Analysis of cardiopulmonary stress during endoscopy: Is unsedated transnasal esophagogastroduodenoscopy appropriate for elderly patients?

BACKGROUND:

Transnasal esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) without sedation has been reported to be safe and tolerable. It has recently been used widely in Japan for the detection of upper gastrointestinal disease. Alternatively, transoral examination using a thin endoscope has also been reported to be highly tolerable.

OBJECTIVE:

To examine the cardiocirculatory effects of transoral versus transnasal EGD in an attempt to determine the most suitable endoscopic methods for patients ≥75 years of age.

METHODS:

Subjects who underwent monitoring of respiratory and circulatory dynamics without sedation during endoscopic screening examinations were enrolled at the New Ooe Hospital (Kyoto, Japan) between April 2008 and March 2009. A total of 165 patients (age ≥75 years) provided written informed consent and were investigated in the present study. Patients were randomly divided into three subgroups: UO group – thin endoscope; SO group – standard endoscope; and UT group – transnasal EGD. Percutaneous arterial blood oxygen saturation, heart rate and blood pressure were evaluated just before EGD and at five time points during EGD. After transnasal EGD, patients who had previously been examined using transoral EGD with a standard endoscope were asked about preferences for their next examination.

RESULTS:

There were no statistical differences in the characteristics among the groups. Percutaneous oxygen saturation in the UT group showed a transient drop compared with the SO and UO groups at the beginning of the endoscopic procedure. Heart rate showed no significant differences among the SO, UO and UT groups; Systolic blood pressure in the UO group was lower immediately after insertion compared with the SO and UT groups. The rate pressure product in the UO group was comparable with that in the UT group during endoscopy, and the SO group showed a continuously higher level than the UO and UT groups. More than one-half (54.4%) of patients were ‘willing to choose transnasal EGD for next examination’.

CONCLUSIONS:

For elderly patients, unsedated transnasal EGD failed to show an advantage over unsedated standard endoscopy. Transoral thin EGD was estimated to be safe and tolerable.     

Evaluation of the policy of secondary prevention against rheumatic fever among Egyptian children

Objective

We evaluated the effectiveness of long acting penicillin (LAP) as a 2-weekly regimen in winter and a 3-weekly regimen in summer for prevention of streptococcal colonization and also studied the common complaints of patients during the period of compliance for LAP administration. We also attempted to determine the incidence of relapses or recurrence of rheumatic fever (RF) after the onset of first episode of RF.

Patients & methods

210 rheumatic patients with good compliance to LAP (for at least one year) were included in the study. Demographic, clinical information, patients'' complaints and echocardiographic data of rheumatic patients were collected both retrospectively and prospectively. Anti-streptolysin O titre (ASOT) and throat swab culture were done at the end of the study (on Day 14 in the 2-weekly regimen and on Day 21 in the 3-weekly regimen).

Results

The age of onset of rheumatic fever was mostly between 5 and 15 years and the youngest patient was 2 years old. Subclinical carditis (SCC) was present in 79 (37%) of all the patients in the study population. Only 7 patients (3.3%) had a relapse within 2 years of the acute episode of RF. At the end of the study, ASOT was found to be high only in 11 patients (5.2%) and throat swab cultures were found negative in all patients

Conclusion

LAP regimen is fairly effective in eradicating streptococcal colonization. The incidence of relapse of RF within 2 years of the acute episode of RF is relatively low.     

Low-grade albuminuria is associated with peripheral artery disease in Chinese diabetic patients

Background

Increasing studies have suggested that albuminuria might be an important risk factor for peripheral artery disease (PAD). However, studies focusing on the association between low-grade albuminuria and PAD are limited. It would be of great interest to elucidate the association between low-grade albuminuria and PAD in diabetic subjects.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1386 diabetic subjects (age ≥ 40 years) with normal urinary albumin levels from Shanghai, China. A first voided early morning spot urine sample was obtained for urinary albumin and creatinine measurements. Subjects were divided into three groups according to sex-specific cutoff points of urinary albumin–creatinine ratio (UACR) tertiles. Subjects in the upper tertile of UACR were classified as having low-grade albuminuria. PAD was defined by ankle–brachial index (ABI) <0.9 or >1.4.

Results

Overall, 106 (7.7%) of the study population had PAD. The prevalence of PAD in tertile 3 of UACR was higher than the prevalence in tertile 2 and tertile 1 (10.2%, 6.4% and 6.4%, respectively; P < 0.05). A fully adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that compared with subjects in tertile 1 of normal UACR, those in tertile 3 had 1.7-fold increased risk for the presence of PAD.

Conclusions

In diabetic patients, high normal UACR level, which is below the current cutoff point of microalbuminuria, was associated with the increased prevalence of PAD. It suggested that low-grade albuminuria might be an early marker for the detection of PAD in diabetic patients.     

脾肾同调法治疗老年不寐的临床研究

目的：为观察脾肾同调法治疗老年不寐心脾两虚证的临床疗效.方法：符合不寐心脾两虚证诊断标准的患者60例,年龄在50~78岁之间,随机分成两组.治疗组30例,予补脾益肾汤（方药组成：白术、山萸肉、远志、龙眼肉、五味子、炒枣仁、茯神、夜交藤、熟地、煅龙骨、煅牡蛎）汤口服.对照组30例,予安神补脑液口服.结果：结果表明治疗组总有效率73.3%;对照组总有效率56.6%,经统计学处理,P〈0.05,有统计学意义.结论：脾肾同调法是治疗老年不寐证的有效方法.     

盐酸右美托咪定对老年患者术后早期认知功能的影响

目的观察盐酸右美托咪定（DEX）对老年患者术后早期认知功能（POCD）的影响。方法选择择期在全麻下手术的老年患者60例,随机分为2组,观察组（D组）和对照组（C组）,每组30例。D组全麻诱导前静脉微泵注DEX 4μg/ml,用量为0.4μg/kg,输注时间10 min;C组以相同方法输注等量0.9%氯化钠溶液。2组分别于术前1 d、术后1 d、术后3 d进行简易精神状态量表（mini-mental state examination,MMSE）评分,并观察记录药物输注时（T0）、输注后5 min（T1）、插管时（T2）、插管后1 min（T3）、插管后5 min（T4）的收缩压（SBP）、舒张压（DBP）及心率（HR）。结果 2组术前MMSE评分比较差异无统计学意义,2组术后各时点评分均低于术前（P〈0.05）。术后1 d D组的MMSE评分高于C组（P〈0.05）,D组和C组术后1 d分别有4例（14.8%）和12例（42.9%）发生认知功能下降,差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）;术后3 d分别有3例（11.1%）和5例（17.6%）发生认知功能下降,术后3 d 2组的MMSE评分和认知功能下降发生率均无统计学差异（P〉0.05）。D组在T1、T3、T4时间点的SBP、DBP、HR均低于C组（P〈0.05）。结论老年患者全麻诱导前预输注DEX对术后早期的认知功能下降有一定的预防作用,且不影响诱导期血流动力学的稳定,方法安全。     

老年患者医院获得性肺炎的危险因素分析

目的探讨老年患者医院获得性肺炎（HAP）的危险因素,为临床预防和治疗疾病提供依据。方法回顾性分析60例老年患者,依据是否合并HAP分为研究组（合并HAP）和对照组（未合并HAP）各30例,采用非条件Logistic回归分析方法分析发生HAP的危险因素。结果研究组较对照组患有基础疾病种类多、留置胃管率高、应用抑酸药物率高、白蛋白水平偏低、动静脉插管率高（P〈0.05）,多因素分析显示脑血管疾病、使用抑酸剂、留置胃管、白蛋白水平偏低是发生HAP的独立危险因素。结论老年HAP患者具有的危险因素多,积极采取综合防范措施,减少危险因素,是降低HAP发生率的关键。     

Pattern of microbial translocation in patients living with HIV-1 from Vietnam,Ethiopia and Sweden

Introduction

The role of microbial translocation (MT) in HIV patients living with HIV from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is not fully known. The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the patterns of MT in patients from Vietnam, Ethiopia and Sweden.

Methods

Cross-sectional samples were obtained from treatment-naïve patients living with HIV-1 and healthy controls from Vietnam (n=83; n=46), Ethiopia (n=9492; n=50) and Sweden (n=51; n=19). Longitudinal samples were obtained from a subset of the Vietnamese (n=24) in whom antiretroviral therapy (ART) and tuberculostatics were given. Plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS), sCD14 and anti-flagellin IgG were determined by the endpoint chromogenic Limulus Amebocyte Assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

All three biomarkers were significantly increased in patients living with HIV-1 from all countries as compared to controls. No differences were found between males and females. Vietnamese and Ethiopian patients had significantly higher levels of anti-flagellin IgG and LPS, as compared to Swedes. ART reduced these levels for the Vietnamese. Vietnamese patients given tuberculostatics at initiation of ART had significantly lower levels of anti-flagellin IgG and higher sCD14. The biomarkers were lower in Vietnamese who did not develop opportunistic infection.

Conclusions

Higher MT is common in patients living with HIV compared to healthy individuals, and in patients from LMICs compared to patients from a high-income country. Treatment with tuberculostatics decreased MT while higher levels of MT are associated with a poorer clinical outcome.