The American journal of gastroenterology
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Am. J. Gastroenterol. · Nov 2000
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialThe antitumoral effect of the long-acting somatostatin analog lanreotide in neuroendocrine tumors.
Somatostatin analogs are the first-line drugs for controlling hormone-mediated symptoms of carcinoid tumors. Prospective and retrospective studies have suggested that somatostatin analogs also have antiproliferative activity. The octapeptide lanreotide is available in sustained-release form, obviating the need for daily injections. ⋯ Lanreotide is safe and well tolerated in patients with carcinoid tumors. It seems to have both symptomatic and antitumoral effects in this setting.
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Am. J. Gastroenterol. · Nov 2000
Comparative StudyGastric emptying of a solid-liquid meal measured with 13C octanoic acid breath test and real-time ultrasonography: a comparative study.
The 13C octanoic acid breath test (OBT) has been proposed as a reliable noninvasive test to measure gastric emptying. OBT has been compared with scintigraphy; however, there are no data comparing it with gastric emptying measured with real-time ultrasonography (RUS) The aim of the study was to correlate gastric emptying of a solid-liquid meal, with OBT and RUS simultaneously evaluated in a group of normal volunteers. ⋯ Our results show that OBT overestimates gastric emptying parameters of a solid-liquid meal in comparison with RUS. However, both techniques give data in good correlation. Because OBT is less operator-dependent than RUS, it may be useful in comparative gastric emptying studies.
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Am. J. Gastroenterol. · Nov 2000
Comparative Study Clinical TrialProlonged duration of response to infliximab in early but not late pediatric Crohn's disease.
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha plays a central role in chronic intestinal inflammation of Crohn's disease. Targeting this cytokine with the chimeric monoclonal antibody infliximab has emerged as an effective form of therapy in adult Crohn's disease patients. We sought to determine whether infliximab treatment would benefit pediatric patients with medically refractory Crohn's disease. We also assessed the duration of response, comparing children with early disease to children with long-standing (late) Crohn's disease. ⋯ Infliximab is safe and effective in the short-term treatment of medically refractory pediatric Crohn's disease. More importantly, there is a remarkably prolonged duration of response after infliximab therapy in children with early compared to late Crohn's disease.
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Am. J. Gastroenterol. · Nov 2000
Case ReportsA new source of drug-induced acute pancreatitis: codeine.
A variety of drugs have been reported to cause acute pancreatitis during the past 40 years. We report the first series of four cases of acute pancreatitis related to codeine ingestion. Four patients (three female, mean age 50.2 yr) presented with clinical, biochemical, and radiological evidence of acute pancreatitis. ⋯ The likely underlying pathophysiological mechanism is codeine-induced spasm of the sphincter of Oddi combined with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction related to a previous cholecystectomy. Codeine ingestion leads to acute pancreatitis in some individuals. Previous cholecystectomy seems to predispose to codeine-induced pancreatitis.
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The aims of this study were 1) to determine the frequency of use and indications for prescription of acid-suppressive medications in hospitalized patients, and 2) to determine whether patients who are prescribed these medications for stress ulcer prophylaxis are prescribed them on hospital discharge. ⋯ There is significant overuse of acid-suppressive therapy in hospitalized patients. The problem of placing low-risk patients on ulcer prophylaxis unnecessarily is compounded by discharging these patients with the medication.