Severe Intestinal Dysmotility Research Articles

Impaired intestinal gas propulsion in manometrically proven dysmotility and in irritable bowel syndrome

Intestinal manometry is the current gold standard for diagnosing small bowel dysmotility; however, the functional significance of abnormal manometry is unknown. Our aim was to determine whether, and to what extent, intestinal gas propulsion is impaired in patients with manometrically proven dysmotility compared with healthy controls and patients with IBS. Clearance and tolerance of a jejunal gas load (12 mL min(-1) for 2 h) were measured in 15 patients with severe abdominal symptoms and intestinal dysmotility evidenced by manometry, 15 patients with IBS and 15 healthy subjects. Thereafter, the effect of neostigmine (0.5 mg i.v. bolus) vs placebo (i.v. saline) was tested in six dysmotility patients. After 2-h gas infusion, patients with dysmotility developed significantly more gas retention (717 +/- 91 mL) than IBS patients (372 +/- 82 mL; P = 0.0037) and healthy subjects (17 +/- 67 mL; P < 0.0001 vs dysmotility; P = 0.0060 vs IBS). Despite the greater retention in dysmotility patients, abdominal perception (2.5 +/- 0.6 score) and distension (7 +/- 2 mm girth increment) were similar to IBS (3.9 +/- 0.6 score and 7 +/- 2 mm, respectively). In dysmotility patients, neostigmine produced immediate clearance of gas, and by 30 min had reduced gas retention (by -552 +/- 182 vs 72 +/- 58 mL after saline; P = 0.008), abdominal symptoms (by -0.8 +/- 0.3 score vs 0.3 +/- 0.2 after saline; P = 0.019) and distension (girth change -5 +/- 1 mm; P = 0.003 vs-2 +/- 2 mm after saline). Patients with manometric dysmotility have markedly impaired intestinal gas propulsion. In IBS patients, impaired gas propulsion is less pronounced but associated with concomitant sensory dysfunction and poor tolerance of gas retention.

Gastroschisis: the cost of an epidemic

Background The rising incidence of gastroschisis has been highlighted by the Department of Health as a growing concern. As well as the health implications for the increasing number of affected infants, this increase in incidence will have an impact of the costs of health care. This study was undertaken to estimate the financial cost of treating this condition in one tertiary neonatal surgical center. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of all patients admitted to a tertiary neonatal surgical center with gastroschisis from January 1996 to December 2005. The main outcome measures were incidence, length of hospital stay, and total cost for all patients each year. Results The incidence of gastroschisis has risen 3-fold in 10 years. The median cost per patient is relatively constant. A few patients with severe intestinal dysmotility require prolonged hospital stay. As the condition becomes more common, there are an increasing number of complex patients and thus an increase in annual costs, which is disproportionate to the increase in numbers of cases. We estimate that the annual cost to the National Health Service (NHS) of this condition in England and Wales has risen from £3.6 million in 1996 to in excess of £15 million in 2005. Conclusions Urgent research is required into the etiology of gastroschisis and into the severe intestinal dysmotility that occurs in some complex patients.

MELAS Masquerading as a Systemic Vasculitis

Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke (MELAS) is a mitochondrial genetic disorder caused by a point mutation, resulting in the substitution of guanine for adenine at nucleotide 3243 (A3243G). It is a multisystem disorder with variable manifestations and typically presents between the first and third decades of life. It should be suspected if a patient exhibits stroke-like episodes before age 40, encephalopathy characterized by seizures, dementia, or both, and lactic acidosis, ragged-red fibers in muscle, or both. We present the case of a 26-year-old white man suspected with primary central nervous system vasculitis admitted to our facility with profound constipation from severe intestinal dysmotility. Although his gastrointestinal and neurologic symptoms did not meet criteria for a specific vasculitic syndrome, his symptoms and blood test abnormalities were concerning for such a process. MELAS was included in our differential diagnosis because his symptoms failed to fit a defined vasculitic process. When genetic testing documented the presence of the point mutation A3243G, his diagnosis was changed. This case illustrates the importance of considering a mitochondrial genetic disorder in the differential diagnosis of patients who present to Rheumatologists with suspected unusual or atypical vasculitic symptoms.

Small Bowel Dysmotility.

The most important initial step in treating patients with intestinal dysmotility is to exclude reversible causes, in particular mechanical obstruction. The presence or absence of bacterial overgrowth should be determined by small bowel aspirate or breath test, although an empiric trial with antibiotics is an appropriate alternative. Physicians should use agents effective against gram-negative organisms, such as broad-spectrum penicillins or tetracycline, particularly those that provide coverage of anaerobes, such as metronidazole. Nutritional support, by enteral or parenteral means, is currently the most important aspect of management of patients with severe intestinal dysmotility. A low-fat diet, supplemented by liquid formulas, can be tried first. The presence of gastroparesis should be determined; if severe, jejunal feeding should be attempted. Because of the costs and risks associated with total parenteral nutrition (TPN), every attempt should be made to use the native intestine for feeding. A trial of several days of naso-jejunal feeding can help select those patients who can obtain sufficient nutrition by enteral routes and is recommended prior to committing a patient to TPN therapy. Even while on TPN, some oral intake should be encouraged. Prokinetic agents currently in use are less effective in the small bowel than they are in the stomach. They should always be tried initially, though, particularly because improvement of concomitant gastric dysmotility can alleviate symptoms. Although certain manometric patterns can select those patients who respond better to therapy, manometry should not be used to direct therapy in individual patients. For the moment, cisapride is the drug of choice. Erythromycin, particularly when given intravenously and in small, sub-antibiotic doses, can also be tried. The role of octreotide is not clear, but when given at small doses, and when combined with erythromycin, it may be useful in selected patients. Ablative surgery may be useful in a few, highly selected patients. One of the most beneficial surgical procedures is a venting jejunostomy. The use of this simple intervention can substantially reduce the number of hospital admissions and emergency room visits in selected patients with intermittent obstructive symptoms.

Erythromycin treatment for gastrointestinal dysmotility in preterm infants

To report our clinical experience on the use of oral erythromycin for the treatment of severe gastrointestinal dysmotility in preterm infants. A case series study of seven preterm infants (six were very low birthweight) with severe intestinal dysmotility in a tertiary neonatal centre. All responded favourably without adverse effects and tolerated full enteral feeding within 1-2 weeks of the commencement of the drug. As prolonged total parenteral nutrition carries significant risk of complications, this therapy could be considered in selected preterm infants who fail to establish enteral feeding after an extended period, and in whom an anatomically obstructive lesion of the gastrointestinal tract has been excluded. Meanwhile, we would caution against the widespread implementation of this therapeutic approach until formal evaluation by randomized controlled trials have established the exact role of erythromycin, or its analogues, in the treatment of intestinal dysmotility in preterm infants.

Erythromycin in neonatal postoperative intestinal dysmotility.

The motilin agonist erythromycin was used successfully in four infants receiving prolonged parenteral nutrition for severe intestinal dysmotility after gastrointestinal surgery. In a further child with a neuropathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction erythromycin induced a striking small intestinal manometric response, but was without effect in a child with an intestinal myopathy.