[Role of pulse oximetric monitoring during gastrointestinal endoscopy. Prospective multicenter study of the Gastroenterology Working Group of the Veszprém Regional Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (VEAB)]. / Az endoszkópos vizsgálatok pulzoximetriás monitorozásának jelentosége. Az MTA VEAB Gasztroenterológiai Munkabizottságának prospektív multicentrikus vizsgálata.

INTRODUCTION: Recent guidelines recommend routine pulse oximetric monitoring during endoscopy, however, this has not been the common practice yet in the majority of the local endoscopic units. AIMS: To draw attention to the importance of the routine use of pulse oximetric recording during endoscopy. METHOD: A prospective multicenter study was performed with the participation of 11 gastrointestinal endoscopic units. Data of pulse oximetric monitoring of 1249 endoscopic investigations were evaluated, of which 1183 were carried out with and 66 without sedation. RESULTS: Oxygen saturation less than 90% was observed in 239 cases corresponding to 19.1% of all cases. It occurred most often during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (31.2%) and proximal enteroscopy (20%). Procedure-related risk factors proved to be the long duration of the investigation, premedication with pethidine (31.3%), and combined sedoanalgesia with pethidine and midazolam (34.38%). The age over 60 years, obesity, consumption of hypnotics or sedatives, severe cardiopulmonary state, and risk factor scores III and IV of the American Society of Anestwere found as patient-related risk factors. CONCLUSION: To increase the safety of patients undergoing endoscopic investigation, pulse oximeter and oxygen supplementation should be the standard requirement in all of the endoscopic investigation rooms. Pulse oximetric monitoring is advised routinely during endoscopy with special regard to the risk factors of hypoxemia.

Strongyloides hyper-infection causing life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding.

A 55-year old male patient was diagnosed with strongy-loides hyper-infection with stool analysis and intestinal biopsy shortly after his chemotherapy for myeloma. He was commenced on albendazole anthelmintic therapy. After initiation of the treatment he suffered life-threatening gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Repeated endoscopies showed diffuse multi-focal intestinal bleeding. The patient required huge amounts of red blood cells and plasma transfusions and correction of haemostasis with recombinant activated factor VII. Abdominal aorto-angiography showed numerous micro-aneurysms ('berry aneurysms') in the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries' territories. While the biopsy taken prior to the treatment with albendazole did not show evidence of vasculitis, the biopsy taken after initiation of therapy revealed leukoclastic aggregations around the vessels. These findings suggest that, in addition to direct destruction of the mucosa, vasculitis could be an important additive factor causing the massive GI bleeding during the anthelmintic treatment. This might result from substances released by the worms that have been killed with anthelmintic therapy. Current guidelines advise steroids to be tapered and stopped in case of systematic parasitic infections as they might reduce immunity and precipitate parasitic hyper-infection. In our opinion, steroid therapy might be of value in the management of strongyloides hyper-infection related vasculitis, in addition to the anthelmintic treatment. Indeed, steroid therapy of vasculitis with other means of supportive care resulted in cessation of the bleeding and recovery of the patient.