El papel de la colonoscopia en el dianostico y manejo de la hemorragia digestiva baja / Role of colonoscopy in the diagnosis and management of lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage

The purpose of he study was to analyze the role of the Colonoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of low intestinal hemorrhages. We studied retrospectively all patients with Hematochezia, seen by the author, from april 1984 to december 1997. We studied the clinical symptoms, causes, localizations of the bleeding and the treatment applied, either endoscopic or surgical. We also reviewed the security and tolerance of the procedure. We could detect without doubt the cause in 74 patients (51.7%), including patients with multiple colon diverticulum, where the bleeding is sometimes very difficult to detect. We concluded that the Colonoscopy is the best method to find the source of bleeding in the lower portion of the colon. The procedure is well tolerated and safe in elderly patients

Gastrostomía endoscópica percutánea: una alternativa para la alimentación enteral a largo plazo / Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: an alternative for long-term enteral feeding

This study shows that, in our environment, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is feasible in most patients who need it, and at the same time it is a fast, safe and inexpensive procedure. The complication rate is low and most can be resolved rapidly medically or endoscopically. It also allows the placement of a permanent means for the administration of nutrients and for drainage of gastroduodenal secretions in those patients who warrant it

Eficacia y seguridad de ranitidina 150mg vs 300 mg dos veces por día en úlcera duodenal / Effectiveness and safety of ranitidine 150 mg vs 300 mg twice a day in duodenal ulcer

Trescientos noventa y cuatro pacientes con úlcera duodenal diagnosticada endoscópica fueron randomizados para recibir ranitidina 150 mg bid o ranitidina 300 mg bid en un estudio multicéntrico, prospectivo, doble-ciego, llevado a cabo en 7 países latinoamericanos. La endoscopía a las 4 semanas mostró curación completa de las úlceras en 171 de 196 pacientes (87.2%) tratados con ranitidina 150 mg bid y 178 de 198 (89.9%) tratados con ranitidina 300 mg bid. Ambos regímenes de tratamientos fueron igualmente efectivos, reduciendo rápidamente la incidencia de los síntomas ulcerosos. Es probable que el regimen de dosis elevadas con ranitidina sea adecuado en pacientes con enfermedad ulcerosa severa

Evaluación de una nueva enema de limpieza para la práctica de la protosigmoidoscopia / Evaluation of a new cleansing enema for the proctosigmoidoscopy practice

Se comparó la efectividad de un nuevo enema a base de dioctisulfosulfosuccinato sódico-sorbitol para la preparación pre-endoscópica del rectosigmoides con la que usamos actualmente a base de fosfatasa en un estudio doble-ciego y no se halló diferencia estadísticamente significativa