Search

We report a case of hemoperitoneum secondary to a spontaneous rupture of liver metastases of a testicular germ cell cancer. In clinical practice, some aetiologies must be considered in case of spontaneous hemoperitoneum, mainly rupture of liver tumors: hepatocellular carcinoma or unfrequently benign tumors; the rupture of a metastase is very uncommon. The main interest of this case report is to point to the possibility of curative option in some cases of metastatic diseases.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the longitudinal quality of life (QoL) between LV5FU2-irinotecan and LV5FU2 alone or LV5FU2-cisplatin in a randomized Phase II trial in patients with metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma., Methods: Among 134 eligible patients, QLQ-C30 scores were collected and described at each 2 monthly follow-up visit during 6 months. The frequencies of QLQ-C30 score improvement were calculated and mixed models for repeated measurements were applied with or without extreme poorest imputation for missing scores. The "survival" until definitive global health score (GHS) deterioration was estimated., Results: At the 3rd follow-up, patients with a stable or improved global health ranged from 11% in the LV5FU2-cisplatin arm to 18% in the LV5FU2-irinotecan arm. The irinotecan-based-therapy presented 14 to 15 scores with a better QoL. The time until definitive GHS deterioration was globally similar between treatment arms., Conclusion: This study highlights a better impact of LV5FU2-irinotecan and the interest of QoL assessment in phase II trials to complement the risk-benefit judgement.

A 45-year-old man presented with a tonsillar tumor and rectal syndrome. Histology specimens revealed signet-cell adenocarcinoma of both the tonsils and rectum. The clinical course was rapidly degenerated with multiple metastases in the skin and bones. Tonsil metastasis is rare and generally develops from primary gastric or colorectal cancer, predominantly poorly-differentiated or signet-ring cell adenocarcinomas.

Fatal complications of percutaneous ethanol injection for the treatment of hepatic tumors are rare events. We report a case of massive hepatic necrosis after treatment by percutaneous ethanol injection of a 4 cm diameter hepatocellular carcinoma, which resulted in the death of the patient. The mechanism of this complication was probably an intratumoral aterioportal shunt, which allowed ethanol to spread through the blood vessels.

Early and appropriate treatment of acute pancreatitis (AP) depends on early causal diagnosis. Published studies have shown favourable results following sphincterotomy performed within the 72 hours of onset of severe gallstone-associated AP. Among the various bio-clinical indices, the lipase/amylase (L/A) ratio, computed within 72 hours after onset, has been shown to discriminate between alcoholic and non alcoholic AP. Our study evaluates the data of biochemical disorders in 51 patients presenting with an episode of AP; these patients were divided into 3 groups: A: alcoholic AP, n = 15; B: biliary AP, n = 25; and C: post-ERCP AP, n = 11. These 3 groups were similar with respect to clinical severity of AP and CT scan. The time delays between onset of the symptoms and the biochemical assay were 1.9 +/- 0.3, 1.9 +/- 0.2 and 0.6 +/- 0.3 d (P < 0.01). AST, ALT, bilirubin, GGT and alkaline phosphatase were significantly (P < 0.05) greater in group B. Blamey's score was 0.5 +/- 0.2, 2.8 +/- 0.2 and 2.5 +/- 0.4 in groups A, B and C respectively. Serum amylase, serum lipase and L/A ratio were identical in groups A and B. The decrease in serum amylase after 48 hours was more important only in group B (56 +/- 8, 80 +/- 4, 47 +/- 3% respectively in groups A, B and C). L/A ratio was significantly greater in group C when compared with group A and B (1.7 +/- 0.4, 1.5 +/- 0.2 and 2.2 +/- 0.3 in groups A, B and C respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Strong inhibition of acid secretion could be able to decrease gastric and duodenal ulcer early rebleeding. OBJECTIVE--The aim of this double blind randomized trial was to compare early rebleeding rates of 2 groups of patients treated with ranitidine (600 mg/day) or lansoprazole (60 mg/day) per os for 6 consecutive days. METHODS--Seventy five patients with a high risk of rebleeding (clinical and endoscopical criteria) were included in this trial. These ulcers were Ia (n = 10), Ib (n = 20), IIa (n = 13), IIb (n = 32) in Forrest classification. RESULTS--Nineteen out of 75 patients rebled (25.3%): 11 out of 37 (30%) and 8 out of 38 (21%) in the ranitidine and lansoprazole groups respectively. Rates of rebleeding were 10%, 12.5%, 36% and 29% respectively in the ulcers grade Ia (previously treated with endoscopic sclerosis), Ib, IIa and IIb in the Forest classification. CONCLUSION--The rates of rebleeding were not statistically different in the 2 groups of treatment. The high rebleeding rates observed with Forrest IIa and IIb and duodenal ulcers support the need of haemostatic endoscopic therapy associated to antisecretory treatment in such patients.

Unlabelled: A new therapeutic approach has been recently proposed in the management of chronic pancreatitis, including pancreatic endoscopic papillotomy and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and the short--and long-term results of these procedures in a series of 16 patients aged 48.9 +/- 14 years. The indication for endoscopic treatment was pain in 15 cases and steatorrhea in one case. Pancreatic duct abnormalities included main pancreatic duct stenosis with calculi (9 cases), communicating pseudocysts upstream to a ductal stenosis or obstruction by calculi (4 cases), and isolated calculi (4 cases). Clinical response and morphologic parameters were used for analysis. Mean follow-up was 18.6 months (3.5 months to 7 years)., Results: a) pancreatic endoscopic papillotomy, stents placement, and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy were successfully performed in 15 out of 16 cases, 1 out of 4 cases and 8 out of 8 cases, respectively; b) symptomatic improvement was observed in 11 of 15 patients with painful pancreatitis as relief was complete in 8, and partial in 3 cases. Pain relapse occurred in these latter 3 patients 4, 18 and 48 months after treatment; diabetes mellitus remained unchanged in all cases; c) diameter of the main pancreatic duct and pancreatic calcifications decreased in 8 of 15 cases and in 10 of 15 cases, respectively; pseudocyst disappeared in 2 of 4 cases; clinical improvement was significantly correlated with pancreatic morphology improvement. Clinical relapse was associated with calculi recurrence in every case. No complication was observed. Endoscopic papillotomy and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy are feasible in most cases of chronic pancreatitis. Relief of pain is obtained rapidly after treatment and seems to be correlated with the quality of pancreatic drainage.

Cystadenomas and cystadenocarcinomas are the most common cystic tumors of the pancreas. Their inner lining contains neuroendocrine cells that may, in rare cases, produce a systemic syndrome. Similarly, digestive or pancreatic endocrine tumors have been reported in association with cystic tumors of the pancreas. We report a case of cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas head, associated with a serous cystadenoma and an endocrine tumor of the body of the pancreas. In a 70 year old patient, jaundiced due to obstruction of the extra-hepatic bile ducts, the abdominal ultrasound and CT scan showed a hypoechogenic hypodense lesion of the pancreas head resulting in an enlargement of the common bile duct and pancreatic duct. Echoendoscopy confirmed the diagnosis and gave additional information; it showed that the cephalic lesion was heterogeneous, with anechogene spaces separated by coarse echogenic septae associated to a solid contingent. Also detected by echoendoscopy was a cystic lesion containing thin septae and a contiguous hypoechogenic nodule of the body of the pancreas. Histology of the specimen following total pancreatectomy revealed a cephalic cystadenocarcinoma associated with a serous cystadenoma and a non-secreting endocrine tumor of the body region. This observation highlights the usefulness of echoendoscopy in the work-up of cystic lesions of the pancreas; indeed, the tumors of the body of the pancreas were not detected by others methods. Furthermore, there are reports in literature on endocrine secretion syndromes secondary to digestive endocrine tumors or neuroendocrine cells in the lining of cystic tumors of the pancreas.

Most gastric mucosal changes in cirrhosis are thought to be related to vasculopathy. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between gastric mucosal changes and hemodynamic in cirrhosis. Thirty patients with alcoholic cirrhosis were divided into four groups: no congestive gastropathy (n = 6), mild congestive gastropathy type 1 (discrete mosaic pattern) (n = 9), mild congestive gastropathy type 2 (obvious mosaic pattern) (n = 9), and severe congestive gastropathy (n = 6). The four groups did not significantly differ with respect to clinical and biochemical data, degree of hepatic dysfunction, or endoscopic signs of portal hypertension. A hyperdynamic circulatory syndrome was observed in most patients, but tended to be more pronounced in patients with severe congestive gastropathy and mild congestive gastropathy type 2 as compared to patients with normal mucosa, or mild congestive gastropathy type 1. Systemic vascular resistance was found to be significantly lower in high-grade patients (mild congestive gastropathy type 2 + severe congestive gastropathy, n = 15) as compared with low-grade patients (no congestive gastropathy + mild congestive gastropathy type 1, n = 15) (736 +/- 267 vs 1,046 +/- 403 dyne.s.cm-5, P = 0.02). Neither splanchnic hemodynamics as assessed by the degree of portal hypertension (hepatic venous pressure gradient) and superior mesenteric artery vascular resistance (Doppler measurement of the pulsatility index) catecholamines or glucagon serum levels differed significantly between the four groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

We report three cases of "black esophagus" defined as a diffuse or patchy black color of the esophagus on endoscopy, associated with mucosa necrosis at histologic examination. Ischemia was invocated in two cases and alcaline reflux seemed to be likely in the third case. These observations are compared with the seven others cases previously reported in the literature.

Unlabelled: Adults with dyschezia are occasionally diagnosed as having megarectum when anorectal manometry identifies rectal sensory disturbances. It remains difficult however to ascertain whether this state represents a part of the pathophysiological process responsible for symptoms, or just an associated phenomenon. The aim of this study was to highlight the symptomatic and functional features encountered in patients with dyschezia and megarectum, and to compare them with those obtained in an asymptomatic group and in a group of patients complaining of dyschezia without manometric megarectum., Patients and Methods: The maximum tolerable volume (MTV) was defined as the highest tolerable volume which induced painful and irrepressible repletion upon inflation of the rectum with air. The upper normal range of MTV (330 mL) was obtained from rectal manometry performed in a group of 18 healthy volunteers and asymptomatic patients (mean age: 37.8 +/- 14 years, 12 F, 6 M). Between February 90 and February 92, 27 consecutive adults (48 ans +/- 15 years, 26 F, 1 M) suffering from dyschezia were found to have abnormally increased MTV, and were compared to a group of 35 patients (47 +/- 15.3 years, 34 F, 1 M) with dyschezia with MTV within normal ranges. Symptomatic patients underwent detailed interrogation, clinical examination, anorectal manometry, and evacuation proctography., Results: Parity, prevalence of hysterectomy, symptoms and natural history did not differ between the two groups except for increased use of antidepressive agents in the megarectum group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Villous neoplasms of the main pancreatic duct are uncommon. Two cases of neoplasm of the main cephalic pancreatic duct in 61- and 42-year-old patients presenting with long standing (10 and 12 years) history of abdominal pain are reported. In both cases, duodenal fistula was present and mucus was observed by endoscopy at the fistula and major papilla levels. Endoscopic retrograde pancreatography showed a stricture of the main pancreatic duct in the pancreatic head. In one case, with incomplete stricture, pancreatic ducts disclosed typical features of chronic obstructive pancreatitis and contained mucus casts. Histologic examination of total and proximal duodenopancreatectomy showed a villous neoplastic pattern with focal malignant changes within the main pancreatic duct. The adjacent pancreatic tissue showed signs of stromal invasion without lymph node or nervous infiltration. Glandular parenchyma was atrophic in the pancreatic body and tail, with extensive fibrosis, and the pancreatic duct depicted signs of nonpapillary hyperplasia. Histochemical study disclosed a predominant sialomucin secretion by villous adenoma and sulfomucin secretion by epithelial cells lining the accessory or main caudal pancreatic ducts. These results lead us to suggest a possible relationship between villous adenoma of ducts and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

131I MIBG scintigraphy is of great value in the diagnosis and the treatment of several tumors derived from the neural crest. But, its role in the assessment of carcinoid tumors remains to be evaluated. It was the aim of this prospective study. Between 1987 and 1989, 14 consecutive patients with carcinoid tumors were studied. Planar scintigrams were obtained 24 and 48 hours after the intravenous injection of 74 MBq of 131I MIBG. At least one scintigraphy was performed in every patient; at that time one or several abdominal tumor sites (a total of 22 sites) were found and histologically proven. Scintigram was judged as positive in 9 of 14 patients (64 p. 100); 68 percent of the 22 tumor sites and 86 percent of the 14 extra-hepatic tumor sites took up 131I MIBG. Liver metastases were overlooked on scintigrams in 5 of 8 patients. Scintigraphy was the only positive examination in 3 patients. No false positive scintigrams were noticed. These results emphasize the value of 131I MIBG scintigraphy in the assessment of carcinoid value tumors.

Gastroduodenal duplication is a rare congenital entity. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult because symptoms are usually non specific and can mimick pancreatitis. We report 2 cases of gastric and duodenal cystic duplication in adults presenting as pancreatitis. Chronic pancreatitis was observed on endoscopic retrograde pancreatography and confirmed at laparotomy in both cases. Pancreatitis was probably related to alcoholism in one case, but might have been secondary to duplication in the other. In both cases, duplication was misinterpreted initially as a pseudocystic complication of pancreatitis until laparotomy was performed. These 2 cases lead us to discuss the relationship between duplication and pancreatitis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognosis and the determinants of survival in cirrhotics presenting with variceal bleeding. One hundred and ninety one consecutive patients with cirrhosis (alcoholic 93 percent) were enrolled between 1983 and 1988. Treatment was principally but not exclusively based on early endoscopic sclerotherapy. At admission all patients were classified according to Child-Pugh's classification (class A = 16 percent; class B = 53 percent; class C = 31 percent). The rebleeding rates at 48 hours and for the entire hospitalisation were 11 and 30 percent respectively. Actuarial survival rates were 45, 40, and 37 percent at 12, 18, and 36 months, respectively. Prognostic factors, as determined by uni- and multivariate analysis (Cox model), corresponded to Child-Pugh's score, to the five components, and the occurrence of early bleeding recurrence. This study also showed that: i) the role of Child-Pugh's classification on long-term prognosis is determined during the 3 months following index bleeding; ii) early rebleeding is a significant prognostic factor, particularly in Child-Pugh's class B patients; iii) there are few indicators of early rebleeding (serum albumin level, presence of gastric varices at initial endoscopy). Prognosis of variceal bleeding is still severe in cirrhosis but efforts made to prevent early bleeding recurrence seem to be fully justified.

The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the clinical and prognostic characteristics of bleeding ulcers following gastrotoxic agent use. From 1984 to 1988, 244 patients were admitted in our Intensive Care Unit for bleeding ulcers; 133 (54.5 percent) were using gastrotoxic agents. Patients not taking gastrotoxic agents were compared with patients taking non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (n = 77) or aspirin (n = 35). Patients receiving non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs differed (P less than 0.05) from patients not taking gastrotoxic agents: they were older, had less history of ulcer, hemorrhage, and alcohol abuse. Patients taking aspirin had less severe hemorrhage and took anticoagulant therapy less frequently than patients not taking gastrotoxic agents. Patients taking aspirin were younger, had less severe hemorrhage and had more frequent history of alcohol abuse and ulcer disease than patients taking non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs. There was no difference with regard to endoscopic data and mortality (7 percent). Two thirds of hemorrhages following non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs occurred during the month following the onset or the modification of treatment. The distribution of non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs in the group of patients who bled after non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs differed from that of regional sales. These results suggest that upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding associated with the use of gastrotoxic agent are frequent, particularly in elderly patients, are not associated with poor prognosis, and occur soon after the beginning of treatment.

Gastroduodenal intussusception is a very rare entity and is generally associated with benign tumor of the stomach. We report a new case of central gastroduodenal intussusception related to schwannoma. We emphasize the radiologic features which can be misinterpreted as well as the endoscopic aspect hitherto unreported.

The time course of antisecretory effects of ranitidine and cimetidine and their relationship to plasma concentration were studied in 4 healthy volunteers. Placebo, cimetidine (266 mg) or ranitidine (100 mg) were infused during one hour preceding the 90 minute assessment of food-stimulated gastric acid secretion (intragastric titration); cimetidine and ranitidine blood levels and gastric acid outputs were measured at 15 min intervals. For each test a significant (p less than or equal to 0.01) correlation was found between concentration and effect. The half-life effect of ranitidine (t1/2 E) was significantly (p less than or equal to 0.05) greater than t1/2 E of cimetidine whereas their plasma half-lives (t1/2) were similar. The ratio t1/2 E/t1/2 was significantly (p less than or equal to 0.05) lower with cimetidine than with ranitidine. Explanations for this discrepancy are analyzed according to various hypotheses. The determination of t1/2 E seems to be a good approach to the duration of action of H2-antagonists. Our results show that the ratio t1/2 E/t1/2 and the t1/2 E might be important pharmacokinetic parameters to compare various H2-receptor antagonists.

The authors report 6 cases of portal hypertension with gastrorenal shunt. This shunt did not arise from the left gastric vein, but from the splenic vein. Portal hypertension was related to alcoholic cirrhosis in 3 cases, to extensive portal thrombosis in 2 cases, and to nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver in one case. A gastrointestinal hemorrhage revealed portal hypertension and the liver disease in the 3 cases of alcoholic cirrhosis and complicated the course of the disease in the other cases. Hemorrhage was either massive and life-threatening or often recurred. It was related to a rupture of fundic varices in all cases. The fundic varices were not associated with esophageal varices in the 3 cases of cirrhosis. The degree of portal hypertension was above 20 mm Hg, as assessed by the portohepatic gradient (one case), or the pressure gradient between a tributary portal system vein and the inferior vena cava during laparotomy (5 cases). Definitive control of hemorrhage could not be achieved by endoscopic variceal sclerotherapy (2 cases) or percutaneous transhepatic embolization (one case). Portacaval shunt or splenectomy was performed in 5 cases. These findings suggest that spontaneous splenogastrorenal shunt is a clinical and hemodynamic entity which requires specific treatment when associated with gastric variceal bleeding.

We report the case of 4 male patients, smokers, with alcoholic cirrhosis, mean age 54.7 +/- 6 years, treated by sclerotherapy for bleeding esophageal varices. Variceal eradication was obtained following juxtacardial intravariceal injection of 1.5 p. 100 polidocanol in one case (100 ml), and 0.5 p. 100 polidocanol in 3 cases (90, 240 and 310 ml). Local complications were observed in all patients (ulcers: 3; stenosis: 1). Carcinoma of the lower third of the esophagus was detected 12, 20, 22 and 30 months after esophageal sclerosis. Carcinoma was circular (one case), semicircular (2 cases), and nodular superimposed on Barrett's esophagus (one case). Histologic features included squamous cell carcinoma in 3 cases and adenocarcinoma in one case. Sclerotherapy could lead to the development of carcinoma because of mucosal alterations. However, other high risk factors (age, alcohol-tobacco intoxication, Barrett's esophagus) and different histologic features suggest a causal association. Endoscopic follow-up of patients after esophageal sclerosis could confirm this hypothesis.

The authors report the case of a patient with generalized polyposis associated with ulcerative colitis. The diagnosis of polyposis was made 20 years after the onset of colitis. The patient presented with the unusual clinical manifestations, ie poor general condition and severe denutrition, following a severe relapse of colitis. The mucosal surface of the entire colon, except the rectum, was covered by innumerable polyps, without any macroscopic or microscopic evidence of ulceration. Intestinal protein loss, as assessed by alpha-1-antitrypsin clearance, was very high (470 ml/d). Acute mucosal inflammation, as assessed by histologic study and by 111-Indium-labelled-leukocyte scintigraphy, was also present. The patient responded dramatically to total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis. Histologically, the polyps were filiform, with a central core, containing vessels and smooth muscle fibers. This observation demonstrates that generalized polyposis, generally considered to be an asymptomatic sequela of ulcerative colitis, can also be associated with severe attacks of colitis.

Intra-arterial injection of lipiodol-adriamycin mixtures are commonly used in the treatment of hepatic tumors based on the progressive release of adriamycin. This study was undertaken to assess, in vitro, the influence of mixture formulations on the adriamycin release pattern. Eight mixtures containing 10 mg of adriamycin were tested. Adriamycin was tested in solution (mixture A) in suspension (mixture B), or in emulsions with Hexabrix 320 (mixtures C to F). Ratios between Hexabrix and lipiodol volumes were 2/1, 1/1, 1/2, and 1/4 for emulsions C, D, E, and F, respectively. Emulsions G and H corresponded to emulsions E and F, with Arlacel A as emulsifying agent. All mixtures were prepared in triplicate and added with water. Samples of 200 microliters were taken from the aqueous phase after 10, 20, 30 min, 1, 2, 4, 8, 24, 48, 72, and 120 h for adriamycin dosage. Lipiodol-adriamycin mixture formulation significantly influenced the release pattern of adriamycin. Three formulations (suspension, emulsions 2/1 and 1/4) induced the most progressive release of adriamycin from lipiodol. This release was dramatically retarded by the addition of an emulsifying agent.