Liquid enteral diets induce bacterial translocation by increasing cecal flora without changing intestinal motility.

The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of intestinal motility and cecal bacterial overgrowth to liquid diet-induced bacterial translocation (BT). Three different commercially available liquid diets were offered to mice for 1 week. BT to the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), spleen, and liver were examined as well as cecal bacterial counts and populations, small bowel length and weight, and histopathologic changes in the ileal and jejunal mucosa.

[Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for diagnosis of pulmonary lesions].

23 patients (age 11-66 years) underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy for diffuse disease or peripheral nodular lesions of the lung. 12 had been previously treated for extrapulmonary malignancy and lung biopsy was done for suspicious metastases. In all cases except 1, lesions were identified and biopsied by thoracoscopy.

[Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for spontaneous pneumothorax].

We report our initial experience with thoracoscopic surgery in the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax in 14 patients, mean age 30.7 years. 7 were operated following 2 episodes of spontaneous pneumothorax, 6 after their first episode, and 1 after multiple episodes.

A direct inhibitory effect of erythromycin on rat urinary bladder smooth muscle.

Erythromycin (EM) exerts a dual effect on the contractility of smooth muscle. An excitatory effect mediated via motilin receptors is expressed mainly in the smooth muscle of the stomach and duodenum. The other, a direct inhibitory effect mediated via an unknown mechanism, has been described in guinea-pig and human gallbladder, in the longitudinal smooth muscle of the guinea-pig small intestine and in bronchial smooth muscle.

Thoracoscopic surgery in a general surgical service.

Following the great success and wide acceptance of laparoscopic surgery, the mini-invasive approach has been adopted for use in thoracic surgery. Thoracoscopic surgery is gaining acceptability as the procedure of choice for the treatment of recurrent pneumothorax and bullous lung disease, peripheral benign and malignant lesions, diffuse pulmonary infiltrates, mediastinal and pleural lesions, esophageal surgery, and major pulmonary resections for primary lung tumors. We present the 4-year experience of a general surgery service that extended the use of its advanced laparoscopic skills to the performance of thoracoscopic surgery in 80 patients.