The effect of information level and coping style on pain and anxiety in needle liver biopsy.

Biopsy of the liver is an important diagnostic procedure. The procedure is invasive and may be painful for patients. Sedative drugs are not used because the associated drop in blood pressure mimics hemorrhage, a major complication of the procedure.

Failure to improve parameters of lactose maldigestion using the multiprobiotic product VSL3 in lactose maldigesters: a pilot study.

Lactose maldigestion is a common genetic trait in up to 70% of the world's population. In these subjects, the ingestion of lactose may lead to prebiotic effects which can be confirmed by measurement of breath hydrogen. After a period of continuous lactose ingestion, colonic bacterial adaptation is measurable as improved parameters of lactose digestion.