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Introduction: Intragastric balloon (IGB) is a minimally invasive and reversible option for obesity treatment. There is a worldwide growing number of different IGB models. The efficacy and safety profile for each model must be demonstrated. We aim to evaluate IGB safety profile according to the experience of the Spanish Bariatric Endoscopy Group (GETTEMO)., Methods: A survey of 37 IGBs safety-related questions was sent to all GETTEMO members, to retrospectively collect a multicenter Spanish registry. Incidence, causes, and resolution of both major and minor complications and adverse events (AEs), including legal consequences, differentiated for each balloon model were evaluated. Secondary outcome was weight loss data to confirm efficacy., Results: Twenty-one Spanish hospitals experienced in IGBs responded. The overall data encompassed 20,680 IGBs, including 12 different models. Mean %TBWL of 17.66 ± 2.5% was observed. Early removal rate due to intolerance was 3.62%. Mean major complications rate was 0.70% (> 1% in Spatz2, HB, and Spatz3 models), mainly complicated gastric ulcer. Minor AEs rate was 6.37%, mainly esophagitis. Nine cases (0.04%) required surgery. A single case of mortality (0.0048%) occurred. Seven lawsuits (0.0034%) were received, all with favorable resolution., Conclusions: In the Spanish experience accumulating 20,680 IGBs and including 12 different balloon models, a low incidence rate of major complications and minor AEs are observed (0.70% and 6.37%, respectively), mostly resolved with medical/endoscopic management. IGB shows good tolerance and efficacy profile. These safety data are within the accepted quality standards., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Based on the assumption that dietary and faecal nitrogen correlate, the number of studies using faecal samples collected in the wild to understand diet selection by wild herbivores and other ecological patterns has been growing during the last years, especially due to the recent development of cheap tools for analysis of nutrients like Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS). Within the annual reproductive cycle, cervids (members of the family Cervidae) face strong seasonal variations in nutritional demands, different for hinds (gestation and lactation) and stags (antler growth) and reflected in differential patterns of seasonal diet selection. In this study we aimed to quantify how pasture availability, season and individual factors like sex, age, reproductive status, body mass and body condition affect faecal nutrients in captive red deer with the goal of understanding how these factors may influence the interpretation of results from samples obtained in the wild with little or no information about the animals who dropped those faeces. We used NIRS for analysing nitrogen, neutral and acid detergent fibres in faeces. The relative influence of some individual factors like pregnancy was low (around 4%), while age and weight may induce a variability up to 18%. The presence or absence of pasture contributed to a variability around 13%, while the season contributed to an average variability around 17% (and up to 21% in certain situations). This high variability in faecal nutrients was observed in a controlled setting with captive animals and controlled diets. Thus, in natural situations we suspect that there would be even greater variation. According to the results, we recommend that preliminary research with captive animals of the species of interest should be conducted before collecting samples in the wild, which should help in the interpretation of results.

Foraging theory predicts that animals should be able to assess nutrient content of food sources and adjust their diet according to needs. As many minerals are essential nutrients, animals should be able to discriminate and consume the amount needed for each mineral. Although this has been proved for sodium and phosphorus, it is not clear if animals can discriminate among other essential minerals, and if they do so based on physiological needs. Requirements depend on sex, age, and physiological status, and thus usually vary greatly among individuals. Thus, if animals behave as optimal foragers of minerals, factors affecting individual physiological needs should also affect intake behaviour of each mineral. We tested this prediction in Iberian red deer. During two lactation periods a series of containers with different minerals, most of them diluted in salt, were offered to 59 adult hinds and their calves while consumption behaviour was recorded. Study animals were monitored weekly and milk production was assessed during the experiment. All the lactation variables influenced mineral consumption, and the effect differed for each mineral. Models explained a higher proportion of variability in calf than hind behaviour, reflecting probably a greater constraint as a result of growth needs. Thus, results show that deer can select mineral content in their diet and that selection is shaped by physiological effort as expected if consumption is driven by physiological needs., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)