Le kiwi, votre partenaire santé

Résumé Le kiwi est par définition une baie : il possède un grand nombre de graines incluses dans une chair comestible. Le kiwi a pour nom latinActinidia et il y a principalement deux espèces d’Actinidia :Actinidia chinensis etActinidia deliciosa. Le kiwi n’est pas seulement un fruit agréable à manger, il est aussi une source exceptionnellement riche en diverses vitamines. Le kiwi est notamment très riche en vitamine C puisqu’il en contient 50 % plus qu’une orange. Le kiwi contient aussi des vitamines K et E. Il est également une source non négligeable de potassium et de folate. Il contient aussi un laxatif, qui plus est, puissant. La qualité nutritionnelle du kiwi ne s’altère pas même pendant une longue durée de stockage pour certains nutriments. Cependant, les risques de réponse allergique ne doivent pas être sous-estimés. The kiwifruit is, by definition, a berry: it has a large number of seeds embedded in fleshy, edible tissue. The Latin name of kiwifruit isActinidia and there are two main species ofActinidia that are commercially important:Actinidia chinensis andActinidia deliciosa. Kiwifruit are not only enjoyable to eat. They are exceptionally good sources of vitamin C and they are also excellent sources of potassium and folate and possibly of vitamin E and vitamin K. They contain a most effective laxative. There is very little, if any, loss of nutritional quality during storage. However, the risks from the allergic response to kiwifruit should not be underestimated.

     

Colonic Motility in Profoundly Disabled People: A comparison of massage and laxative therapy in the management of constipation

This pilot study compared abdominal massage with laxative treatment in the management of constipation in 32 profoundly disabled, institutionalised adults. A randomised cross-over design was used. After an initial 16-day baseline measurement phase without any treatment, there followed two seven-week treatment phases separated by a one-week washout period. Each subject received seven weeks of massage and seven weeks on his or her previous laxative regimen. Primary outcome measures were gastro-intestinal and segmental transit times, measured at the end of the baseline phase and of each treatment phase. Secondary measures included stool frequency, size and consistency, the requirement for enemas and an assessment of patient well-being.The median value of total colonic transit time was 183 hours for the baseline phase and 159 hours for all treatment phases. There was no evidence of any statistically significant treatment differences between laxative and massage therapy for right, left or rectosigmoid segments either separately or in total. Analysis of secondary outcome measures also failed to find any treatment preferences.These results reveal the grossly abnormal colonic transit times of the study population at all times. The effects of laxative and massage therapy within this environment were not demonstrably different.     

Effect of bisacodyl on postoperative bowel motility in elective colorectal surgery: a prospective, randomized trial

Background  Postoperative ileus is a common condition after abdominal surgery. Many prokinetic drugs have been evaluated including osmotic laxatives. The data on colon-stimulating laxatives are scarce. This prospective, randomized, double-blind trial investigates the effect of the colon-stimulating laxative bisacodyl on postoperative ileus in elective colorectal resections. Materials and methods  Between November 2004 and February 2007, 200 consecutive patients were randomly assigned to receive either bisacodyl or placebo. Primary endpoint was time to gastrointestinal recovery (mean time to first flatus passed, first defecation, and first solid food tolerated; GI-3). Secondary endpoints were incidence and duration of nasogastric tube reinsertion, incidence of vomiting, length of hospital stay, and visual analogue scores for pain, cramps, and nausea. Results  One hundred sixty-nine patients were analyzed, and 31 patients discontinued the study. Groups were comparable in baseline demographics. Time to GI-3 was significantly shorter in the bisacodyl group (3.0 versus 3.7 days, P = 0.007). Of the single parameters defining GI-3, there was a 1-day difference in time to defecation in favor to the bisacodyl group (3.0 versus 4.0 days, P = 0.001), whereas no significant difference in time to first flatus or tolerance of solid food was seen. No significant difference in the secondary endpoints was seen. Morbidity and mortality did not differ between groups. Conclusion  Bisacodyl accelerated gastrointestinal recovery and might be considered as part of multimodal recovery programs after colorectal surgery.     

Lack of objective evidence of efficacy of laxatives in chronic constipation

Laxatives are commonly used to treat constipation and can be bought over-the-counter in many countries, although some preparations need to be prescribed by physicians. A meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the published evidence on the efficacy of laxatives in constipation. We found that large, well-controlled, published studies whose data were comparable were lacking. Of 250 articles, 35 met the inclusion criteria but only 11 yielded usable data (N = 375 patients on laxatives, 174 on placebo). There was an effect of laxatives on stool frequency (mean increase 1.9 stools per week) and stool weight (mean increase 476 g) but this was not clearly distinguishable from that of placebo therapies (1 stool and 434 g, respectively) in studies up to 4 weeks in duration. Similarly, studies of 5–12 weeks yielded no differences overall. These results cannot definitively rule out laxatives as an effective treatment, due to the poor published evidence. Better evidence is required to justify the continued expenditure of funds on laxatives by both patients and formularies.     

蒽醌类中药致结肠黑变病发病机制探讨

[目的]探讨蒽醌类中药致结肠黑变病（MC）发病机制.[方法]复习22例MC的临床病理资料,并对其组织病理学进行观察分析.[结果]22例均有便秘及服用含蒽醌苷类中药泻剂经历,结肠镜及病理检查都显示不同程度的MC的表现.[结论]西医认为MC发生于结肠上皮细胞凋亡及慢性结肠梗阻有关;中医认为MC由肝肾阴虚,气郁血虚,肠壁失养所致.     

A Longitudinal Study of Predictors of Constipation Severity in Oncology Outpatients With Unrelieved Pain

ContextAlthough constipation is a common symptom in oncology patients, it often goes unrecognized and untreated. In addition, little is known about characteristics associated with interindividual differences in constipation severity.ObjectivesTo describe prevalence, characteristics, and management of constipation; evaluate interindividual differences in constipation severity over 10 weeks; and identify demographic, clinical, and symptom characteristics associated with higher constipation severity scores.MethodsIn this prospective, longitudinal study, 175 oncology patients with unrelieved pain were recruited from eight outpatient cancer settings in the U.S. Patients completed demographic and symptom questionnaires at enrollment. Constipation severity was evaluated over 10 weeks using the Constipation Assessment Scale (CAS). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to identify characteristics associated with higher CAS scores.ResultsAt enrollment, 70.1% of the patients reported constipation [i.e., CAS score of >2; mean CAS score: 3.72 (±3.11)]. While over the first week of the study patients used one to two constipation treatments per day, a large amount of interindividual variability was found in CAS scores. Higher percentage of days with no bowel movement, higher number of constipation treatments, higher state anxiety scores, and higher analgesic side effects scores were associated with higher CAS scores at enrollment. Higher percentage of days with no bowel movement was associated with interindividual differences in the trajectories of constipation.ConclusionOur findings underscore the high prevalence of and large amount of interindividual variability in constipation severity. The characteristics associated with worse CAS scores can assist clinicians to identify high-risk patients and initiate prompt interventions.     

Treatment patterns and health care costs of mebeverine-treated IBS patients: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder affecting the quality of life of patients. In the Netherlands, mebeverine is currently the only medical treatment registered for IBS, although its efficacy is considered disputable. OBJECTIVE: To assess treatment patterns and associated health care cost in mebeverine users relative to matched controls. METHODS: A matched case-control study was performed using pharmacy data. Cases were mebeverine users as proxy for IBS patients. Controls were non-mebeverine users and matched to cases by age, gender and pharmacy. Prevalence and incidence of mebeverine use, concomitant drug use and hospitalizations were assessed in 3431 cases and 3431 controls. Concomitant drug use and hospitalizations was also assessed in a subgroup of 1222 users of mebeverine and laxatives (proxy for constipation-IBS) and their controls. RESULTS: Twelve per 1000 residents were ever-dispensed mebeverine in 1998. One-third of these mebeverine users used laxatives concomitantly. Concomitant drug use and hospitalizations were increased in mebeverine users. The odds ratio for hospitalizations for gastrointestinal reasons was increased predominantly in mebeverine users with concomitant laxative use (OR:8.7; 95%CI [4.3-17.3]). Excess yearly costs for all concomitant medications were 94 Euros [95%CI 79 Euros-109 Euros] and for hospital admissions 120 Euros [74 Euros-166 Euros] per mebeverine user. In mebeverine users with concomitant laxative use these costs were 136 Euros and 251 Euros respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In treated IBS patients, concomitant drug use and hospitalizations are increased relative to matched controls. Medical resource use and associated health care costs are particularly increased in mebeverine users using laxatives. The total mean excess cost per patient per year is 482 Euros.