[Peripheral neuropathies and chronic hepatitis C: a frequent association?].

Objective: The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the prevalence of the peripheral neuropathies associated with chronic hepatitis C and their clinical, electrophysiological and histological characteristics.

Patients And Methods: Thirty six patients admitted from December 1994 to January 1996 for chronic hepatitis C were prospectively investigated. Laboratory data included liver blood tests, serum cryoprecipitate immunoelectrophoresis, assays for anti-nuclear antibody, rheumatoid factor, circulating immune complexes, anti-SSA and anti-SSB antibodies.

[When should patients with bleeding peptic ulcer resume oral intake? A randomized controlled study].

Objectives: Patients presenting with bleeding peptic ulcers are often kept fasted. The contribution of feeding in bleeding recurrence rate is unknown. The aim of this prospective controlled study was to evaluate the effect of early feeding in (a) the bleeding peptic ulcer recurrence rate and (b) the outcome of patients with severe bleeding peptic ulcer.

Effects of octreotide on lower esophageal sphincter in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

We investigated the effects of octreotide infusion on the contractile activity of the esophageal body and lower esophageal sphincter in cirrhotic patients with esophageal varices. Esophageal manometry was performed in 36 alcoholic cirrhotic patients. They were randomly allocated to three groups and received the following treatments blindly for 90 min: an initial 100-microg intravenous bolus followed by a continuous 25 microg/hr octreotide infusion (group I, N= 13), a continuous 25 micro/hr octreotide infusion without an initial bolus (group II, N=13), and a continuous placebo infusion (group III, N=10).

Early feeding or enteral nutrition in patients with cirrhosis after bleeding from esophageal varices? A randomized controlled study.

The aim of this randomized controlled study was to assess the nutritional and clinical effects of early enteral nutrition (EN) in cirrhotic patients with bleeding from esophageal varices. From August 1994 through August 1995, all patients admitted for acute variceal bleeding underwent emergency sclerotherapy or banding ligation and continuous infusion of octreotide and were randomized in two groups. In group A, patients received from day 1 discontinuous polymeric EN (1665 kcal/day, through nasogastric tube) and in group B, patients were nil by mouth.