Duodenogastric reflux: clinical and therapeutic aspects. (1/40)

BACKGROUND: Duodenogastric reflux is believed to cause damage to gastric mucosa. Most reports on this disorder concern adult patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 1120 children with abdominal pain were studied; endoscopic features of duodenogastric reflux were found in 92 patients. To confirm the diagnosis of duodenogastric reflux, cholescintigraphy (Tc99-HEPIDA) was performed. Children with confirmed duodenogastric reflux by scintigraphy were given a prokinetic drug (cisapride). RESULTS: Endoscopic features of duodenogastric reflux were found in 92 children; the diagnosis was confirmed by scintigraphy in 59 patients. There was no significant difference in the severity of inflammation in gastric mucosa compared with the control group, whereas significantly fewer of these patients were infected with Helicobacter pylori. There was no correlation between regions of isotope accumulation and inflammatory lesions in the stomach. The prokinetic drug (cisapride) helped eliminate or greatly reduce duodenogastric reflux in children. CONCLUSIONS: When endoscopic features of duodenogastric reflux are found the final diagnosis should be based on an examination that does not itself influence the motility of the gastrointestinal tract: cholescintigraphy seems to be a useful method. However, because the use of milk as a test meal affects the scintigraphic image, there was no correlation between the area of isotope accumulation and the localisation of inflammatory lesions in the stomach. Duodenogastric reflux seems to be less important as a cause of inflammatory lesions than other factors (such as genetic predisposition, stress, etc). Prokinetic drugs have a beneficial influence on treatment results in children with inflammatory lesions of gastric mucosa with duodenogastric reflux.  (+info)

Outcome of endoscopic sphincterotomy in post cholecystectomy patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction as predicted by manometry and quantitative choledochoscintigraphy. (2/40)

BACKGROUND: Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction is diagnosed at manometry and, after cholecystectomy, non-invasively at quantitative choledochoscintigraphy. Patients may benefit from endoscopic sphincterotomy. AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of choledochoscintigraphy compared with manometry in predicting outcome of sphincterotomy in post cholecystectomy patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty patients with biliary-type pain complying with the Rome diagnostic criteria of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction and belonging to biliary group I and II were subjected to clinical evaluation, choledochoscintigraphic assessment of the hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, and perendoscopic manometry. Twenty two biliary group I and II patients with prolonged hepatic hilum-duodenum transit times were invited to undergo sphincterotomy. Fourteen patients underwent sphincterotomy; eight refused. Clinical and scintigraphic assessments were performed at follow up. RESULTS: Hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time was delayed in all patients with manometric evidence of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, in all biliary group I patients and in 64% of biliary group II patients. At follow up, all patients who underwent sphincterotomy were symptom free and hepatic hilum-duodenum transit time had either normalised or significantly improved. A favourable post sphincterotomy outcome was predicted in 93% of cases at choledochoscintigraphy and in 57% at manometry. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative choledochoscintigraphy is a useful and non-invasive test to diagnose sphincter of Oddi dysfunction as well as a reliable predictor of sphincterotomy outcome in post cholecystectomy biliary group I and II patients, irrespective of clinical classification and manometric findings.  (+info)

Hepatic clearance mechanism of Tc-99m-HIDA and its effect on quantitation of hepatobiliary function: Concise communication. (3/40)

Parameters affecting the hepatobiliary clearance of Tc-99m N(2,6-dimethylphenyl carbamoylmethyl) iminodiacetic acid (Tc-HIDA) were evaluated in dogs. Competitive clearance studies, were performed with Tc-HIDA after infusion to plasma saturation levels of an anion, sodium sulfobromophthalein (BSP), and a cation, oxyphenonium. The results demonstrated that Tc-HIDA is transported through hepatocytes by a carrier-mediated organic-anion pathway. The data are consistent with an alteration of the elimination kinetics of Tc-HIDA induced by elevations in the serum bilirubin level, and it is predicted that serum bilirubin at some increased concentration will dominate the distribution and elimination kinetics of Tc-HIDA independently of hepatobiliary status. A quantitative description of liver function in terms of regional distribution and elimination rate constants will require either a pharmacokinetic model that expressly includes the effects of bilirubin, the development of new anionic hepatobiliary agents capable of displacing endogenous bilirubin from transport binding sites, or the development of new hepatobiliary agents that use a different clearance mechanism from that used by bilirubin.  (+info)

Comparison of fatty meal and intravenous cholecystokinin infusion for gallbladder ejection fraction. (4/40)

Gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF) measured with a fatty meal (half-and-half milk) was compared with that measured with 2 equal sequential intravenous infusions of cholecystokinin (CCK-8) in a paired study of healthy subjects. METHODS: GBEF was measured by (99m)Tc-hepatic iminodiacetic acid cholescintigraphy in 13 healthy subjects. Each subject received 2 sequential doses of CCK-8 (3 ng/kg/min for 10 min) on day 1, followed by, on day 2, a 240-mL (8 oz) fatty meal (half-and-half milk) per 70 kg of body weight. RESULTS: The mean +/- SD GBEF of 53.6% +/- 20.2% with fatty meal was significantly lower than the mean of 75.8% +/- 16.3% (P < 0.01) with the first dose of CCK-8 and 71.3% +/- 17.4% (P < 0.05) with the second dose. Fatty meal GBEF varied widely, from 23.5% to 91.8%. Percentile rankings of the fatty meal GBEF were determined as the preferred methodology for reporting results. Latent and ejection periods were significantly longer with fatty meal than with either dose of CCK-8. CONCLUSION: GBEF measured with fatty meal can serve as an alternative method to intravenous injection of CCK-8 when the hormone is no longer available for clinical use. The measurement of GBEF with fatty meal requires careful attention to the details of the meal and the measurement time sequence.  (+info)

Unique scintigraphic findings of bile extravasation in the presence of ascites: a complication of hepatic transplantation. (5/40)

A 99mTc-HIDA scan was performed on a 4-mo-old female, six days after hepatic transplantation. Gradually, a diffuse increase in activity was seen over the peritoneal region, consistent with a slow bile leak into ascitic fluid. Although the scintigraphic appearance of a bile leak has been previously described, it is usually seen as a focal area of extrabiliary activity. In this case, we report a pattern identified when the leak occurs in conjunction with ascites.  (+info)

Proposal of a modified scintigraphic method to evaluate duodenogastroesophageal reflux. (6/40)

Hepatobiliary scintigraphy with 99mTc-HIDA offers a noninvasive method to detect duodenogastric reflux. Biliary reflux was graded using the persistence rather than the intensity of the radioactive refluxate: Grade 0 was considered the absence of reflux, minimal reflux, or reflux in the first 10-15 min; Grade 1 was repetitive reflux lasting less than 10 min; Grade 2 was persistent reflux; and Grade 3 was reflux up to the esophagus. Twenty-five patients with foregut symptoms were studied and results were compared to 24-hr gastric pH monitoring. Scintigraphy and pH monitoring agreed in 15 out of 25 patients (60%), but no correlation was found with the endoscopic findings. The rationale for this approach is based on pathophysiologic evidence that damage to gastric and/or esophageal mucosa is mainly related to the prolonged contact time with duodenal contents. This technique seems to allow a complete functional evaluation of the esophagogastroduodenal tract without causing adjunctive irradiation or discomfort to the patient.  (+info)

Quantitative measurement of biliary excretion and of gall bladder concentration of drugs under physiological conditions in man. (7/40)

Gall bladder storage of hepatic bile prevents complete recovery of biliary excretion of drugs to be obtained under physiological conditions in man. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a method for simultaneous measurement of gall bladder storage of a cholephilic drug, and of its duodenal excretion and t1/2 in bile. Duodenal perfusion using polyethylene glycol as intestinal recovery marker for measurement of drug duodenal excretion, with an iv bolus of 99mTc HIDA for measurement of drug mass within the gall bladder was used. Gall bladder volume was measured by ultrasonography. T1/2 in bile was measured by relating drug duodenal excretion to that of bile acid used as an endogenous bile marker. The use of bile acid as biliary marker was validated in two subjects receiving simultaneous iv infusion of indocyanine green. Seven healthy subjects were studied using a beta-lattam antibiotic, Cefotetan 1 g iv, as test drug. Median values during the study period (seven hours) were 51.1 mg for Cefotetan duodenal excretion, 45.2 mg for gall bladder mass and 2.8 mg/ml for concentration within the gall bladder. T1/2 of the drug in bile was 100 minutes. This technique enables measurement of mass and concentration of drugs within the gall bladder to be carried out, in addition to measurements of t1/2 of drugs in bile. These measurements may have specific application for assessment of potential efficacy of antibiotics in biliary tract infections, as well as general application for assessment of biliary excretory kinetics of drugs.  (+info)

HIDA scan in the follow-up of biliary-enteric anastomoses. (8/40)

In order to assess the patency and function of biliary-enteric anastomoses performed in our Department of Surgery, 21 patients entered the following study, provided an informed consent was obtained. All the patients were affected by benign biliary tract diseases and underwent either Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy (11 cases), or side-to-side choledochoduodenostomy (10 cases). The 21 patients were evaluated with Tc-99m-HIDA scanning at intervals of 20 days-36 months after the surgical procedure (mean 14 months). The images were obtained after intravenous injection of the radioactive medium (5 mCi) and the scans were taken at 1 min (1 frame/s), 3 min (1 frame/10 s), and 56 min (1 frame/2 min). THe data were analyzed by a Digital PDP 11/34 Computer System. This method allowed us to assess each individual patient for the patency of the anastomosis and, by computer analysis, to build up a profile of the timing of the passage of the radioactive medium through the anastomosis, a delayed passage across the anastomosis was always pathological. In conclusion, the 99m-Tc-HIDA scanning used in our study for long-term follow-up of biliary-enteric anastomoses is reliable and allows an assessment of prognosis.  (+info)