Background: The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism database for chronic intestinal failure (CIF) was analyzed to investigate factors associated with nutritional status and the intravenous supplementation (IVS) dependency in children. Methods: Data collected: demographics, CIF mechanism, home parenteral nutrition program, z-scores of weight-for-age (WFA), length or height-for-age (LFA/HFA), and body mass index-for-age (BMI-FA). IVS dependency was calculated as the ratio of daily total IVS energy over estimated resting energy expenditure (%IVSE/REE). Results: Five hundred and fifty-eight patients were included, 57.2% of whom were male. CIF mechanisms at age 1–4 and 14–18 years, respectively: SBS 63.3%, 37.9%; dysmotility or mucosal disease: 36.7%, 62.1%. One-third had WFA and/or LFA/HFA z-scores < −2. One-third had %IVSE/REE > 125%. Multivariate analysis showed that mechanism of CIF was associated with WFA and/or LFA/HFA z-scores (negatively with mucosal disease) and %IVSE/REE (higher for dysmotility and lower in SBS with colon in continuity), while z-scores were negatively associated with %IVSE/REE. Conclusions: The main mechanism of CIF at young age was short bowel syndrome (SBS), whereas most patients facing adulthood had intestinal dysmotility or mucosal disease. One-third were underweight or stunted and had high IVS dependency. Considering that IVS dependency was associated with both CIF mechanisms and nutritional status, IVS dependency is suggested as a potential marker for CIF severity in children.
Background and aims: The case-mix of patients with intestinal failure due to short bowel syndrome (SBS-IF) can differ among centres and may also be affected by the timeframe of data collection. Therefore, the ESPEN international multicenter cross-sectional survey was analyzed to compare the characteristics of SBS-IF cohorts collected within the same timeframe in different countries. Methods: The study included 1880 adult SBS-IF patients collected in 2015 by 65 centres from 22 countries. The demographic, nutritional, SBS type (end jejunostomy, SBS-J; jejuno-colic anastomosis, SBS-JC; jejunoileal anastomosis with an intact colon and ileocecal valve, SBS-JIC), underlying disease and intravenous supplementation (IVS) characteristics were analyzed. IVS was classified as fluid and electrolyte alone (FE) or parenteral nutrition admixture (PN). The mean daily IVS volume, calculated on a weekly basis, was categorized as <1, 1e2, 2e3 and >3 L/day. Results: In the entire group: 60.7% were females and SBS-J comprised 60% of cases, while mesenteric ischaemia (MI) and Crohn' disease (CD) were the main underlying diseases. IVS dependency was longer than 3 years in around 50% of cases; IVS was infused !5 days/week in 75% and FE in 10% of cases. Within the SBS-IF cohort: CD was twice and thrice more frequent in SBS-J than SBS-JC and SBS-JIC, respectively, while MI was more frequent in SBS-JC and SBS-JIC. Within countries: SBS-J represented 75% or more of patients in UK and Denmark and 50-60% in the other countries, except Poland where SBS-JC prevailed. CD was the main underlying disease in UK, USA, Denmark and The Netherlands, while MI prevailed in France, Italy and Poland. Conclusions: SBS-IF type is primarily determined by the underlying disease, with significant variation between countries. These novel data will be useful for planning and managing both clinical activity and research studies on SBS.
Postoperative rehabilitation is a cornerstone of the recovery pathway following left ventricular assist device implantation (LVAD), and patients are expected to conduct an autonomous life thanks to improved technology and increased knowledge of mechanical circulatory support. The primary purpose of the present study was to quantify clinical changes related to rehabilitation, in patients with LVAD: functional capacity, disability, and quality of life were identified as reliable outcomes to detect such changes. The current study was a scoping review conducted searching three primary databases, namely PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library, from their inception until January 2020. After the selection process was completed, 12 citations were included in the present study. Three hundred eight three patients were included in the current analysis. Functional capacity, disability, and quality of life were investigated in 157, 215, 18 patients, respectively. Significant differences were found before and after rehabilitation. The mean walked distance at 6-Minute Walk Test improved from 319±96 to 412.8±86.2 metres (p<0.001), the mean score of the Functional Independence Measure from 68.4±11.8 to 92.5±10.8 points (p<0.001), the mean score of the Short Form-36 physical component from 32.7±29.9 to 55.5±24.7 points (p=0.009) and the mental component from 55.8±19.8 to 75.4±21.4 points (p=0.002). Postoperative rehabilitation is effective at improving functional capacity, disability, and quality of life in patients with left ventricular assist device; all these three domains are particularly expressive of the entity of patients’ functional recovery.
Aims Selective antegrade cerebral perfusion technique is a method of cerebral protection used worldwide during aortic arch surgery. This study was designed to identify a potential correlation between perfusion flows and the development of postoperative transient neurological dysfunctions.Methods From January 2015 to May 2020, 175 patients underwent elective surgical replacement of the aortic arch using selective antegrade cerebral perfusion at the Cardiac Surgery Unit of Sant'Orsola Hospital in Bologna. Considering that patients who developed a permanent neurological dysfunction and those who died before a possible evaluation of neurological status were excluded, the study population included 160 patients. The perfusion flows were collected and analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the statistical risk factors involved in the onset of transient neurological dysfunctions.
ResultsThe study population was divided into two groups: 138 patients (86.3%) without and 22 (13.8%) with postoperative transient neurological complications. Among the intra-operative parameters collected in the study, the univariate analysis showed that the indexed medium perfusion flow of selective antegrade cerebral perfusion was significantly lower in the transient neurological dysfunctions group (11.63 W 2.41 ml/kg/min vs 12.62 W 2.39 ml/kg/min, P-value U 0.03). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the female gender (P U 0.004, OR U 4.816, IC U 1.636-14.174) was predictor of transient neurological dysfunctions.
ConclusionThe results of the study showed that lower perfusion flows seem to be related to a higher probability of developing transient neurological dysfunctions. However, the analysis of a wider population is required to confirm these preliminary data.
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