Constipation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Associated with Increased Emergency Department Visits and Inpatient Admissions.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether constipation in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with increased emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient admissions compared with constipation in children without ASD. STUDY DESIGN: The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample was used to retrospectively examine demographic data, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of children with ASD and children without ASD who visited the ED for constipation between 2006 and 2014. RESULTS: ED visits by children with ASD were more likely to be constipation-related compared with visits by children with other chronic conditions or children with no chronic conditions (1.9% vs 0.6% vs 0.9%; P < .001). Children with ASD were more likely than children with other chronic conditions or no chronic conditions to be admitted to the hospital after an ED visit for constipation (15.0% vs 10.6% vs 1.2%; P < .001). Hospital charges were higher in children with ASD than in those without chronic conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Constipation is responsible for a large proportion of ED visits and more inpatient admissions resulting from these ED visits. These findings suggest a need for developing more effective outpatient therapies for constipation in children with ASD.

Randomized intervention and outpatient follow-up lowers 30-d readmissions for patients with hepatic encephalopathy, decompensated cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: We previously reported national 30-d readmission rates of 27% in patients with decompensated cirrhosis (DC). AIM: To study prospective interventions to reduce early readmissions in DC at our tertiary center. METHODS: Adults with DC admitted July 2019 to December 2020 were enrolled and randomized into the intervention (INT) or standard of care (SOC) arms. Weekly phone calls for a month were completed. In the INT arm, case managers ensured outpatient follow-up, paracentesis, and medication compliance. Thirty-day readmission rates and reasons were compared. RESULTS: Calculated sample size was not achieved due to coronavirus disease 2019; 240 patients were randomized into INT and SOC arms. 30-d readmission rate was 33.75%, 35.83% in the INT vs 31.67% in the SOC arm (P = 0.59). The top reason for 30-d readmission was hepatic encephalopathy (HE, 32.10%). There was a lower rate of 30-d readmissions for HE in the INT (21%) vs SOC arm (45%, P = 0.03). There were fewer 30-d readmissions in patients who attended early outpatient follow-up (n = 17, 23.61% vs n = 55, 76.39%, P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Our 30-d readmission rate was higher than the national rate but reduced by interventions in patients with DC with HE and early outpatient follow-up. Development of interventions to reduce early readmission in patients with DC is needed.

Spirulina breath test indicates differences in gastric emptying based on age, gender, and BMI.

BACKGROUND: Measurements of gastric emptying (GE) by scintigraphy in the pediatric population are based on adult standards. Due to radiation exposure, scintigraphy cannot be performed on healthy children to establish norms of GE in the pediatric population. Stable isotope breath tests (GEBTs) pose no such health risk to children. This study sought to determine the feasibility of a GEBT in children and to investigate whether GE may differ by age, gender, or body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Fifty healthy children 6 to 18 years underwent a 13 C-Spirulina platensis GEBT. Breath samples were obtained at baseline, every 15 min for 1 h, and at 30-min intervals for 3 h thereafter. Seventeen similarly aged patients with dyspeptic symptoms concurrently underwent scintigraphy and the GEBT. KEY RESULTS: Forty-six healthy subjects were included in the final analysis. Females had an overall slower rate of GE than did males. At nearly all timepoints, children with a BMI >85th percentile had slower GE than normally weighted children. The GE rate of children aged 6-9 reached a maximum later than did the rate of older children. Thirteen patients undergoing scintigraphy were included in the comparative analysis. The agreement between scintigraphic and GEBT half-times as measured by the concordance correlation coefficient was 0.383 (95% CI: 0.02-0.65). CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES: GEBT was easily accomplished in healthy children. Differences of GE rates by age, gender, and BMI support the need for establishing pediatric standards of GE. One way to establish such standards may be through the use of a GEBT.

Probiotics for Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Quality of Life in Autism: A Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial.

Objective: A randomized pilot trial of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms targeting probiotic for quality of life in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: Thirteen children, 3-12 years of age with ASD, anxiety, and GI symptoms, were randomized into a probiotic crossover trial of 8 weeks each on VISBIOME and placebo separated by a 3-week washout. VISBIOME contains eight probiotic species, mostly Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Primary outcome was the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) GI module. Secondary outcomes included gut microbiota analysis, the Parent-Rated Anxiety Scale for ASD (PRAS-ASD), and parent-selected target symptoms. A mixed analysis model was applied. Results: Thirteen children were randomized, with 10 completing the study (77% retention): 6 in probiotic/placebo sequence, 4 in placebo/probiotic sequence. Adherence to study treatment was 96%. There were no serious adverse events (AEs), and more nonserious AEs occurred with placebo than with probiotic, including those attributable to treatment. Only 6 of the 10 guessed the correct treatment at the end of week 8. Over the 19-week trial, each outcome improved from baseline and PedsQL correlated significantly with abundance of Lactobacillus without discernable changes to microbiota composition/diversity. Although probiotic showed more improvement than placebo, PedsQL and PRAS-ASD were not statistically significant, as expected at this sample size. PedsQL effect size was d = 0.49 by the general model and d = 0.79 by simple comparison of week 8 changes. A parent-selected target symptom showed significant improvement in GI complaints on probiotic compared with placebo (p = 0.02, d = 0.79). Probiotic effects carried over through the 3-week washout. Conclusion: The VISBIOME formulation was safe and suggested a health benefit in children with ASD and GI symptoms who retained Lactobacillus. The moderate effect size compared with placebo warrants a larger trial using a parallel-group design.