Celiac crisis in adults: a case report and review of the literature focusing in the prevention of refeeding syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: Celiac crisis is a life-threatening complication of celiac disease that is rarely described in adults. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 31-year-old man with celiac crisis as a first manifestation of celiac disease. The patient presented with severe diarrhea, metabolic acidosis, and electrolyte disturbances accompanied by electrocardiographic alterations. A satisfactory clinical response was obtained after the correction of electrolyte abnormalities, hydration, and nutritional support with a gluten-free diet according to recommendations for patients at high risk of refeeding syndrome. CONCLUSION: Celiac crisis generally occurs in patients with no previous diagnosis of celiac disease. The physician should therefore be aware of this diagnosis and consider celiac crisis in cases of unexplained intense secretory diarrhea, metabolic acidosis and severe electrolyte alterations in adults. The risk of refeeding syndrome should be assessed when a gluten-free diet is introduced and treatment of celiac crisis should include prevention and management of this possible complication.

Irritable bowel syndrome subtypes: Clinical and psychological features, body mass index and comorbidities.

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is classified into subtypes according to bowel habit. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there are differences in clinical features, comorbidities, anxiety, depression and body mass index (BMI) among IBS subtypes. METHODS: The study group included 113 consecutive patients (mean age: 48 ± 11 years; females: 94) with the diagnosis of IBS. All of them answered a structured questionnaire for demographic and clinical data and underwent upper endoscopy. Anxiety and depression were assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD). RESULTS: The distribution of subtypes was: IBS-diarrhea (IBS-D), 46%; IBS-constipation (IBS-C), 32%, and mixed IBS (IBS-M), 22%. IBS overlap with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), functional dyspepsia, chronic headache and fibromyalgia occurred in 65.5%, 48.7%, 40.7% and 22.1% of patients, respectively. Anxiety and/or depression were found in 81.5%. Comparisons among subgroups showed that bloating was significantly associated with IBS-M compared to IBS-D (odds ratio-OR-5.6). Straining was more likely to be reported by IBS-M (OR 15.3) and IBS-C (OR 12.0) compared to IBS-D patients, while urgency was associated with both IBS-M (OR 19.7) and IBS-D (OR 14.2) compared to IBS-C. In addition, IBS-M patients were more likely to present GERD than IBS-D (OR 6.7) and higher scores for anxiety than IBS-C patients (OR 1.2). BMI values did not differ between IBS-D and IBS-C. CONCLUSION: IBS-M is characterized by symptoms frequently reported by both IBS-C (straining) and IBS-D (urgency), higher levels of anxiety, and high prevalence of comorbidities. These features should be considered in the clinical management of this subgroup.

Irritable bowel syndrome subtypes: clinical and psychological features, body mass index and comorbidities

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is classified into subtypes according to bowel habit. Objective: To investigate whether there are differences in clinical features, comorbidities, anxiety, depression and body mass index (BMI) among IBS subtypes. Methods: The study group included 113 consecutive patients (mean age: 48 ± 11 years; females: 94) with the diagnosis of IBS. All of them answered a structured questionnaire for demographic and clinical data and underwent upper endoscopy. Anxiety and depression were assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD). Results: The distribution of subtypes was: IBS-diarrhea (IBS-D), 46%; IBS-constipation (IBS-C), 32%, and mixed IBS (IBS-M), 22%. IBS overlap with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), functional dyspepsia, chronic headache and fibromyalgia occurred in 65.5%, 48.7%, 40.7% and 22.1% of patients, respectively. Anxiety and/or depression were found in 81.5%. Comparisons among subgroups showed that bloating was significantly associated with IBS-M compared to IBS-D (odds ratio-OR-5.6). Straining was more likely to be reported by IBS-M (OR 15.3) and IBS-C (OR 12.0) compared to IBS-D patients, while urgency was associated with both IBS-M (OR 19.7) and IBS-D (OR 14.2) compared to IBS-C. In addition, IBS-M patients were more likely to present GERD than IBS-D (OR 6.7) and higher scores for anxiety than IBS-C patients (OR 1.2). BMI values did not differ between IBS-D and IBS-C. Conclusion: IBS-M is characterized by symptoms frequently reported by both IBS-C (straining) and IBS-D (urgency), higher levels of anxiety, and high prevalence of comorbidities. These features should be considered in the clinical management of this subgroup (AU)

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Immunochemical fecal occult blood test for detection of advanced colonic adenomas and colorectal cancer: comparison with colonoscopy results.

Background. Fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) have been used for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in several countries. There is lack of information concerning diagnostic performances of this method in Brazil. Methods. Patients scheduled for elective colonoscopy provided one stool sample one week before colonoscopy. The accuracy of a qualitative FIT for detection of CRC and advanced adenomas was determined. Results. Overall 302 patients completed the study. Among them, 53.5% were high risk patients referred for screening or surveillance. Nine (3%) CRCs and 11 (3.6%) advanced adenomas were detected by colonoscopy. Sensitivity and specificity for CRC were, respectively, 88.9% and 87.6%. For advanced adenomas, sensitivity was 63.6% and specificity 87.6%. Conclusion. Our results showed good sensitivity and specificity of the FIT for detecting advanced neoplasias. This method may be a valuable tool for future screening programs in Brazil.