Relation of symptoms to impaired stomach, small bowel, and colon motility in long-standing diabetes.

Stomach, intestinal, and colonic transit were measured in males with insulin-requiring diabetes of greater than 10 years' duration to compare with symptoms and to estimate the medical significance. For all diabetics only the symptom constipation correlated with the appropriate regional delayed transit. Diabetics with delayed transit in any region, however, had more overall gastrointestinal symptoms.

The importance of hiatal hernia in reflux esophagitis compared with lower esophageal sphincter pressure or smoking.

The characteristics of gastroesophageal reflux disease have not been adequately defined. To determine the influence on the esophageal mucosa of hiatal hernia, lower esophageal sphincter pressure, acid reflux, and cigarettes and alcohol, we studied the reflux parameters, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption of 184 healthy, ambulatory outpatients who received endoscopy as the initial diagnostic procedure for workup of gastroesophageal reflux. Patients received endoscopic and histologic evaluations of the esophageal mucosa, prolonged ambulatory esophageal pH monitoring, and esophageal manometric determinations.

Most asthmatics have gastroesophageal reflux with or without bronchodilator therapy.

The relationship between gastroesophageal reflux and asthma has not been clearly defined. We measured the lower esophageal sphincter pressures and studied gastroesophageal reflux patterns over 24 hours using an ambulatory Gastroreflux Recorder (Del Mar Avionics, Irvine, CA) in 44 controls and 104 consecutive adult asthmatics. The presence or absence of reflux symptoms was not used as a selection criterion for asthmatics.

Effect of positions, eating, and bronchodilators on gastroesophageal reflux in asthmatics.

Gastroesophageal reflux is common in asthmatics. To determine whether bronchodilators, the supine position, or eating affect gastroesophageal reflux, we performed ambulatory 24-hr pH monitoring on 44 controls and 104 unselected adult asthmatics. All asthmatics had discrete attacks of wheezing and documented reversible airway obstruction of at least 20%.

Explosion-safe, enema-free, nutritious colonoscopy preparation using a prepackaged formula diet.

Breath hydrogen and methane concentrations were normal before morning colonoscopy in 72 ambulatory patients randomly assigned to Ensure or clear liquid diet preparation for 48 hours. Mechanical bowel preparation was equal with each diet using an evening-laxative and morning-enema regimen and with Ensure using two consecutive evenings of laxatives without enemas. Ensure is an explosion-safe, mechanically acceptable, nutritionally adequate method of colonoscopy preparation.