[Faecal impaction in elderly patients is a potential severe condition].

This case report presents an old hemiparetic male admitted to hospital from nursing home due to dark-coloured emesis. Transdermal buprenorphine 5 mcg/h had been instigated without laxatives in the preceding month. Upon arrival, an enlarged tense abdomen was found. A CT-scan dem-on-strated a 19 cm wide faecal colon impaction. Limited effect of enemas and endoscopic disimpaction resulted in surgery. The patient died shortly after discharge. The case stresses the prevention of constipation when using opioids; in particular in immobilized patients.

Clozapine-induced acute gastrointestinal necrosis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Clozapine is known to cause fecal impaction and ileus with resultant colonic necrosis due to compression of colonic mucosa. There are rare reports of clozapine causing necrosis of other portions of the gastrointestinal tract unrelated to constipation. We describe a case of acute necrosis of the upper gastrointestinal tract and small bowel to due to clozapine and quetiapine. CASE PRESENTATION: A 66-year-old white man with a past medical history of schizophrenia, maintained on clozapine and quetiapine, presented with hypoxic respiratory failure caused by aspiration of feculent emesis due to impacted stool throughout his colon. His constipation resolved with discontinuation of clozapine and quetiapine, and his clinical condition improved. These medicines were restarted after 2 weeks, resulting in acute gastrointestinal necrosis from the mid esophagus through his entire small bowel. He died due to septic shock with Gram-negative rod bacteremia. CONCLUSIONS: Clozapine may cause acute gastrointestinal necrosis.

Preclinical analysis of resistance and cross-resistance to low-dose metronomic chemotherapy.

Low-dose metronomic chemotherapy is an emerging form of chemotherapy with distinct mechanisms of action from conventional chemotherapy (e.g., antiangiogenesis). Although developed to overcome resistance to conventional chemotherapy, metronomic chemotherapy is subject to resistance on its own. However, there is a paucity of information on mechanisms of resistance, on cross-resistance between metronomic regimens using different cytotoxic drugs, and on cross-resistance between metronomic versus conventional chemotherapy, or versus targeted antiangiogenic therapy. Herein we show that PC-3 human prostate cancer xenografts were sensitive to both metronomic cyclophosphamide and metronomic docetaxel, but resistant to metronomic topotecan. Conventional docetaxel was only moderately active in parental PC-3 and in metronomic cyclophosphamide resistant PC-3 tumors. However, in metronomic cyclophosphamide resistant PC-3 tumors combining conventional docetaxel or bolus cyclophosphamide therapy with continued metronomic cyclophosphamide was superior to each treatment alone. Furthermore, bevacizumab had single-agent activity against metronomic cyclophosphamide resistant PC-3 tumors. Microarray analyses identified altered regulation of protein translation as a potential mechanism of resistance to metronomic cyclophosphamide. Our results suggest that sensitivity to metronomic chemotherapy regimens using different cytotoxic drugs not only depends on shared mechanisms of action such as antiangiogenesis, but also on as yet unknown additional antitumor effects that appear to be drug-specific. As clinically observed with targeted antiangiogenic agents, the continued use of metronomic chemotherapy beyond progression may amplify the effects of added second-line therapies or vice versa. However, metronomic chemotherapy is no different from other systemic therapies in that predictive biomarkers will be essential to fully exploit this novel use of conventional chemotherapeutics.

Radio-opaque fecal impaction and pseudo-occlusion in a dialyzed patient taking lanthanum carbonate.

Lanthanum therapy is an efficient therapy of hyperphosphoremia by chelating phosphore in the digestive tract. Lanthanum is a silvery white metallic element that belongs to group 3 of the periodic table. This drug is lightly absorbed and has low water solubility. It should be borne in mind that abdominal X-rays of patients taking lanthanum carbonate may have a radio-opaque appearance typical of imaging agents. This characteristic is suggested to confirm adherence of the patient by doing an abdominal X-ray. We describe in our case a particular good compliant patient with slow digestive transit, which ends by pseudo-occlusion.

Prevalence and severity of antipsychotic related constipation in patients with schizophrenia: a retrospective descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Antipsychotic are the cornerstone in the treatment of schizophrenia. They also have a number of side-effects. Constipation is thought to be common, and a potential serious side-effect, which has received little attention in recent literature. METHOD: We performed a retrospective study in consecutively admitted patients, between 2007 and 2009 and treated with antipsychotic medication, linking different electronic patient data to evaluate the prevalence and severity of constipation in patients with schizophrenia under routine treatment conditions. RESULTS: Over a period of 22 months 36.3% of patients (99) received at least once a pharmacological treatment for constipation. On average medication for constipation was prescribed for 273 days. Severe cases (N = 50), non-responsive to initial treatment, got a plain x-ray of the abdomen. In 68.4% fecal impaction was found. CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of constipation, often severe and needing medical interventions, was confirmed during the study period. Early detection, monitoring over treatment and early intervention of constipation could prevent serious consequences such as ileus.

[Successful treatment of treatment-resistant opioid-induced constipation in a patient with incomplete paraplegia with methylnaltrexone]. / Behandlung einer therapieresistenten, opioidbedingten Obstipation bei inkomplettem Querschnittssyndrom mit Methylnaltrexon.

We observed a patient with incomplete, cervical paraplegia and opioid-induced constipation who developed a resistance to laxatives after 15 years of treatment. The constipation-induced reduction in the patient's quality of life was improved using 12 mg methylnaltrexone, a peripheral mu-opioid receptor antagonist, administered subcutaneously twice a week.

Clozapine-induced intestinal occlusion: a serious side effect.

Aim of this article is to describe the first italian case reported in literature of a clozapine-induced intestinal occlusion with previous severe constipation in a 45-year-old male patient who had been treated with daily clozapine for 5 months because of treatment-resistant residual schizophrenia. When conservative treatment (intravenous fluids, fleet enema and rectal washout) was used and clozapine therapy was decreased, gastrointestinal symptoms rapidly improved and the patient had regular bowel motions within a week. Preventive measures (high-fiber diet, adequate fluid intake, stool softeners and exercise) was also used to ensure that clozapine therapy could be safely continued. Although constipation is a common and usually benign side effect of treatment with clozapine, this case-report highlights the consequences of undertreated and unrecognized marked constipation progressing to severe bowel obstruction (a complication which deserves more attention because it can lead to hospitalization and might be potentially fatal).

Case report: rapidly fatal bowel ischaemia on clozapine treatment.

BACKGROUND: There have been previous reported deaths due to clozapine-induced constipation. In all these cases patients have experienced prior abdominal symptoms over a period of weeks or months. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the sudden death due to constipation of a healthy young male patient on clozapine without any known history of prior abdominal symptoms. CONCLUSION: Psychiatrists need to be alert to the medical emergencies which can occur in the context of clozapine treatment and also need to make other clinicians who may have contact with their patients aware of these.

Rectal impaction with epoxy resin: a case report.

We describe a unique case of a patient presenting with rectal impaction following self-administration of a liquid used as masonry adhesive for anal sexual gratification. The solidified matter required laparotomy for its removal. Strategies for removing rectal foreign bodies are discussed as well as other consequences of inserting foreign material per rectum.

Effects of glycopyrrolate on cardiorespiratory function in horses anesthetized with halothane and xylazine.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate cardiopulmonary effects of glycopyrrolate in horses anesthetized with halothane and xylazine. ANIMALS: 6 horses. PROCEDURE: Horses were allocated to 2 treatment groups in a randomized complete block design. Anesthesia was maintained in mechanically ventilated horses by administration of halothane (1% end-tidal concentration) combined with a constant-rate infusion of xylazine hydrochloride (1 mg/kg/h, i.v.). Hemodynamic variables were monitored after induction of anesthesia and for 120 minutes after administration of glycopyrrolate or saline (0.9% NaCl) solution. Glycopyrrolate (2.5 microg/kg, i.v.) was administered at 10-minute intervals until heart rate (HR) increased at least 30% above baseline or a maximum cumulative dose of 7.5 microg/kg had been injected. Recovery characteristics and intestinal auscultation scores were evaluated for 24 hours after the end of anesthesia. RESULTS: Cumulative dose of glycopyrrolate administered to 5 horses was 5 microg/kg, whereas 1 horse received 7.5 microg/kg. The positive chronotropic effects of glycopyrrolate were accompanied by an increase in cardiac output, arterial blood pressure, and tissue oxygen delivery. Whereas HR increased by 53% above baseline values at 20 minutes after the last glycopyrrolate injection, cardiac output and mean arterial pressure increased by 38% and 31%, respectively. Glycopyrrolate administration was associated with impaction of the large colon in 1 horse and low intestinal auscultation scores lasting 24 hours in 3 horses. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The positive chronotropic effects of glycopyrrolate resulted in improvement of hemodynamic function in horses anesthetized with halothane and xylazine. However, prolonged intestinal stasis and colic may limit its use during anesthesia.