Is an entertainment robot useful in the care of elderly people with severe dementia?

OBJECTIVE: An entertainment robot was used as occupational therapy instead of animal-assisted therapy to avoid any danger or injury to the patient and maintain cleanliness. This study compared the effectiveness of a robot animal, AIBO, with a toy. METHOD: AIBO is made of metal and responds to spoken commands. We demonstrated AIBO to severely demented elderly people living in a geriatric home and observed their reactions. RESULTS: The most frequent reactions to AIBO consisted of looking at, communicating with, and caring for AIBO. The patients recognized that AIBO was a robot. However, once we dressed AIBO, the patients perceived AIBO as either a dog or a baby. Nevertheless, the presentation of AIBO resulted in positive outcomes for the severe dementia patients, including increased communication between the patients and AIBO. CONCLUSION: AIBO was clearly an effective rehabilitation tool in the treatment of severely demented patients.     

Is peroral endoscopic myotomy the new gold standard for achalasia therapy?

Our review focuses on critical analysis of the literature to determine whether peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is poised to replace laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM) as the new “gold standard” for achalasia therapy. POEM matches or exceeds the efficacy of LHM. The difference in objective gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) between POEM and LHM is modest at best and dissipates with time. Post-POEM GERD can be easily managed medically in most patients without long-term GERD sequelae or the need for surgical fundoplication. Emerging POEM technique modifications can further decrease GERD. Endoscopic antireflux procedures such as transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) or POEM + F (POEM + fundoplication) can be used in the rare cases of medication-refractory GERD, but their long-term efficacy remains in question. In this comprehensive review, we summarize the current status of POEM with emphasis on GERD evaluation, prevention, treatment, and comparative data vs. LHM. Based on this analysis, it appears that POEM is indeed the new gold standard in the therapy of achalasia.     

Is valproate encephalopathy under-recognised in older people? A case series

BACKGROUND: Valproate (VPA) is an antiepileptic drug with a broad spectrum of efficacy. Although usually well-tolerated, it may have side-effects of which encephalopathy is one of the most serious. OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical characteristics of valproate encephalopathy (VE) in five older patients with remote symptomatic seizures treated with rapid VPA loading. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Teaching hospital PATIENTS: Five patients (71-89 years old) with underlying cerebrovascular disease or dementia and symptomatic seizures. RESULTS: VE was characterised by decline in conscious level and (in some cases) increase in seizure frequency. Three of the five patients had elevated ammonia levels. EEG showed generalised slow activity, in some cases accompanied by additional epileptic discharges. The condition was reversible in four patients after VPA discontinuation. One patient died. CONCLUSIONS: Older people may be at particular risk of VE because of co-morbid pathology, age-related metabolic changes and co-medication.     

Is the measurement of drain amylase content useful for predicting pancreas-related complications after gastrectomy with systematic lymphadenectomy?

Many studies investigating postoperative pancreatic fistula(POPF) after gastrectomy, including studies measuring drain amylase content(D-AMY) as a predictive factor have been reported. This article reviews previous studies and looks to the future of measuring D-AMY in patients after gastrectomy. The causes of pancreatic fluid leakage are; the parenchymal and/or thermal injury to the pancreas, and blunt injury to the pancreas by compression and retraction.Measurement of D-AMY to predict POPF has become common in clinical practice after pancreatic surgery and was later extended to the gastric surgery. Several studies have reported associations between D-AMY and POPF after gastrectomy,and the high value of D-AMY on postoperative day(POD) 1 was an independent risk factor. To improve both sensitivity and specificity, attempts have been made to enhance the predictive accuracy of factors on POD 1 as well as on POD 3 as combined markers. Although several studies have shown a high predictive ability of POPF, it has not necessarily been exploited in clinical practice. Many problems remain unresolved; ideal timing for measurement, optimal cut-off value, and means of intervention after prediction. Prospective clinical trial could be imperative in order to develop D-AMY measurement in common clinical practice for gastric surgery.     

Is intravascular ultrasound the gold standard surrogate for clinically relevant atherosclerosis progression?

Are progressive changes in intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-derived indexes of plaque size sufficiently predictive of in-trial or future cardiovascular event risk that IVUS can serve as an efficient surrogate for clinical events in coronary disease trials? This question remains unanswered by clinical trials reported to date. Indeed, the answer may well be "yes." Nevertheless, there are enough concerns about the physical limitations, the fundamental assumptions, and the interpretation of the IVUS measurements that the answer cannot be taken for granted. Here, we review the evidence to date, discuss some of the concerns, and compare IVUS results with those of quantitative arteriography.     

Is forceps more useful than visualization for measurement of colon polyp size?

AIM: To identify whether the forceps estimation is more useful than visual estimation in the measurement of colon polyp size.METHODS: We recorded colonoscopy video clips that included scenes visualizing the polyp and scenes using open biopsy forceps in association with the polyp, which were used for an exam. A total of 40 endoscopists from the Busan Ulsan Gyeongnam Intestinal Study Group Society(BIGS) participated in this study. Participants watched 40 pairs of video clips of the scenes for visual estimation and forceps estimation, and wrote down the estimated polyp size on the exam paper. When analyzing the results of the exam, we assessed interobserver differences, diagnostic accuracy, and error range in the measurement of the polyp size.R E S U LT S : The overall intra-class correlation coefficients(ICC) of inter-observer agreement for forceps estimation and visual estimation were 0.804(95%CI: 0.731-0.873, P 0.001) and 0.743(95%CI: 0.656-0.828, P 0.001), respectively. The ICCs of each group for forceps estimation were higher than those for visual estimation(Beginner group, 0.761 vs 0.693; Expert group, 0.887 vs 0.840, respectively). The overall diagnostic accuracy for visual estimation was 0.639 and for forceps estimation was 0.754(P 0.001). In the beginner group and the expert group, the diagnostic accuracy for the forceps estimation was significantly higher than that of the visual estimation(Beginner group, 0.734 vs 0.613, P 0.001; Expert group, 0.784 vs 0.680, P 0.001, respectively). The overall error range for visual estimation and forceps estimation were 1.48 ± 1.18 and 1.20 ± 1.10, respectively(P 0.001). The error ranges of each group for forceps estimation were significantly smaller than those for visual estimation(Beginner group, 1.38 ± 1.08 vs 1.68 ± 1.30, P 0.001; Expert group, 1.12 ± 1.11 vs 1.42 ± 1.11, P 0.001, respectively).CONCLUSION: Application of the open biopsy forceps method when measuring colon polyp size could help reduce inter-observer differences and error rates.     

Is the gram stain useful in the microbiologic diagnosis of VAP? A meta-analysis

In a meta-analysis examining respiratory specimen Gram stain for diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia, absence of bacteria on Gram stain had a high negative predictive value, but a positive Gram stain correlated poorly with organisms recovered in culture. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a major challenge and no generally accepted gold standard exists for VAP diagnosis. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the role of respiratory specimen Gram stain to diagnose VAP, and the correlation with final culture results. In 21 studies, pooled sensitivity of Gram stain for VAP was 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI], .77-0.81; P < .0001) and specificity was 0.75 (95% CI, .73-.78; P < .0001). Negative predictive value of Gram stain for a VAP prevalence of 20%-30% was 91%, suggesting that VAP is unlikely with a negative Gram stain but the positive predictive value of Gram stain was only 40%. Pooled kappa was 0.42 for gram-positive organisms and 0.34 for gram-negative organisms, suggesting fair concordance between organisms on Gram stain and recovery by culture. Therefore, a positive Gram stain should not be used to narrow anti-infective therapy until culture results become available.     

Is endoscopy necessary for the measurement of disease activity in ulcerative colitis?

OBJECTIVES: Many disease activity indices are used to measure ulcerative colitis. Invasive indices incorporate an endoscopic score, while noninvasive indices do not require endoscopy. In clinical practice, many patients are treated based on their symptoms without endoscopic evaluation. However, invasive indices are commonly used in clinical research. Our objective was to determine whether endoscopy is necessary for the assessment of disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis. METHODS: Sixty-six consecutive ulcerative colitis patients were evaluated with invasive indices: the St. Mark's index and the Ulcerative Colitis Disease Activity Index (UCDAI); and noninvasive indices: the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (SCCAI) and the Seo index. The correlations between the indices were measured. The contribution of the endoscopic items was measured with linear regression modeling. The overlap of endoscopy with other items in the standard indices was determined through factor analysis. RESULTS: The two noninvasive indices correlated well with the invasive St. Mark's Index (SCCAI 0.86, Seo 0.70). After adjusting for the three noninvasive UCDAI items, the UCDAI endoscopy item predicted only 0.04% of the variance in the St. Mark's index. Factor analysis demonstrated that this is because the endoscopy items in the invasive indices correlate with stool frequency and stool blood items. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopy items contribute little additional information to indices of disease activity in ulcerative colitis. The clinical practice of treating patients based on reported symptoms is appropriate. The use of noninvasive indices in clinical trials could lower study costs and may increase subjects' willingness to participate.     

Is serum citrulline measurement clinically useful in coeliac disease?

Citrulline (CIT), a non-protein amino acid in circulating blood, is almost exclusively contained in the enterocytes of small bowel mucosa and may represent a reliable marker of functioning enterocyte mass. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of measuring serum citrulline levels in a group of patients affected by coeliac disease (CD). Fifty healthy volunteers, 21 patients with untreated coeliac disease and 6 patients with refractory coeliac disease took part in the study. Serum citrulline levels and duodenal lesions were evaluated at the time of diagnosis, and after at least 24 months of gluten-free diet. Serum citrulline concentrations were determined by ion exchange chromatography. In comparison to healthy volunteers, serum citrulline concentrations were significantly lower in untreated and refractory coeliac disease patients. No significant difference was found between untreated and refractory coeliac disease patients and between patients with different patterns of clinical presentation or various degrees of duodenal lesions. After a gluten-free diet, the mean of serum citrulline concentration was increased in all but one patient. Although, as expected, serum citrulline levels turned out to be low in coeliac disease, the clinical utility of their measurement is, at least, questionable in this condition.