[Diverticulosis of the small bowel]. / Diverticulose van de dunne darm.

A 77-year-old man known with chronic abdominal complaints and a malabsorption syndrome presented with ileus, peritonitis and air in the abdominal cavity. Surgery showed perforation of a jejunal diverticulum and extensive small bowel diverticulosis. The pathologic segment was surgically removed but the patient died afterwards of septic shock, diffuse intravascular coagulation and multi-organ failure. Small bowel diverticulosis has a prevalence of 0.3-2.5% and symptoms are present only in the minority of the cases. Apart from bacterial overgrowth and malabsorption, complications include bleeding, mechanical obstruction, volvulus and perforation. Diagnosis is difficult and mostly made by double-contrast radiology of the small bowel or during laparotomy. Treatment can be conservative in most patients; only in case of severe and persistent symptoms or complications like ileus, bleeding, perforation or volvulus, resection of the affected bowel segment is indicated.

Association of familial deficiency of mannose-binding lectin and meningococcal disease.

We report the case of an 18-year-old man with meningococcal meningitis and low serum concentrations of mannose-binding lectin (MBL). His mother and grandfather, who had also had meningitis in early adulthood, also had low concentrations of MBL in their serum.

Successful dissolution of cholesterol gallstone during treatment with pravastatin.

This case report describes a 51-year-old hypercholesterolemic male patient who had a large solitary cholesterol gallstone. The patient was treated with the 3-hydroxy 3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor pravastatin, 40 mg/day. After 3 months of therapy, serum cholesterol level normalized (7.7 mmol/L before and 5.2 mmol/L during treatment), and biliary cholesterol saturation index decreased from 1.3 before to 0.8 during treatment. Repeatedly performed ultrasonography showed complete gallstone dissolution. Pravastatin may be valuable in the nonsurgical treatment of cholesterol gallstone disease particularly when there is an additional indication for HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors because of hypercholesterolemia.

[The watermelon stomach; linear convolutions of vascular ectasias in the antrum]. / De watermeloen-maag; streepvormige convoluten van vaatectasieën in het antrum.

The watermelon stomach or 'gastric antral vascular ectasia' is a rare clinical entity. It may cause persistent blood loss. The endoscopic picture is highly characteristic and consists of parallel erythematous folds in the antrum. Histological characteristics are: dilated mucosal capillaries and venules, containing fibrin thrombi, along with fibromuscular hyperplasia in the lamina propria. In case of severe blood loss partial resection of the stomach or laser photocoagulation is often necessary.

Ambulatory 24-hour pH-metry in the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Determination of criteria and relation to endoscopy.

The results of ambulatory 24-h esophageal pH monitoring in 67 patients with gastroesophageal reflux symptoms (endoscopic esophagitis, n = 44; normal endoscopy, n = 23) were compared with those of 27 normal subjects without reflux symptoms. Patients with reflux symptoms had significantly increased gastroesophageal reflux compared with normal subjects. Acid reflux time was significantly (p less than 0.001) correlated with the severity of endoscopic esophagitis. Linear discriminant analysis was used to differentiate, for each reflux variable, between patients and controls. When the percentage of overall time at pH below 4 was used as a single determinant of gastroesophageal reflux, the sensitivity and specificity were 81% and 85%, respectively, with 4% as upper limit of normal. Pathologic reflux was found in 61% of the patients with negative endoscopy. Long-term ambulatory pH-metry is of clinical value in detecting pathologic reflux in symptomatic patients with negative endoscopy.

Omeprazole (20 mg o.m.) versus ranitidine (150 mg b.d.) in duodenal ulcer healing and pain relief.

The object of this double-blind, multicentre study was to compare duodenal ulcer healing rates after 2 to 4 weeks of treatment with either 20 mg omeprazole o.m. or 150 mg ranitidine b.d. One hundred and eighty-one patients were randomized: 91 received omeprazole and 90 received ranitidine. In a per protocol analysis at 2 weeks, 63% of the patients were healed on omeprazole and 65% of the patients were healed on ranitidine (N.S.); at 4 weeks 91% were healed in the omeprazole group and 96% were healed in the ranitidine group. There were no differences in ulcer symptom relief between the two groups. There were no significant changes in laboratory values in either of the groups. Adverse events were few and mainly mild and transient. We conclude that both omeprazole (20 mg o.m.) and ranitidine (150 mg b.d.) result in rapid, ulcer healing rates.

Behavioral treatment of the speaking stomach syndrome.

The speaking stomach syndrome consists of persisting gurgling sounds in the gastric region, synchronous with breathing. A characteristic finding in patients suffering from this syndrome is an abnormal pattern of respiration, with extreme activity of the abdominal muscles and active involvement of the diaphragm. To teach the patient a different way of breathing using combined thoracic/abdominal respiration, with no, or hardly any, active contraction of the abdominal muscles, is an essential feature of treatment. This is accomplished in three steps. The treatment was successful in the three cases. Problems encountered in therapy are discussed.