Combination of a Probiotic and an Antispasmodic Increases Quality of Life and Reduces Symptoms in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Probiotics and antispasmodics have been tested extensively in the management of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but they have rarely been evaluated in combination. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the efficacy of treatment with the probiotic formulation i3.1 (Lactobacillus plantarum CECT7484 and CECT7485 and Pediococcus acidilactici CECT7483), with or without the addition of the antispasmodic alverine/simethicone, in improving IBS-related quality of life (QoL) and reducing abdominal pain and diarrhea in patients with IBS. METHODS: This was a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial with 3 parallel arms (probiotic, probiotic plus antispasmodic, and placebo). Patients with IBS (N = 55) were recruited at the Gastroenterology Department of the Juárez Hospital (México City). QoL was assessed with the IBS-QoL questionnaire, abdominal pain with a visual analog scale, and stool consistency with the Bristol scale. RESULTS: The IBS-QoL rate of response (ITT analysis) was 50.0% for patients in the group with probiotic alone, 68.4% in the group with probiotic plus antispasmodic, and 16.7% in the group with placebo after 6 weeks of treatment (p = 0.005). Response to abdominal pain was reported by 38.9% of patients treated with probiotic, 57.9% with probiotic plus antispasmodic, and 16.7% with placebo (p = 0.035). Regarding stool consistency, a response to treatment was reported by 44.4% of patients treated with probiotic, 57.9% with probiotic plus antispasmodic, and 16.7% with placebo (p = 0.032). CONCLUSION: The results are consistent with previous studies on the use of the i3.1 probiotic formulation for the management of symptoms in IBS patients, and the addition of an antispasmodic improves its observed effects.

Current trends of liver cirrhosis in Mexico: Similitudes and differences with other world regions.

AIM: To investigate the main current etiologies of cirrhosis in Mexico. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional retrospective multicenter study that included eight hospitals in different areas of Mexico. These hospitals provide health care to people of diverse social classes. The inclusion criteria were a histological, clinical, biochemical, endoscopic, or imaging diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. Data were obtained during a 5-year period (January 2012-December 2017). RESULTS: A total of 1210 patients were included. The mean age was 62.5 years (SD = 12.1), and the percentages of men and women were similar (52.0% vs 48.0%). The most frequent causes of liver cirrhosis were hepatitis C virus (HCV) (36.2%), alcoholic liver disease (ALD) (31.2%), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (23.2%), and the least frequent were hepatitis B virus (1.1%), autoimmune disorders (7.3%), and other conditions (1.0%). CONCLUSION: HCV and ALD are the most frequent causes of cirrhosis in Mexico. However, we note that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as an etiology of cirrhosis increased by 100% compared with the rate noted previously. We conclude that NAFLD will soon become one of the most frequent etiologies of liver cirrhosis in Mexico.

Validation of prognostic scores for clinical outcomes in cirrhotic patients with acute variceal bleeding.

Background. The Rockall, Glasgow-Blatchford, and AIMS65 are useful and validated scoring systems for predicting the outcomes of patients with nonvariceal gastrointestinal bleeding. However, there are no validated evidence for using them to predict outcomes on variceal bleeding. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the prognostic accuracy of different nonvariceal bleeding scores with other liver-specific scoring systems in cirrhotic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective multicenter study that included 160 cirrhotic patients with acute variceal bleeding. The AUROC's to predict in-hospital mortality, and rebleeding, were analyzed for each scoring system. RESULTS: Overall in-hospital mortality occurred in 13% and in-hospital rebleeding in 12% of patients. The systems with the best AUROC value for predicting mortality were MELD (0.828; 95% CI 0.748-0.909), and AIMS65 (0.817; 95% CI 0.724-0.909). The best score systems for predicting rebleeding were Glasgow-Blatchford (0.756; 95% CI 0.640- 0.827), and Rockall (0.691; 95% CI 0.580-0.802). CONCLUSIONS: In addition to liver-specific scores, the AIMS65 score is accurate for predicting in-hospital mortality in cirrhotic patients with acute variceal bleeding. Other scoring systems might be useful for predicting significant clinical outcomes in these patients.

Model for end-stage liver disease-Na score or Maddrey discrimination function index, which score is best?

AIM: To compare the ability of model for end-stage liver disease (MELD)-Na and Maddrey discrimination function index (DFI) to predict mortality at 30 and 90 d in patients with alcoholic hepatitis (AH). METHODS: We prospectively assessed 52 patients with AH. Demographic, clinical and laboratory parameters were obtained. MELD-Na and Maddrey DFI were calculated on admission. Short-term mortality was assessed at 30 and 90 d. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed. RESULTS: Thirty-day and 90-d mortality was 44% and 58%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, sodium levels was associated with mortality at 30 and 90 d (P = 0.001 and P = 0.03). Child stage, encephalopathy, ascites, or types of treatment were not associated with mortality. MELD-Na was the only predictive factor for mortality at 90 d. For 30-d mortality area under the curve (AUC) was 0.763 (95%CI: 0.63-0.89) for Maddrey DFI and 0.784 for MELD-Na (95%CI: 0.65-0.91, P = 0.82). For 90-d mortality AUC was 0.685 (95%CI: 0.54-0.83) for Maddrey DFI and 0.8710 for MELD-Na (95%CI: 0.76-0.97, P = 0.041). CONCLUSION: AH is associated with high short-term mortality. Our results show that MELD-Na is a more valuable model than DFI to predict short-term mortality.

[Capsule endoscopy: The evolution in the diagnosis of small bowel diseases]. / La capsula endoscópica: la evolución en el diagnóstico de las enfermedades del intestino delgado.

Wireless capsule endoscopy is a diagnostic procedure to study the pathology of the small intestine physiologically and painlessly. The capsule dimensions are 11 x 26 mm, and takes 2 picture per second whilst 8 hours. Unexplained occult gastrointestinal tract bleeding is the main indication, but everyday new indications for its use come to the literature. Our objective were to review our experience about the clinical usefulness and impact in our clinic. We included 45 cases, excluding 3 because of technical problems. There were 24 women and 18 men, with an average age of 54 years old (18 to 86 years old). Indications for the study were: Gastrointestinal bleeding of obscure origin in 24 cases, anemia in 6 cases, chronic diarrhea in 8 cases, chronic abdominal pain in 2 cases and Crohn's disease in 2 cases. The source of bleeding in the first group was identified in 18 patients (75%), where jejunal and ileal angiodysplasias were found in 11 patients, in 4 cases there were ulcers or erosions, in one case a Meckel diverticulum was found and, in the last one an hammartomatous lesion with an active bleeding was found. In chronic diarrhea patients a lesion was found in 5 cases (62.5%), where mucosal atrophy were found in two patients who responded to a free gluten diet, and in 3 patients acute inflammations with ulcers were treated as Crohn's disease. In the patients with anemia a lesion was found in 2 cases (33%), where a submucosal tumor and a jejunal ulcer were the findings. No lesions were found in the patients with chronic abdominal pain. Finally in the patients with Crohn's disease we were able to know the extent and one patient presented two stenotic lesions. In conclusion, wireless capsule endoscopy is a useful diagnostic tool that let us study easily the small intestine and should be integrated to different study protocols as gastrointestinal bleeding of obscure origin, chronic diarrhea and evaluation of Crohn's disease. It is not useful for abdominal pain, nevertheless we just studied two patients.

Divertículo de Meckel en el adulto. Experiencia de tres décadas / Meckel's diverticulum in the adult. Experience of three decades

Objetivo: Analizar prevalencia, manifestaciones clínicas y características de los pacientes adultos con divertículo de Meckel en el Hospital Español de México. Antecedentes: El divertículo de Meckel es la malformación congénita más frecuente del tubo digestivo. Sin embargo, raras veces produce manifestaciones clínicas en el adulto. Método: Análisis retrospectivo de 31 años. Resultados: Se encontraron 13 casos. La manifestación clínica predominante fue dolor en fosa ilíaca derecha; no hubo ningún caso de sangrado y únicamente se hizó diagnóstico preoperatorio correcto en un paciente. Todos los pacientes evolucionaron satisfactoriamente después de la cirugía. Conclusiones: Las complicaciones secundarias al divertículo de Meckel son muy poco frecuentes en los adultos, siendo las manifestaciones más comunes el dolor en fosa ilíaca derecha y la oclusión intestinal