Nutritional care in hospitalized patients with chronic liver disease

AIM: To evaluate the practice of nutritional assessment and management of hospitalised patients with cirrhosis and the impact of malnutrition on their clinical outcome.METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study on patients with liver cirrhosis consecutively admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital over 24 mo. Details were gathered related to the patients' demographics, disease severity, nutritional status and assessment, biochemistry and clinical outcomes. Nutritional status was assessed by a dietician and determined by subjective global assessment. Estimated energy and protein requirements were calculated by Simple Ratio Method. Intake was estimated from dietary history and/or food charts, and represented as a percentage of estimated daily requirements. Median duration of follow up was 14.9(0-41.4) mo. RESULTS: Of the 231 cirrhotic patients(167 male, age: 56.3 ± 0.9 years, 9% Child-Pugh A, 42% ChildPugh B and 49% Child-Pugh C), 131(57%) had formal nutritional assessment during their admission and 74(56%) were judged to have malnutrition. In-hospitalcaloric(15.6 ± 1.2 kcal/kg vs 23.7 ± 2.3 kcal/kg, P = 0.0003) and protein intake(0.65 ± 0.06 g/kg vs 1.01 ± 0.07 g/kg, P = 0.0003) was significantly reduced in patients with malnutrition. Of the malnourished cohort, 12(16%) received enteral nutrition during hospitalisation and only 6(8%) received ongoing dietetic review and assessment following discharge from hospital. The overall mortality was 51%, and was higher in patients with malnutrition compared to those without(HR = 5.29, 95%CI: 2.31-12.1; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Malnutrition is common in hospitalised patients with cirrhosis and is associated with higher mortality. Formal nutritional assessment, however, is inadequate. This highlights the need for meticulous nutritional evaluation and management in these patients.

Proximal gastric motility in critically ill patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

AIM: To investigate the proximal gastric motor response to duodenal nutrients in critically ill patients with long- standing type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Proximal gastric motility was assessed (using a barostat) in 10 critically ill patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (59 ± 3 years) during two 60-min duodenal infusions of Ensure? (1 and 2 kcal/min), in random order, separated by 2 h fasting. Data were compared with 15 non-diabetic critically ill patients (48 ± 5 years) and 10 healthy volunteers (28 ± 3 years). RESULTS: Baseline proximal gastric volumes were similar between the three groups. In diabetic patients, proximal gastric relaxation during 1 kcal/min nutrient infusion was similar to non-diabetic patients and healthy controls. In contrast, relaxation during 2 kcal/ min infusion was initially reduced in diabetic patients (P < 0.05) but increased to a level similar to healthy humans, unlike non-diabetic patients where relaxation was impaired throughout the infusion. Duodenal nutrient stimulation reduced the fundic wave frequency in a dose-dependent fashion in both the critically ill diabetic patients and healthy subjects, but not in critically ill patients without diabetes. Fundic wave frequency in diabetic patients and healthy subjects was greater than in non-diabetic patients. CONCLUSION: In patients with diabetes mellitus, proximal gastric motility is less disturbed than non- diabetic patients during critical illness, suggesting that these patients may not be at greater risk of delayed gastric emptying.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease after diagnostic endoscopy in the clinical setting

AIM: To investigate the outcome of patients with symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) referred for endoscopy at 2 and 6 mo post endoscopy. METHODS: Consecutive patients referred for upper endoscopy for assessment of GERD symptoms at two large metropolitan hospitals were invited to participate in a 6-mo non-interventional (observational) study.The two institutions are situated in geographically and socially disparate areas. Data collection was by selfcompletion of questionnaires including the patient assessment of upper gastrointestinal disorders symptoms severity and from hospital records. Endoscopic finding using the Los-Angeles classification, symptom severity and it's clinically relevant improvement as change of at least 25%, therapy and socio-demographic factors were assessed. RESULTS: Baseline data were available for 266 patients and 2-mo and 6-mo follow-up data for 128 and 108 patients respectively. At baseline, 128 patients had erosive and 138 non-erosive reflux disease. Allmost all patient had proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy in the past. Overall, patients with non-erosive GERD at the index endoscopy had significantly more severe symptoms as compared to patients with erosive or even complicated GERD while there was no difference with regard to medication. After 2 and 6 mo there was a small, but statistically significant improvement in symptom severity (7.02 ± 5.5 vs 5.9 ± 5.4 and 5.5 ± 5.4 respectively); however, the majority of patients continued to have symptoms (i.e. , after 6 mo 81% with GERD symptoms). Advantaged socioeconomic status as well as being unemployed was associated with greater improvement. CONCLUSION: The majority of GORD patients receive PPI therapy before being referred for endoscopy even though many have symptoms that do not sufficiently respond to PPI therapy.

Proximal gastric response to small intestinal nutrients is abnormal in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients

瞄准：在非常有病的病人决定近似的胃的反应到小肠的营养素。方法：近似胃的活动性在 13 个非常有病的病人被测量(49.3 +/- 4.7 年) 并且 12 个健康志愿者(27.7 +/- 2.9 年) 用一种 barostat 技术。记录在基线被执行，在 60-min 期间 intra 十二指肠的注入保证(2 kcal/min ) ，并且为跟随注入的 2 h。最小的扩张压力(MDP ) ， intra 袋子体积和底的波浪活动是坚定的。结果：MDP 在病人是更高的(11.7 +/- 1.1 对 7.8 +/- 0.7 毫米汞柱；P 【 0.01 ) 。基线 intra 袋子体积在 2 个组是类似的。在健康题目，一“双性人形式”近似胃的体积反应被观察。在病人，近似胃的体积的起始的增加小、推迟，但是最后到达了类似于健康题目的最大的体积。在健康题目，近似胃的体积很快在滋养的注入以后回到了基线水平(中部 18 min ) 。相反，到基线的体积的恢复在非常有病的病人被推迟(中部 106 min ) 。在 6 个病人，体积没在滋养的注入以后回到基线水平 2 小时。在病人，底的体积波浪是不太经常的(P 【 0.05 ) 并且有的更低的振幅(P 【 0.001 ) ，与健康题目相比。结论：在重病，对小肠的滋养的刺激的近似胃的马达回答是反常的。

Impact of bolus volume on small intestinal intra-luminal impedance in healthy subjects

AIM: To assess the impact of bolus volume on the characteristics of small intestinal (SI) impedance signals.METHODS: Concurrent SI manometry-impedance measurements were performed on 12 healthy volunteers to assess the pattern of proximal jejunal fluid bolus movement over a 14 cm-segment.Each subject was given 34 boluses of normal saline (volume from 1 to 30 mL) via the feeding tube placed immediately above the proximal margin of the studied segment.A bolus-induced impedance event occurred if there was > 12% impedance drop from baseline,over ≥ 3 consecutive segments within 10 s of bolus injection.A minor or major imped-ance event was defined as a duration of impedance drop < 60 s or ≥ 60 s,respectively.RESULTS: The minimum volume required for a detectable SI impedance event was 2 mL.A direct linear relationship between the SI bolus volume and the occurrence of impedance events was noted until SI bolus volume reached 10 mL,a volume which always produced an impedance flow event.There was a moderate correlation between the bolus volume and the duration of impedance drop (r = 0.63,P < 0.0001) and the number of propagated channels (r = 0.50,P < 0.0001).High volume boluses were associated with more major impedance events (≥ 10 mL boluses = 63%,3 mL boluses = 17%,and < 3 mL boluses = 0%,P = 0.02).CONCLUSION: Bolus volume had an impact on the type and length of propagation of SI impedance events and a threshold of 2 mL is required to produce an event.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and eosinophilic oesophagitis: What is the relationship?

Eosinophilic oesophagitis(EoE) and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease(GORD) are the most common causes of chronic oesophagitis and dysphagia associated with oesophageal mucosal eosinophilia. Distinguishing between the two is imperative but challenging due to overlapping clinical and histological features. A diagnosis of EoE requires clinical, histological and endoscopic correlation whereas a diagnosis of GORD is mainly clinical without the need for other investigations. Both entities may exhibit oesophageal eosinophilia at a similar level making a histological distinction between them difficult. Although the term proton-pump inhibitor responsive oesophageal eosinophilia has recently been retracted from the guidelines, a relationship between Eo E and GORD still exists. This relationship is complex as they may coexist, either interacting bidirectionally or are unrelated. This review aims to outline the differences and potential relationship between the two conditions, with specific focus on histology, immunology, pathogenesis and treatment.