Dissolution of pharmacobezoar using carbonated beverage.

Bezoars are concretion of undigested material found in the upper alimentary tract, particularly the stomach. Physiologic disturbances such as gastrointestinal dysmotility or anatomical derangements have been described as contributory in most cases of pharmacobezoars. Gastric phamacobezoars can be treated with endoscopic fragmentation or surgery. Gastric lavage with carbonated beverage has been successfully used to treat gastric phytobezoars. We report a 67-year-old man with pharmacobezoar successfully treated by infusion and intrabezoar injection of carbonated beverage. Subsequent endoscopy revealed an underlying adenocarcinoma in the stomach.

Small cell carcinoma occurring in a case of ulcerative colitis.

A 61-year-old man, with an 8-year history of ulcerative colitis, presented with bleeding per rectum for 4 weeks' duration. Colonoscopy revealed polypoidal neoplasm at the rectosigmoid junction. Histopathology depicted small cell carcinoma. On immunohistochemical staining, chromogranin A and synaptophysin were positive. The tumour was diagnosed as undifferentiated small cell carcinoma, which is unusual since generally it is the adenocarcinoma that occurs on a background of ulcerative colitis and there are only three previous reports of small cell carcinoma occurring in UC.

Gall bladder carcinoid: a case report and review of literature.

Gall bladder carcinoid tumours are rare and usually lack specific symptoms. In most instances, they are incidentally detected after a cholecystectomy and rarely do they manifest with carcinoid syndrome. We report a case of gall bladder carcinoid in a patient who had undergone surgery for rectal carcinoid 10 years back. Occurrence of rectal carcinoid and gall bladder carcinoid in the same patient has not been reported before.

Endoscopic abnormalities in the oesophagus after variceal sclerotherapy--a long-term follow up study.

Endoscopic sclerotherapy is a well-established treatment modality for oesophageal varices. Various local, regional and systemic complications occur after sclerotherapy. Altered endoscopic appearances of the oesophagus have been observed on follow-up of patients after sclerotherapy. 171 consecutive patients with extra-hepatic portal venous obstruction on follow up after achieving variceal eradication by sclerotherapy during the period from January 2004 to June 2005 were enrolled in this study. The oesophagus was closely observed for mucosal abnormalities and the endoscopic findings were recorded. Out of 171 patients, 95 (55.5%) patients had no specific endoscopic changes in the oesophagus. The most common finding was mucosal neovascularization which was seen in 56 (32.7%) patients. Oval or oblong depressed areas were seen in 41 (23.9%) patients. Mucosal tags and polypoidal lesions were seen in 37 (21.6%) patients. 25 (15.6%) patients had stenosis of the lower oesophagus and 3 (1.7%) patients had mucosal bridges. On multivariate analysis, these abnormal endoscopic findings in the oesophagus correlated with the total volume of sclerosant injected when compared with those patients without similar findings on endoscopy (p value < 0.001). Endoscopic sclerotherapy leads to various abnormalities at the injection sites like neovascularization, oval or oblong depressed areas, mucosal tags, polypoidal lesions, stenosis and mucosal bridges. Endoscopic abnormalities correlated with the total volume of sclerosant used. The long-term significance of these changes is not known at present and further follow-up studies will be required.

Rapunzel syndrome: a case report and review of literature.

Bezoars consist of ingested foreign material or organic matter which forms a mass in the gastrointestinal tract, usually in stomach. Trichobezoars formed by swallowed hair present with malnutrition, weight loss, abdominal pain with signs of gastrointestinal obstruction. Gastric trichobezoar with a tail reaching the small intestine is called Rapunzel syndrome. Although endoscopic methods are available to remove bezoars, majority of trichobezoars with Rapunzel syndrome undergo surgical removal.

Prevalence of Hepatitis B and C in the normal population and high risk groups in north Kerala.

BACKGROUND: Our aim is to assess the prevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C infections among normal healthy persons and high risk groups in the northern part of Kerala state in South India as there is insufficient published literature related to this subject. METHODS: HBsAg and AntiHCV screening were done in normal persons and in high risk groups. Normal persons screened included voluntary blood donors, those attending mandatory medical check up for jobs in middle east Asia and pregnant women. High risk groups were health care workers, intravenous drug abusers, commercial sex workers and male homosexuals. RESULTS: HBsAg and anti HCV antibody test results in the various groups were as follows. Voluntary blood donors--HBsAg was positive in 0.71 % and anti HCV was positive in 0.33%; job seekers to middle east Asia had 0.89% and 0.12% prevalence of HBV and HCV respectively. Among the pregnant women, 0.21% were HBsAg positive. Among the high risk groups, none of the health care workers were HbsAg positive and 0.79% were antiHCV positive. Among the IV drug abusers 2.7% were HBsAg positive and 51.89% were positive for antiHCV. In commercial sex workers, 3.47 % were HBsAg positive and 2.6 % were antiHCV positive. In male homosexuals, 4.49% were HBsAg positive and 3.37% were antiHCV positive. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of Hepatitis B and C in the normal population of Calicut in the northern part of Kerela is 0.52% and 0.24%. Compared to other areas of India, the seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C are low in the normal population of Calicut. Among the high-risk groups, IV drug users have a high prevalence of AntiHCV.

Abrikosoff's tumor of the esophagus: case report and review of literature.

Abrikosoff's tumor or granular cell tumor is a neoplasm of neural origin, usually located in the head and neck region. A majority of these neoplasms are benign. Only 4-6% of granular cell tumors are located in the gastrointestinal tract. It is extremely unusual for these tumors to be located in the esophagus. This case is being reported in view of the rarity of this lesion. A brief review of literature with stress on diagnostic evaluation and management issues is also included.

Listening to music decreases need for sedative medication during colonoscopy: a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Music played during endoscopic procedures may alleviate anxiety and improve patient acceptance of the procedure. A prospective randomized, controlled trial was undertaken to determine whether music decreases the requirement for midazolam during colonoscopy and makes the procedure more comfortable and acceptable. METHODS: Patients undergoing elective colonoscopy between October 2003 and February 2004 were randomized to either not listen to music (Group 1; n=40) or listen to music of their choice (Group 2; n=38) during the procedure. All patients received intravenous midazolam on demand in aliquots of 2 mg each. The dose of midazolam, duration of procedure, recovery time, pain and discomfort scores and willingness to undergo a repeat procedure using the same sedation protocol were compared. RESULTS: Patients in Group 2 received significantly less midazolam than those in Group 1 (p=0.007). The pain score was similar in the two groups, whereas discomfort score was lower in Group 2 (p=0.001). Patients in the two groups were equally likely to be willing for a repeat procedure. CONCLUSION: Listening to music during colonoscopy helps reduce the dose of sedative medications and decreases discomfort experienced during the procedure.

Prospective evaluation of abnormal liver function tests in pregnancy.

Abnormalities in liver function tests (LFT) during pregnancy are a commonly encountered problem often associated with serious consequences especially when it occurs in the third trimester. The spectrum of abnormal liver functions in pregnancy can be fairly wide and diagnostic work up often challenging. There is insufficient prospective data on the spectrum and outcome of liver disease in pregnant population from south India. This study was performed to assess the causes of deranged liver function in the pregnant population and also to prospectively determine the outcome of liver dysfunction in pregnancy. All abnormal LFT results observed in serum samples from pregnant patients attending the obstetric unit of our hospital from January 2003 to January 2005 were evaluated and prospectively followed throughout pregnancy. Laboratory investigations included coagulation profile, renal function tests, serology for viral markers (HBsAg, anti-HCV, IgM anti-HEV and IgM anti-HAV) and other relevant biochemical tests. In those with liver dysfunction in the third trimester the maternal and perinatal outcome was evaluated. A total of 125 patients were identified with abnormalities in LFT results during this period. The majority of causes were related to pregnancy specific conditions (57.6%). Most episodes of abnormal LFT occurred in the third trimester (59.2%). Hyperemesis gravidarum (55.8%) and viral hepatitis (47%) were the most common causes of abnormal LFT in the first and second trimesters respectively. HELLP (28.3%) and AFLP (14.8%) were the most common causes of abnormal LFT in the third trimester. There were no mAternal deaths due to liver dysfunction in the first or second trimester. Liver dysfunction in the third trimester (74 patients) was associated with serious consequences. DIC was the most common complication (20.2%). The overall and perinatal mortality was 20.2% and 24.6% respectively. AFLP and HELLP syndromes were associated with poor maternal and fetal outcome. We conclude that liver dysfunctions were directly related to pregnancy in the majority of patients especially in the third namely trimester. Incidence of the most serious conditions AFLP and HELLP syndromes is much greater than what has been reported and is often associated with a high maternal mortality and poor perinatal outcome.

Sub-site specific time trends of carcinoma stomach in North Kerala--a retrospective analysis.

The time trends in the incidence of carcinoma stomach in the various sub-sites in stomach have been documented in the western population. The incidence of carcinoma of gastric cardia is found to be increasing, while that of the antrum is seen to be decreasing. Data from tropics is lacking on this aspect. This retrospective study was performed to look into the site-specific time trends of carcinoma stomach. Endoscopy registers maintained in the Department of Gastroenterology, Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala in South India were screened over the period of 20 years from 1982 to 2001. Histopathologically confirmed cases of adenocarcinoma were included in the study. The cases were categorized according to different areas of stomach--cardia, fundus, body and antrum as per International classification of diseases 0-9 (zero-nine) codes. Time trend for each sub site was calculated using one-way ANOVA and Chi-square for trend. Of the 26,886 upper GI endoscopies done over 20 years, 1771 were found to be gastric adenocarcinomas. Gastric antrum was the most common site of cancer over the years (47.8%). There was a significant rising trend for gastric cancer of the cardia without a similar trend for the cancer of the body and antrum during the study period. The sub site-specific time trends of carcinoma stomach are not similar to the pattern seen in western countries. There is a rising trend for the cancer of the cardia with a stable trend for distal cancers over 20 years.

Umbilical hemorrhage as first manifestation in a case of cirrhosis.

Portal hypertension is often associated with an extensive collateral circulation. The paraumbilical vein is a relatively common collateral pathway recognized in these patients but cutaneous bleeding from the umbilicus is rare; the same as first manifestation of cirrhosis is exceptional. We report a case of umbilical venous bleed causing hemodynamic compromise, which turned out to be a case of alcoholic cirrhosis with portal hypertension. The patient was managed with suture ligation of the vessels.

Testicular choriocarcinoma with gastric metastasis presenting as hematemesis.

We report a 28-year-old man who presented with hematemesis due to choricarcinoma of testis metastatic to the stomach. Gastroscopy showed a polypoidal lesion. Testicular wedge biopsy confirmed mixed germ cell tumor, the choriocarcinomatous portion alone getting metastasized to the stomach. He was initiated on chemotherapy with actinomycin-D, etoposide and methotrexate, but died due to multiple metastases to the lung and brain.

Hepatobiliary phaeohyphomycosis with secondary biliary cirrhosis.

We report a case of systemic phaeohyphomycosis in a 13-year old girl. The clinical presentation was with fever, weight loss, cholestatic jaundice with hepatosplenomegaly and generalized lymphadenopathy. The patient was diagnosed initially as tuberculous adenitis and was on antituberculous therapy, but with worsening of symptoms. Lymph node and liver biopsy showed granuloma with fungal hyphae suggestive of phaeohyphomycosis. The patient responded to antifungal therapy. Later she developed secondary biliary cirrhosis with cholangitis due to long stricture of the common bile duct and common hepatic duct requiring biliary stenting. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on phaeohyphomycosis causing biliary cirrhosis in the English lilterature.