Sedation during upper GI endoscopy in cirrhotic outpatients: a randomized, controlled trial comparing propofol and fentanyl with midazolam and fentanyl.

BACKGROUND: Patients with liver cirrhosis frequently undergo diagnostic or therapeutic upper GI endoscopy (UGIE), and the liver disease might impair the metabolism of drugs usually administered for sedation. OBJECTIVE AND SETTING: To compare sedation with a combination of propofol plus fentanyl and midazolam plus fentanyl in cirrhotic outpatients undergoing UGIE. DESIGN: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted between February 2008 and February 2009. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASUREMENTS: Efficacy (proportion of complete procedures using the initial proposed sedation scheme), safety (occurrence of sedation-related complications), and recovery time were measured. RESULTS: Two hundred ten cirrhotic patients referred for UGIE were randomized to 2 groups: midazolam group (0.05 mg/kg plus fentanyl 50 µg intravenously) or propofol group (0.25 mg/kg plus fentanyl 50 µg intravenously). There were no differences between groups regarding age, sex, weight, etiology of cirrhosis, and Child-Pugh or American Society of Anesthesiologists classification. Sedation with propofol was more efficacious (100% vs 88.2%; P < .001) and had a shorter recovery time than sedation with midazolam (16.23 ± 6.84 minutes and 27.40 ± 17.19 minutes, respectively; P < .001). Complication rates were similar in both groups (14% vs 7.3%; P = .172). LIMITATIONS: Single-blind study; sample size. CONCLUSION: Both sedation schemes were safe in this setting. Sedation with propofol plus fentanyl was more efficacious with a shorter recovery time compared with midazolam plus fentanyl. Therefore, the former scheme is an alternative when sedating cirrhotic patients undergoing UGIE.

Doença inflamatória intestinal e gravidez: relatos de dois casos de uso de infliximab e revisão da literatura / Inflammatory bowel disease and pregnancy use of infliximab: a report of two cases and literature review

A doença inflamatória intestinal acomete mulheres em idade fértil com relativa frequência. A conduta exige maior atenção durante esta condição clínica em virtude dos riscos potenciais de complicações materno-fetais. O uso de infliximab tem se mostrado seguro durante a gravidez e lactação, todavia ainda são poucos os relatos existentes na literatura. Relatamos dois casos de gestação durante o uso de infliximab e realizamos revisão dos dados existentes na literatura acerca da conduta em pacientes com doença inflamatória intestinal nessa condição.

The inflammatory bowel disease is diagnosed frequently among woman of childbearing capacity. The management must be carefully because there are potential risks for the mother and fetus. Infliximab seems to be safe in pregnancy and nursing, however there are few studies about this issue. We report two cases and review literature about the management of inflammatory bowel disease in pregnancy.