Risk factors associated with prolonged postoperative ileus after elective colon resection.

BACKGROUND: There is a coordinated inhibition of motility of the colon after its surgical manipulation that contributes to the accumulation of fluids and gas, in turn characterized by nausea,vomiting, pain, abdominal distension, and constipation. Motility is recovered in the majority of patients within the first 72 hours. A delay in its resolution is known as prolonged postoperative ileus. AIMS: To study the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative risk factors for developing prolonged ileus in patients that underwent elective colon resection.Materials and methods: The association between 25 perioperative variables and the presentation of prolonged ileus was analyzed in 85 patients that underwent colon resection at Hospital Christus Muguerza Alta Especialidad within the time frame of 2011 and 2014. RESULTS: Postoperative ileus occurred in 22.3% of the patients. The statistically significant predictors of ileus were obesity (OR 1.119, P=.048) and admission to the intensive care unit (OR3.571, P=.050). The use of peridural anesthesia during the surgical act was found to be a protective factor (OR 0.363, P=.050). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of these risk factors can alert the physician to the need for a closer follow-up in patients at high risk for postoperative ileus, and the use of peridural anesthesiacan possibly lower the incidence of ileus.

Differential activity and activation of Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal proteins in diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella.

Whole-crystal preparations from strains HD-1 and HD-133, activated Cry1Ab and Cry1C toxins as well as Cry1Aa, Cry1Ac, Cry1D, and Cry2Aa protoxins were tested for toxicity to 2nd-instar larvae of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. Mortality data recorded after 2 and 5 days provided different results that were related to differential rates of solubilization, activation, and degradation of insecticidal crystal proteins. The two most active proteins are Cry1Ab and Cry1C, which are both present in HD-133. The Cry1Ab protoxin is activated within 2 days, whereas activation of the Cry1C protoxin occurs between 2 and 5 days. HD-133 is more active than HD-1 immediately after infection and remains toxic over 5 days owing to the sequential activation of its crystal components. Solubility properties of crystals and rates of activation of protoxins influence the overall toxicity of HD-1 and HD-133 to the diamondback moth.

Susceptibility of the coffee leaf miner (Perileucoptera spp.) to bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxins: A model for transgenic perennial crops resistant to endocarpic insects

Binding of several Bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxins was studied on histological midgut sections of larvae of coffee leaf miner Perileucoptera coffeella from Brazil and Perileucoptera sp from Madagascar. CryIA(a), CryIA(b), CryIA(c), CryIB, CryIE, and CryIIA were tested for binding, and only CryIA(c), CryIB, and CryIE yielded a positive response. The toxins bound to the whole midgut, and the result was identical on both insect populations. The same toxins, to the number of which CryIC was added, were tested on larvae of P. coffeella. CryIA(c) and CryIB were toxic with an LC50 of 1.47 &mgr;g/ml and 21.93 &mgr;g/ml, respectively. CryIE was not toxic to P. coffeella. CryIA(c) and CryIB were tested for synergistic activity and were shown to act by cumulative effect when delivered to the insect larvae as a mixture.