An Adult with Episodic Abnormal Limb Posturing

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Diabetes in the elderly: our reality

AIM: To evaluate the impact of the aging of our population in the growing of diabetes prevalence, among patients treated inward at our department. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The clinical files of 242 diabetics older than eighty years, treated between 1999 and 2002 were studied retrospectively. Demographic (sex, age, year of first contact), clinical (causes of admission, co-morbidities, duration of diabetes, previous hypoglycaemic treatment, duration of hospitalisation and evolution) and biochemical (glycaemia, HbA1c, lipaemia and C-peptide) data were recorded. RESULTS: A progressive rising in the number of aged patients was found during this period (seven in 1999 to 55 in 2002), with a large proportion of women (73%). The more frequent causes of in-hospital treatment were hyperglycaemia (20.6%) and feet ulcers (septic or necrotic) (16.5%). In nearly 42% of the cohort an acute infection was found. Diabetes was unknown in 13% of cases and less than ten years of duration in 38%. In this cohort most of the patients (77%) were treated with oral hypoglycaemic drugs, mostly sulfonylureas. HbA1c mean value was 10.4 +/- 2.2%; C -peptide was measured in a subset of cases (n=79), suggesting deficient insulin secretion in 18% of them. The global mean duration of hospitalisation was eleven days. Nineteen patients (8%) died during the hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we concluded that diabetes in people older than 75 years, is being progressively more often diagnosed. The general metabolic control was bad (HbA1c mean value--10.4 +/- 2.2%), with a significant number of patients presenting a deficient C-peptide secretion, worsened by frequent coexisting infections. So, a strengthened clinical care, directed to a careful diagnosis and treatment, may effectively contribute to a better prognosis and quality of life of aged diabetic patients

Urgent capsule endoscopy is useful in severe obscure-overt gastrointestinal bleeding

AIM: With capsule endoscopy (CE) it is possible to examine the entire small bowel. The present study assessed the diagnostic yield of CE in severe obscure-overt gastrointestinal bleeding (OOGIB). METHODS: During a 3-year period, 15 capsule examinations (4.5% of all CE in a single institution) were carried out in 15 patients (11 men; mean age 69.9 +/- 20.1 years) with severe ongoing bleeding, defined as persistent melena and/or hematochezia, with hemodynamic instability and the need for significant red blood cell transfusion. CE was carried out after non-diagnostic standard upper and lower endoscopy. The mean time from admission until CE was 4.1 +/- 4.4 days (0-15 days). RESULTS: CE revealed active bleeding in seven patients and signs of recent bleeding in four. Etiology of bleeding was correctly diagnosed in 11 patients (73.3%) (portal hypertension enteropathy, three patients; subepithelial ulcerated lesion, two patients; angiodysplasia, two patients; jejunal ulcer with visible vessel, one patient; multiple small bowel ulcers, one patient; jejunal tumor, one patient; jejunal mucosa irregularity with adherent clot, one patient). One patient (6.7%) had active bleeding but no visible lesion. As a consequence of the capsule findings, specific therapeutic measures were undertaken in 11 patients (73.3%) with five managed conservatively, four endoscopically and two surgically. Two patients experienced bleeding recurrence. One of them, with a probable small bowel tumor, refused any other interventions. CONCLUSIONS: CE is useful in patients with severe OOGIB by providing positive findings in the majority of patients, with subsequent impact on therapeutic procedures

Capsule endoscopy assisted by traditional upper endoscopy

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Capsule endoscopy (CE) can be prevented by difficulties in swallowing the device and/or its gastric retention. In such cases, endoscopic delivery of the capsule to duodenum is very useful. We describe the indications and outcomes of cases in which traditional endoscopic techniques allowed placement of the capsule in duodenum. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective, descriptive case series. All patients in the above conditions were identified and indications for CE, endoscopic-placement technique, complications and completeness of small bowel imaging were registered. RESULTS: Endoscopic-assisted delivery of the capsule was necessary in 13 patients (2.1% of all CE; 7 males; mean age--47.9 +/- 24.9 years, range 13 to 79 years). Indications for endoscopic delivery included: inability to swallow the capsule (7), gastric retention in previous exams (3), abnormal upper gastrointestinal anatomy (3). In eight patients, the capsule was introduced in GI tract with: foreign body retrieval net alone (3), retrieval net and a translucent cap (2), prototype delivery device (2) or a polypectomy snare (1). Five patients ingested the capsule that was then placed in duodenum with a polypectomy snare (3) or a retrieval net (2). No major complications occurred. Complete small bowel examination was possible in 10 patients (77%). CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic placement of capsule endoscope in the duodenum is rarely needed. However it may be safely performed by different techniques avoiding some limitations of CE. The best methods for endoscopic delivery of the capsule in the duodenum seem to be retrieval net with a translucent cap when the patient is unable to swallow the device or a retrieval net only to capture the capsule in the stomach when the patients swallows it easily

A thousand total colonoscopies: what is the relationship between distal and proximal findings?

BACKGROUND: Flexible sigmoidoscopy is indicated for colorectal cancer screening. The decision about who needs total colonoscopy based on distal findings is still controversial because of the uncertainty of the associations between distal and proximal findings. AIM: The purpose of the study was to characterize distal findings in patients with total colonoscopy, to investigate its importance as markers of advanced proximal lesions and to evaluate the usefulness of a clinical Predictive Index, already published in the literature, in the identification of these lesions. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of the patients submitted to total colonoscopy between January 2006 and February 2007, with selection of 1000 consecutive cases with reference to polyps. We analysed demographic data, indication for the exam and morphological and histological characteristics of the polyps. Advanced lesion was defined as any adenoma larger than 10 mm or any polyp with villous characteristics, high grade dysplasia or cancer. The Predictive Index was obtained through the assignment of points to 3 categories: sex, age and distal findings, which result in 3 groups: low, intermediate and high risk. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 64,69 years and 65,1% were male. Distal and proximal polyps were identified in 829 (82,9%) and 369 (36,9%) patients, respectively. Advanced distal lesion was found in 342 patients (34,2%) and advanced proximal lesion in 98 (9,8%). 587 patients (58,7%) were in the high risk group. In the group of patients with advanced proximal lesion, a third presented low and intermediate risk, 52% had no distal polyps, 88,7% had less than three distal polyps and 71,4% had no advanced distal lesion. Sensitivity values for these four categories ranged between 11,2% and 66,6%. CONCLUSION: If the decision to perform total colonoscopy is based on distal colonic findings or on the Predictive Index, the ability to identify advanced proximal lesion is markedly reduced, endangering the aim of a screening program

Disfagia e Disartria. Forma Invulgar de Apresentação da Miastenia Gravis

Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune disorder that generally presents with ocular symptoms, specially diplopia and ptosis. Dysphagia may be a manifestation of the generalised type of the disease, but rarely is its presenting feature. The authors describe a case of Myasthenia Gravis in an old patient complaining of dysphagia and dysarthria. Because Myasthenia Gravis is a potentially serious but treatable disease, we emphasize the need to consider it in the differential diagnosis of dysphagia, namely in the elderly. In fact, the disorder is probably underdiagnosed in this population group, because clinicians tend to accept other more frequent diagnosis to explain these symptoms

Capsule endoscopy in inflammatory bowel disease type unclassified and indeterminate colitis serologically negative

BACKGROUND: The value of capsule endoscopy in the setting of inflammatory bowel disease type unclassified (IBDU) and indeterminate colitis (IC) remains obscure. The aim was to evaluate the clinical impact of capsule endoscopy on IBDU/IC patients with negative serology. METHODS: Eighteen patients with long-standing IBDU (n = 14) and IC (n = 4) were enrolled to undergo a capsule endoscopy and then followed prospectively. Lesions considered diagnostic of Crohn's disease (CD) were 4 or more erosions/ulcers and/or a stricture. The median follow-up time after capsule endoscopy was 32 ± 11 months (23-54 months). RESULTS: Total enteroscopy was possible in all patients. In 2 patients the examination was normal (Group 1). In 9 patients subtle findings were observed (Group 2): focal villi denudation (n = 1) and fewer than 4 erosions/ulcers (n = 8). In 7 patients, 4 or more erosions/ulcers were detected (Group 3), leading to a diagnosis of CD. However, their treatment was not reassessed on the basis of the capsule findings. Until now, a definitive diagnosis has been achieved in 2 additional patients: 1 from Group 1 (ulcerative colitis) and another patient from Group 2 (CD), who began infliximab infusions. Nine patients remained indeterminate at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Although capsule endoscopy enabled the diagnosis of CD in 7 patients, in none of them was the clinical management changed. Moreover, a change in therapy due to a diagnosis of CD was made for only 1 patient, who presented nonspecific findings. Our results suggest that capsule findings are not helpful in the work-up of these patient

Small bowel pseudomelanosis and oral iron therapy

Small bowel pseudomelanosis is a rarely reported clinical entity characterized by brown pigmentation of small bowel mucosa. The authors describe two cases, both with iron deficiency anemia, one of an 81-year-old female patient submitted for capsule endoscopy that revealed a brown pigmentation of all small bowel mucosa and another of an 81-year-old male whose retrograde double-balloon enteroscopy revealed a diffuse brown pattern of small bowel mucosa. Ileal biopsies confirmed intense iron deposition in the macrophages of the lamina propria. Both patients were on oral iron therapy and the second one had a previous double-balloon enteroscopy, 2 years earlier, which revealed only ileal angiodysplasias. These two cases demonstrate the importance of two new endoscopic methods for diagnosis of small bowel pseudomelanosis, the rarity of such an entity and its close relation with oral iron therapy

Transport and mixing simulation along the continental shelf edge using a Lagrangian approach

Este trabajo presenta la comprobación de un modelo bioquímico a partir de dos modelos hidrodinámicos diferentes: un modelo 1D (Coelho, 1996) y un modelo 3D (Santos, 1995), correspondientes a dos fases de trabajo sucesivas. En la primera fase el modelo hidrodinámico 1D fue usado para calibrar el modelo biogeoquímico; los resultados de esta fase permitieron el análisis de la evolución de los perfiles temporales verticales. Se usaron tanto la aproximación euleriana como la lagrangiana para el transporte de las propiedades bioquímicas. En la segunda fase 3D se aplicó el modelo hidrodinámico, lo que permitió obtener una visión a escala regional de los procesos involucrados. El transporte de las propiedades bioquímicas fue realizado a partir de la aproximación lagrangiana, habiéndose destacado el origen del agua procedente de afloramientos (upwelling). Los datos obtenidos en Goban Spur/La Chapelle durante el Ocean Margin Exchange Project (Anon., 1996) fueron usados para definir las condiciones iniciales y de contorno para los modelos bioquímicos e hidrodinámicos. Nuestra principal conclusión es que el modelo 3D de seguimiento de la dinámica de partículas, junto con el modelo hidrodinámico 3D (con un modelo de turbulencia cerrado apropiado) y con un modelo bioquímico, puede ser una excelente herramienta para cuantificar intercambios entre la plataforma continental y el océano abierto.This paper presents the coupling of a biochemical model with two different hydrodynamic models, a 1-D model (Coelho, 1996) and a 3-D model (Santos, 1995), corresponding to two successive work phases. In the first phase the 1-D hydrodynamic model was used to calibrate the biochemical model; the results of this phase made it possible to analyse temporal vertical profiles evolution. Both an Eulerian and a Lagrangian approach were used to transport biochemical properties. In the second phase, the 3-D hydrodynamic model was applied; this gave a regionalscale view of the processes involved. Biochemical properties transport was made with a Lagrangian approach, highlighting the origin of upwelled water. Goban Spur/La Chapelle field data collected during the Ocean Margin Exchange project (Anon., 1996) were used as initial and boundary conditions in hydrodynamic and biochemical models. Our main conclusion is that a 3-D particle-tracking model, coupled with a 3-D hydrodynamic model (with a proper turbulence closure model) and with a biochemical model, can be an excellent tool to quantify exchanges between the continental shelf and deep ocean.Instituto Español de Oceanografí