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Background Same-admission cholecystectomy is advised after gallstone pancreatitis to prevent recurrent pancreatitis, colicky pain and other complications, but data on the incidence of symptoms and complications after cholecystectomy are lacking. Methods This was a prospective cohort study during the previously published randomized controlled PONCHO trial on timing of cholecystectomy after mild gallstone pancreatitis. Data on healthcare consumption and questionnaires focusing on colicky pain and biliary complications were obtained during 6 months after cholecystectomy. Main outcomes were (i) postoperative colicky pain as reported in questionnaires and (ii) medical treatment for postoperative symptoms and gallstone related complications. Results Among 262 patients who underwent cholecystectomy after mild gallstone pancreatitis, 28 of 191 patients (14.7%) reported postoperative colicky pain. The majority of these were reported within 2 months after surgery and were single events. Overall, 25 patients (9.5%) required medical treatment for symptoms or gallstone related complications. Acute readmission was required in seven patients (2.7%). No predictors for the development of postoperative colicky pain were identified. Discussion Some 15% of patients experienced colicky pain after cholecystectomy for mild gallstone pancreatitis, which were mostly single events and rarely required readmission. These data may be used to better inform patients undergoing cholecystectomy for mild gallstone pancreatitis.

Ketorolac has wider clinical use in acute pain management due to cost-effectiveness and safety. We report a case of anaphylaxis to intravenous ketorolac to manage ureteric colic. Health professionals should be aware of the anaphylactic reaction, which is rare yet potentially fatal.

Objective To assess the spasmolytic effect of drotaverine hydrochloride in colicky pain caused by renal and ureteric stones. Patients and methods In a placebo-controlled, multicentre, multinational, randomized, double-blind study changes in the intensity of pain were recorded using a visual analogue scale (VAS), a four-grade (five points) pain intensity (PI) scale and a pain-relief scale. The primary endpoint was the evaluation of the antispasmodic effect of drotaverine during a 3-h study period, to confirm that drotaverine abolished or significantly decreased the intensity of pain in renal colic. The painkilling effect was defined as a decrease by at least half in the PI scale, and/or a >or= 40% decrease in the VAS 40 min after either the first or the second injection of 80 mg drotaverine or placebo (if necessary the dose could be repeated once). In all, 140 patients were enrolled but 38 withdrew, leaving 102 patients for analysis (48 drotaverine, 54 placebo; mean age 42.5 years, sd 11.25, and 41.7, sd 10.79). Results Drotaverine was effective in 79% of patients and placebo in only 46% (P Conclusion Intravenous drotaverine provides effective pain relief in more than two-thirds of patients with renal colic, with no serious side-effects.

The role of early/emergency shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) in symptomatic upper ureteral calculi has still not been established. We have performed a randomized comparison between early (48 hours) vs delayed (48 hours) SWL for symptomatic upper ureteral stones less than 1 cm to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of early SWL in these patients.One hundred and sixty consecutive patients with a single radiopaque upper ureteral stone1 cm, who presented with an episode of colicky pain and who were undergoing treatment between July 2008 and June 2009 in our department were included. The patients were hospitalized and randomized into two groups-group A: SWL was performed within 48 hours of onset of colicky pain (early SWL) using the electromagnetic lithotripter (Dornier Alpha Compact) along with analgesics and hydration therapy; group B: SWL was performed after 48 hours (delayed SWL) along with analgesics and hydration therapy. The statistical analysis was performed in two groups regarding the patient demographic profile, presence of hydronephrosis, time to stone clearance, success rates, number of sessions needed, auxiliary procedures, modified efficiency quotient (EQ), and complications.Eighty patients were enrolled in each group. The mean stone size was 7.3 mm in group A vs 7.5 mm in group B (P = 0.52). The stone fragmentation rate was 88.75% in group A vs 91.2% in group B (P = 0.35). The overall 3-month stone-free rate was 86.3% (69/80) for group A vs 76.2% (61/80) for group B (P = 0.34). The mean time taken for stone clearance was significantly less in group A than in group B (10.2 days vs 21.1 days; P = 0.01). The number of sessions needed in group A were significantly less than in group B (1.3 vs 2.7; P = 0.01). The auxiliary procedure rate was also significantly lesser in group A than group B (16.3% vs 32.5%; P = 0.001). The modified EQ (in %) was 67.2 in group A vs 59.4 in group B (P = 0.21). The steinstrasse formation and requirement for percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) were significantly less in group A (P:0.02 and P:0.01 respectively).Early SWL (within 48 hours of onset of colicky pain) is feasible, safe, and highly efficacious in the management of symptomatic proximal ureteral stones1 cm, resulting in a lesser requirement of number of SWL sessions, time taken for stone clearance, auxiliary procedure rate, and fewer complications in comparison with delayed SWL.

To assess the spasmolytic effect of drotaverine hydrochloride in colicky pain caused by renal and ureteric stones.In a placebo-controlled, multicentre, multinational, randomized, double-blind study changes in the intensity of pain were recorded using a visual analogue scale (VAS), a four-grade (five points) pain intensity (PI) scale and a pain-relief scale. The primary endpoint was the evaluation of the antispasmodic effect of drotaverine during a 3-h study period, to confirm that drotaverine abolished or significantly decreased the intensity of pain in renal colic. The painkilling effect was defined as a decrease by at least half in the PI scale, and/or aor= 40% decrease in the VAS 40 min after either the first or the second injection of 80 mg drotaverine or placebo (if necessary the dose could be repeated once). In all, 140 patients were enrolled but 38 withdrew, leaving 102 patients for analysis (48 drotaverine, 54 placebo; mean age 42.5 years, sd 11.25, and 41.7, sd 10.79).Drotaverine was effective in 79% of patients and placebo in only 46% (P0.001). There were no serious adverse effects. There were 20 minor side-effects in the drotaverine and four in the placebo group; none of the patients required treatment. The most frequent side-effects were a transitory decrease in blood pressure, vertigo, nausea or vomiting.Intravenous drotaverine provides effective pain relief in more than two-thirds of patients with renal colic, with no serious side-effects.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS—Even if the motor activity of the gall bladder and sphincter of Oddi (SO) are integrated, it is not known if the presence of stones in the gall bladder affects SO function. The aim of the study was to compare SO motor activity in patients with and without gall stones. PATIENTS AND METHODS—In a series of 155 patients consecutively submitted to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and SO manometry for suspected biliary or pancreatic disease, 23 gall stone patients had recurrent episodes of biliary or pancreatic pain (colicky group); 52 patients had non-biliary/pancreatic-type abdominal pain/discomfort, and of these, 15 had gall stones (non-colicky group), 25 were free of stones (controls), and 12 had undergone cholecystectomy. RESULTS—SO basal pressure in gall stone patients in the colicky or non-colicky group was significantly higher than in controls (p

A case of lactobezoar is described in a toddler with an acute history of abdominal pain, vomiting, and lethargy. Despite normal dietary habits, he had developed a gastric milk coagulum which led to a palpable epigastric tumor. Intussusception was suspected but disproven by barium enema. In retrospect, plain abdominal radiographs demonstrated characteristic mottled filling defects in the stomach from a lactobezoar. Conservative therapy led to prompt disintegration of the lactobezoar.

Common bile duct stones can be suspected in a patient presenting with biliary type colicky pain, elevated liver enzymes, jaundice, cholangitis or pancreatitis. Beside clinical features, laboratory evaluation and adequate abdominal imaging (primarily abdominal ultrasound) help to assess the likelihood for the presence of CBDS. Recent ESGE guidelines recommend direct ERCP in patients with visible stones or cholangitis only. In other cases (intermediate likelihood) EUS or MRCP before ERCP are recommended.

Renal artery aneurysm is a rare condition. Most patients are asymptomatic. This case presented to the emergency with colicky pain and underwent left transurethral lithotripsy for left ureteral stone, due to simultaneous renal stone candidates for percutaneous nephrolithotomy. In the review of the imaging, we found a large renal artery aneurysm, so vascular surgery consult was done and the patient managed with coil embolization Misdiagnosis of this condition could be led to life-threatening bleeding if percutaneous nephrolithotomy was done. It is recommended that renal artery aneurysm should be considered in the differential diagnosis of renal rim-like opaque lesions.

The metabolism of lactate is important for infant gut health and may lead to acute lactate and/or H2 accumulation, pain, and crying as observed in colicky infants. Functional human studies often faced ethical challenges due to invasive medical procedures; thus, in this study, we implemented PolyFermS fermentation models to mimic the infant proximal colon, which were inoculated with immobilized fecal microbiota of two 2-month-old infants. We investigated the impact of pH, retention time, and accumulation of dl-lactate on microbiota composition and metabolic activity. We found that a drop in pH from 6.0 to 5.0 led to increased LPB and decreased LUB concomitantly with lactate accumulation. Increasing the RT resulted in complete lactate consumption associated with increased LUB. Our data highlight for the first time the impact of key abiotic factors on the metabolism of lactate, which is an important intermediate product for ecology and infant health., The metabolism of lactate impacts infant gut health and may lead to acute accumulation of lactate and/or H2 associated with pain and crying of colicky infants. Because gut microbiota studies are limited due to ethical and safety concerns, in vitro fermentation models were developed as powerful tools to assess effects of environmental conditions on the gut microbiota. In this study, we established a continuous colonic fermentation model (PolyFermS), inoculated with immobilized fecal microbiota and mimicking the proximal colon of 2-month-old infants. We investigated the effects of pH and retention time (RT) on lactate metabolism and of lactate-utilizing bacteria (LUB) exhibiting little or no H2 production. We observed that a drop in pH from 6.0 to 5.0 increased the number of lactate-producing bacteria (LPB) and decreased LUB concomitantly with lactate accumulation. Increasing RT from 5 to 10 h at pH 5.0 resulted in complete lactate consumption associated with increased LUB. Supplementation with dl-lactate (60 mM) to mimic lactate accumulation promoted propionate and butyrate production with no effect on acetate production. We further demonstrated that lactate-utilizing Propionibacterium avidum was able to colonize the reactors 4 days after spiking, suggesting its ability to compete with other lactate-utilizing bacteria producing H2. In conclusion, we showed that PolyFermS is a suitable model for mimicking young infant colonic microbiota. We report for the first time pH and RT as strong drivers for composition and metabolic activity of infant gut microbiota, especially for the metabolism of lactate, which is a key intermediate product for ecology and infant health. IMPORTANCE The metabolism of lactate is important for infant gut health and may lead to acute lactate and/or H2 accumulation, pain, and crying as observed in colicky infants. Functional human studies often faced ethical challenges due to invasive medical procedures; thus, in this study, we implemented PolyFermS fermentation models to mimic the infant proximal colon, which were inoculated with immobilized fecal microbiota of two 2-month-old infants. We investigated the impact of pH, retention time, and accumulation of dl-lactate on microbiota composition and metabolic activity. We found that a drop in pH from 6.0 to 5.0 led to increased LPB and decreased LUB concomitantly with lactate accumulation. Increasing the RT resulted in complete lactate consumption associated with increased LUB. Our data highlight for the first time the impact of key abiotic factors on the metabolism of lactate, which is an important intermediate product for ecology and infant health.

Hepatobiliary and pancreatic ascariasis occur due to migration of the round worm ascaris lumbricoides through the bile duct orifice finally reaching the common bile duct, main pancreatic duct, intrahepatic ducts or gallbladder. These resulted in acute epigastric and right hypochondriac region colicky pain. Ultrasound is the investigation of choice in hepatobiliary ascariasis. We present here sonographic images on four pediatric patients with acute biliary colic.