Congenital markers for chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction (CIP) is difficult to differentiate from true mechanical obstruction, so many patients undergo multiple operations before the diagnosis is established. This is because of a lack of easily identifiable signs and symptoms that can differentiate true intestinal obstruction from pseudoobstruction. The digital arch is the least common (10%) of the three patterns of fingerprints (arches, loops, and whorls) found in primates. Digital arches have also been reported in association with mitral valve prolapse, which in turn is associated with joint laxity. Fingerprints and mitral valve prolapse are congenital features and are influenced by heredity, so we evaluated CIP patients for coexistence of these clinical markers. METHODS: Fingerprints were examined in 1566 consecutive gastrointestinal specialty referrals. In 43 patients, the initial diagnosis of CIP was confirmed by subsequent testing. Because of the clinical impression that four features were present with increased frequency in CIP patients, these signs and symptoms were recorded prospectively: 1) number of digital arches (DA); 2) presence of mitral valve prolapse (MVP), 3) presence of joint laxity (JL), and 4) onset of constipation before age 10 (C < 10). RESULTS: Forty-three CIP patients (39 female, four male, ages 18-62) were seen. Using the test for significance of differences in proportions, the presence of DA, MVP, JL, and C < 10 proved significantly higher (p < 0.001) in CIP patients than in age- and sex-matched controls and the general population. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that: 1) CIP may be a heritable syndrome because it is associated with heritable congenital markers (DA, MVP, JL, and C < 10; 2) these markers are identified with higher frequency in CIP patients than in the general population and in age- and sex-matched patients with other gastrointestinal disorders; 3) all four markers are easily detectable, and their recognition could lead to earlier diagnosis of the disorder.

The relationship between stress and symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux: the influence of psychological factors.

This paper describes the first controlled study of the relationships among stress, psychological traits associated with chronic anxiety, acid reflux parameters, and perceptions of reflux symptoms. Seventeen subjects with symptomatic reflux disease were studied using a 2 (high vs. low gastrointestinal susceptibility score) x 2 (stress vs. neutral tasks) x 3 (periods 1, 2, or 3) experimental design. It was found that the stress tasks produced significant increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse rates, and subjective ratings of anxiety and reflux symptoms. The stress tasks, however, did not influence objective parameters of acid reflux (total acid exposure, number of reflux episodes, duration of longest reflux episode). Moreover, the effect of stress on reflux ratings was due primarily to the responses of the subjects with high gastrointestinal susceptibility scale scores. These subjects' reflux ratings remained at high levels during all stress periods, whereas subjects in all other experimental conditions reported decreased reflux symptoms across periods. These results suggest that reflux patients who are chronically anxious and exposed to prolonged stress may perceive low intensity esophageal stimuli as painful reflux symptoms. Future effort should be devoted to examining the efficacy of anxiolytic and behavioral therapies with these reflux patients.

A simple radiologic method to estimate the quantity of bowel gas.

Patients with functional bowel disorders frequently complain of bloating and abdominal pain, but no practical method is available to measure intestinal gas objectively. To evaluate a new technique, we evaluated 54 abdominal radiographs from 19 patients. A gastroenterologist and a radiologist independently outlined the intestinal gas bubbles in these films. Areas of gas bubbles were measured with a computer digitizing board. Bowel gas was also measured in 24 healthy controls, and in five emergency room patients, supine and erect radiographs were compared to evaluate the effects of position on bowel gas patterns. The two evaluators agreed well on the measured areas of bowel gas (r = 0.96), showing that this is a reliable method. Bowel gas was significantly greater in patients than in controls but did not correlate with symptoms. Bowel gas was significantly greater in supine than upright films, showing that the position of the patient must be standardized.