Nutritional status of patients undergoing ileal pouch-anal anastomosis.

The nutritional consequences of total colectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) were assessed by evaluating 36 patients at the end of the defunctionalised stage (DS group) and 18 patients with recanalised IPAA (IPAA group). The changes in protein-calorie and zinc status occurring after the closure of the diverting ileostomy were evaluated also in 11 patients assessed both during the DS and the IPAA stage. The results were compared with those observed in 14 patients who underwent a Brooke-type permanent ileostomy (PI group). In the DS group there were protein-calorie malnutrition in 50% of cases characterised by body weight, TSF and AMC values lower than normal associated with normal serum protein levels; severe salt and water depletion with secondary aldosteronism in 90%; normal calcium-phosphorus balance in all but few cases, low values of parameters related to vitamin D and K, Fe, Zn and Cu status in 6-25% of cases and normal folate status. In the IPAA group all the anthropmetric parameters improved significantly after the closure of the protective ileostomy, but muscle mass (AMC) remained lower than normal in 40% of cases; mild salt depletion (urinary Na K ratio between 1 and 2) was observed in 1 3 of cases and of severe degree (urinary Na K < 1 ) in 20%; lower serum Zn occurred in 60% of patients probably due to greater requirements of the metal, secondary to increased muscle protein synthesis; parameters of calcium-phosphorus balance, vitamin D and K, folate, Fe and Cu status, were normal in almost all the cases. In the PI group, protein-calorie and salt and mineral nutritional status were similar to those of the IPAA group, whereas Zn status was normal in all the patients and erythrocytes folate levels and prothrombin time were significantly lower than in the IPAA group. These last two results might be explained by the different characteristics of the small bowel flora occurring in the two types of ileostomy.

Relationship between intestinal permeability to [51Cr]EDTA and inflammatory activity in asymptomatic patients with Crohn's disease.

The relationship between intestinal permeability to an oral dose (100 mu Ci) of [51CR]EDTA and the inflammatory activity of Crohn's disease was studied in 63 adult patients (32 unresected and 31 resected) who underwent 162 evaluations. The results of the [51CR]EDTA test were compared with the serum levels of the acute-phase reactant proteins (APRP) and with the result of the [111In]leukocyte scanning, respectively, as an indirect and direct method to assess intestinal inflammation. In a group of healthy adult controls, the upper normal value for the 24-hr urinary [51CR]EDTA excretion was 3.61 (97.5% percentile) and the mean coefficient of variation was 21%. Sensitivity and specificity of the [51CR]EDTA test in identifying active inflammation expressed by increased serum levels of APRP were, respectively, 97% and 54% in the unresected group and 68% and 52% in the resected group of patients. The low specificity of the test was due to the presence of increased [51CR]EDTA urinary excretion in about half the cases with normal serum levels of APRP. The [111In]leukocyte scanning was performed in a subgroup of 11 patients (three unresected and eight resected) with normal serum levels of APRP, six with increased and five with normal [51CR]EDTA urinary excretion. All six patients with increased intestinal permeability had a positive 111In image of mild to moderate degree of activity. A positive 111In scan was present in two of the five patients with normal permeability; these were two resected patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Evaluation of oral administration of folic and folinic acid to prevent folate deficiency in patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated with salicylazosulfapyridine.

In order to evaluate the efficacy of oral administration of a pharmacological dose of folic or of folinic acid to prevent the folate deficiency in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treated with salicylazosulfapyridine (SASP) (1g twice daily at meal times), two groups of 15 patients with IBD received 15 mg/day of folic or folinic acid for one month. In both the groups there were ten patients affected by Crohn's disease and five patients affected by ulcerative colitis. Before starting the treatment, the plasma folate and the red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations did not statistically differ between the two groups. After one month the mean increase in RBC folate concentration was significantly greater after folinic therapy then after folic acid therapy (910 +/- 383 versus 570 +/- 212 ng/ml; p less than 0.01), while no difference was observed in the mean increase of plasma folate level (19.8 +/- 6.6 versus 18.5 +/- 5.0 ng/ml). It was concluded that: a) both folic and folinic acid could restore and enlarge the body stores of folate in patients with IBD treated with SASP, when administered at the dose of 15 mg daily for one month; b) folinic acid seems to be more efficient in enlarging the body stores of the vitamin than folic acid.