Racecadotril versus placebo in the treatment of acute diarrhoea in adults.

METHODS: A two-centre, double-blind, parallel-group, randomized study was carried out to compare the efficacy and tolerability of racecadotril (100 mg three times daily) and placebo in 70 adult patients with acute diarrhoea. An objective criterion of antisecretory activity, stool weight, was used. RESULTS: Racecadotril produced a significant (P = 0.025) decrease in stool weight during the first day of treatment compared with placebo, and was also associated with significantly fewer diarrhoeic stools than placebo after 1 day of treatment (p = 0.027). Racecadotril and placebo were equally well tolerated, and the frequency of symptoms and signs was similar in both groups after 4 days of treatment. Fewer patients on racecadotril suffered from abdominal distension following treatment (5.6% vs. 18.2% on placebo). CONCLUSIONS: Racecadotril acts rapidly to resolve acute diarrhoea and has an incidence of adverse events similar to that of placebo.

Treatment of alpha chain disease. Results of a prospective study in 21 Tunisian patients by the Tunisian-French intestinal Lymphoma Study Group.

Between 1981 and 1985, the authors studied 21 Tunisian patients with alpha chain disease. Twenty of 21 underwent laparotomy. According to Galian et al. six patients were classified Stage A, two Stage B, and 13 Stage C. The therapeutic regimen included the following: (1) Antibiotics: In the case of intestinal bacterial overgrowth (IBO), antibiotics selected by their antibiograms were delivered; in absence of IBO, metronidazole plus ampicillin were first given. The antibiotic treatment was changed in case of therapeutic failure. (2) Chemotherapy: From 1981 to 1983 a cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin (doxorubicin), teniposide (VM-26), prednisone (CHVP) protocol (Adriamycin 35 mg/m2, teniposide 50 mg/m2 day 2, cyclophosphamide 300 mg/m2 days 2 through 4, prednisone 40 mg/m2 days 1 through 10) was used. After 1983 bleomycin 15 mg, Adriamycin 30 mg, vinblastine 10 mg were given on day 15. Serum immunoelectrophoresis and immunohistochemical study of duodenojejunal specimens were made on a 3-month and 6-month basis, respectively. Survival curve analysis was made according to Kaplan and Meier. Results were as follows: (1) Stage A: Six patients were first treated by antibiotics alone; two complete responses (CR) persisting 42 and 55 months later were observed, respectively. The four antibiotic failures were submitted to further chemotherapy with four subsequent failures and two deaths. (2) Stage B-C: Chemotherapy led to nine CR with one precocious relapse, a salvage chemotherapy allowing to one more CR. (3) All stages mixed, percentage of survival reached 90 +/- 12% at 2 years and 67 +/- 25% at 3 years, all patients alive beyond 3.5 years being disease-free.