ERCP in the assessment of patients with post-cholecystectomy syndrome: benefits and limitations.

The aim of our study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy yielded by endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) in a group of 41 patients presenting with persistent or recurrent abdominal pain and/or cholestasis following cholecystectomy. Each patient had previously undergone, without success, a different combination of non-invasive tests. Cannulation with adequate opacification of at least one duct was achieved in all patients.

A maintenance regimen of sucralfate 2 g at night for reduced relapse rate in duodenal ulcer disease. A one-year follow-up study.

One hundred seventeen patients with recently healed duodenal ulcers were entered into a one-year maintenance study. Patients were randomly assigned to treatment with sucralfate 2 g at night, cimetidine 400 mg, or placebo. The sucralfate versus placebo leg of the study was double-blind, whereas the cimetidine leg was single-blind.

Severe electrolyte abnormalities and paralytic ileus complicating delirium tremens.

Pneumonia and cardiac arrhythmias represent the most common life-threatening complications during delirium tremens. Electrolyte abnormalities are common underlying conditions in chronic alcoholics and they may further complicate the management of patients with alcohol-withdrawal syndrome or with delirium tremens. The authors present two cases in which the clinical picture of severe paralytic ileus complicating delirium tremens was closely associated with electrolyte status and postulate that the two were cause-effect related.

Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. Importance of gastric acid secretion, H2-antagonists, and enteric coating.

The relative efficacy of three commercial pancreatic enzyme supplements in improving fat absorption was studied using the [14C]triolein breath test in 12 patients with chronic pancreatitis. Two of the supplements were enteric coated. The one nonenteric coated product was studied twice: with and without ranitidine coadministration.

Gastric DNA synthesis rate in different experimental models of duodenal reflux.

The aim of our investigation was to study the gastric mucosa DNA synthesis pattern in different experimental models of duodenal reflux. The following operations were performed on male Wistar rats: (A) sham-operation; (B) Roux-Y gastrectomy; (C) Billroth I; (D) Polya-type partial gastrectomy; (E) Billroth II; and (F) simple gastroenterostomy. Fifteen weeks later rats were sacrificed and histological and in vitro 3H thymidine autoradiographic studies were carried out.

Ventilatory response to inspired carbon dioxide in premature infants recovering from intraventricular hemorrhage.

We examined the ventilatory response to inhaled carbon dioxide with a computerized waveform analyzer in two groups of premature infants. Twenty-seven infants suffered from periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) during the first week of life and comprised the study group (birth weight 1.2 +/- 0.

Bronchodilator activity in vivo and in vitro of four 13,14-didehydro-PGE2 analogues.

The bronchodilator activity of four analogues of PGE2: 13,14-didehydro-PGE2 (I), 20-methyl-13,14-didehydro-PGE2 (II), 16 S-methyl-13,14-didehydro-PGE2 (III) and 16 R-methyl-13,14-didehydro-PGE2 (IV) was studied in vivo and in vitro. The potency of III and IV when administered by aerosol to conscious guinea pigs was four times that of PGE2 in protecting against histamine-induced convulsion; I and II were less active. Compound III administered by aerosol to anaesthetized guinea pigs was six times more potent than PGE2 in protecting against i.