Eutanasia: aclarando conceptos

Euthanasia is a subject of permanent discussion everywhere, mainly about its ethical appropriateness and about its legalization in different countries. This debate includes many ethical, legal, social, political, spiritual, religious, and public health issues. A relevant problem is the frequent misunderstanding that many have about the meaning of the terms and concepts used in different ethical and clinical end of life settings. Many views and even texts are affected by such mistakes, rendering a constructive discussion almost impossible. The goal of this article is to contribute to an improvement of the social and legislative discussion about euthanasia through an elucidation of the main terms and notions linked to this topic. We present definitions and explanations for euthanasia, assisted suicide, withdrawal or foregoing of therapy, treatment rejection, palliative sedation, dignified death and others.

Cápsula y enteroscopia en hemorragia digestiva / Capsule endoscopy and enteroscopy in gastrointestinal bleeding

Video capsule endoscopy and double balloon enteroscopy have their main application in the so-called obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, clinical condition in which bleeding is most likely originated in the small intestine. Both methods achieve good diagnostic performance with a favorable safety profile. The capsule is simpler to perform and examines the entire small bowel in a high proportion of cases, but without possibility of therapies. The double-balloon enteroscopy allows multiple types of endoscopic therapy of bleeding lesions, but is more complex to perform, requires sedation/anesthesia and most often does not achieve a complete review of the entire small bowel. Currently, both methods are considered complementary in the approach to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. In most patients the ideal approach would be capsule endoscopy for diagnosis, followed by double balloon enteroscopy with therapeutic intent.

La videocápsula endoscópica y enteroscopia de doble balón tienen su aplicación principal en la denominada hemorragia digestiva de origen oscuro, situación clínica en la que el sangrado se origina muy probablemente en el intestino delgado. Ambos métodos logran buen rendimiento diagnóstico y con un perfil de seguridad muy favorable. La cápsula es más simple de realizar y examina todo el intestino delgado en una alta proporción de los casos, pero carece de posibilidad de efectuar terapias. La enteroscopia de doble balón permite realizar múltiples tipos de terapéutica endoscópica de las lesiones sangrantes, pero es más compleja de realizar, requiere de sedación/ anestesia y la mayor parte de las veces no logra un examen completo de todo el intestino delgado. En la actualidad se consideran métodos complementarios en el enfrentamiento diagnóstico y en el tratamiento de pacientes con hemorragia digestiva de origen oscuro. En la mayoría de los pacientes la aproximación ideal sería realizar primero una cápsula endoscópica para diagnóstico, seguida de enteroscopia de doble balón con intención terapéutica.

Manejo del cáncer de recto durante el embarazo / Treatment of rectal cancer associated with pregnancy

El cáncer de recto tiene baja incidencia en la mujer embarazada, su diagnóstico durante el embarazo suele ser tardío, pues sus síntomas son similares a los propios de la gestación. El diagnóstico tardío le confiere un peor pronóstico, aunque el embarazo en si mismo no afecta la evolución natural de la enfermedad. El pronóstico perinatal no se ve afectado por la neoplasia misma, incluso en casos con metástasis múltiples, sino por el tratamiento indicado. El manejo dependerá fundamentalmente del estadío de la neoplasia y de la edad gestacional. Se revisa la literatura médica acerca del cáncer rectal asociado con el embarazo y se plantea un protocolo de manejo.

Rectal cancer has low incidence in the pregnant women. Its diagnosis during pregnancy is usually delayed, since cancer symptoms are quite similar to normal symptoms of gestation. Delayed diagnosis confers worse prognosis, although pregnancy itself does not affect natural evolution of the disease. The perinatal outcome is not affected by the neoplasia, even in cases with multiple metastases, but may be affected by the treatment. The treatment of rectal cancer will depend of the stage of the neoplasia and gestational age. We review published data regarding rectal cancer associated with pregnancy and propose a management protocol.