Guidelines for the management of postoperative soiling in children with Hirschsprung disease.

Although most children with Hirschsprung disease ultimately achieve functional and comfortable stooling, some will experience a variety of problems after pull-through surgery. The most common problems include soiling, obstructive symptoms, enterocolitis, and failure to thrive. The purpose of this guideline is to present a rational approach to the management of postoperative soiling in children with Hirschsprung disease. The American Pediatric Surgical Association Hirschsprung Disease Interest Group engaged in a literature review and group discussions. Expert consensus was then used to summarize the current state of knowledge regarding causes, methods of diagnosis, and treatment approaches to children with soiling symptoms following pull-through for Hirschsprung disease. Causes of soiling after pull-through are broadly categorized as abnormalities in sensation, abnormalities in sphincter control, and "pseudo-incontinence." A stepwise algorithm for the diagnosis and management of soiling after a pull-through for Hirschsprung disease is presented; it is our hope that this rational approach will facilitate treatment and optimize outcomes.

Evaluation of Attenuated Tumor Antigens and the Implications for Peptide-Based Cancer Vaccine Development.

INTRODUCTION: Peptide vaccines offer anti-tumor efficacy with very low toxicity. However, repeat stimulation with an immunogenic peptide leads to activation induced cell death (AICD), decreasing efficacy. We engineered variants of an immunogenic peptide (E39) and tested their ability to induce a robust, sustainable immune response. METHODS: Multiple variants of E39 were created by exchanging 1 or 2 amino acids. We tested the PBMC proliferation, cytokine production and cytolytic activity induced by each variant peptide. RESULTS: Repeated stimulation with E39 likely led to in vitro AICD, while stimulation with E39' led to T-cell proliferation with less evidence of AICD, modest cytokine production and high CTL activity. CONCLUSIONS: E39' appears to be the optimal variant of E39 for inducing effective long-term immunity.