE el porcentaje de los pacientes que se operaron disminuyó en un 8,37 a un 2,24 por ciento (p < 0,0001), y ningún paciente ASA I debió ser operado. De los 1734 pacientes, 213 (12 porciento) fueron sometidos a TCE, en 180 (85 por ciento) de ellos se logró detener el sangrado en forma satisfactoria registrándose una recidiva en 33 (15 por ciento), de los cuales 22 se retrataron endoscópicamente y 11 pacientes debieron ser operados de urgencia, lo que equivale a un 5 por ciento de falla del procedimiento

Inyección intraesfinteriana de toxina botulínica en pacientes con acalasia esofágica / Intrasphincteric injection of botulinum toxin in patients with achalasia

Eight patients received 80 units of BoTx. Assessment of response was based on changes in the symptom scores (0-9) and esophageal manometric studies. Results: Six out of 8 patients (75 percent) had sustained clinical improvement after therapy. This effect was maintained for a mean time of 17.8 months. The symptom score decreased from a mean of 6.7 to 0.5 (p < 0.01) and after treatment, LES pressure decreased from 63 to 25.5 mm Hg (p = 0.07).l There were no serious adverse effects. Five of the six responders have relapsed. Two of these patients received a second BoTx infection with satisfactory results, two went to surgery and one refused other type of therapy and died of pneumonia. Conclusions: Intrasphincteric BoTx injection is a simple, safe and effective method of treatment in patients with achalasia, with a duration of response averaging 1.5 years. Its use may be suggested in some patients with high surgical risk and those who refuse a more invastive therapy. It is also useful in malnourished patients to attain an adequate nutritional status before surgery

Análisis histopatológico semicuantitativo de la gastritis crónica: índice de extensión y grado / Histopathological semiquantitative analysis of chronic gastritis: extension and grade index

Three endoscopic systematic biopsies were obtained from 261 patients showing chronic gastritis. Histopathologic features of chronic gastritis were graded from 0 to 3 points according to the Sydney System. In addition, an extension and grading histopathologic score was applied. This score was obtained from the sum of qualified grades for each feature in all three samples. Inflammation, activity, atrophy and intestinal metaplasia were predominantly grade 1 and H pylori density was predominantly grade 2. Only 2,6 percent of the sections whith out atrophy showed intestinal metaplasia, while 79,3 percent of the sections depicting grade 2-3 intestinal metaplasia showed moderate to severe atrophy. Inflammation was more severe in antral lesser curvature and the more severe atrophy was present in the antrum than in the corpus mucosa. Sydney System and extension and grading histopathologic score showed more extensive activity in patients older than 45 years. A lower histopathologic score of H pylori was seen in these patients. The presence of H pylori was directly correlated with inflammation severity and inversely with atrophy. These results, in accordance with data shown in the literature, suggest that the Sydney System and extension and grading histopathologic score can be applied to compare chronic gastritis features in different groups of patients

Frecuencia y caracteres histopatológicos de gastritis crónica en 300 pacientes sin lesiones endoscópicas / Frequency and histopathologic features of chronic gastritis in 300 patients without endoscopic lesions

Three gastric mucosal biopsies were obtained from 300 patients showing a normal upper digestive tract endoscopy. Histologically in 9 percent of the patients the biopsies were normal; in 87 percent showed a common-type chronic gastritis and in 4 percent showed a reactive (chemical or reflux-type) gastritis. Helicobacter pylori was present in 25.9 percent of the patients without gastritis, in 33.3 percent of the patients with reactive gastritis and in 87.7 percent of those with common-type gastritis. In 19.9 percent of the patients with common-type chronic gastritis there was intestinal metaplasia, consisting of type I metaplasia in 14.1 percent, type II in 3.1 percent and type III metaplasia in 2.3 percent. The association of type III intestinal metaplasia with the other forms of metaplasia, its lower frequency and its tendency to be present in older patients supports the hipothesis that type III incomplete colonic metaplasia represents a more advanced stage than complete and incomplete small bowel metaplasia of the gastric mucosa