Summary Background: The origin of moisture in diarrhea feces is unknown but may represent the unabsorbed part of intestinal contents or alternatively, body fluid excreted into the digestive canal. If the latter mechanism contributes to moisture in the feces, active transport of water (H 2 O) associated with ion exchange channels may be involved. Objective: To investigate this possibility we measured the content of moisture and minerals (sodium [Na] [Mn]) in feces collected during a 12-d metabolic study on 11 young Japanese female students. Design: The study was carried out as part of a human mineral balance study. The same quantity of food was supplied to each of the subjects throughout the study without consideration of body weight. Fecal specimens were collected throughout the study and were separated into those originating from the diet during the balance period based on the appearance of the ingested colored marker in the feces. Results: The moisture content of the feces ranged between 53 and 92%. Na content in the feces was low and stable when the moisture content was below 80%, whereas it increased up to serum levels when the moisture content increased above 80%. On the other hand, K content increased when compared to dry matter base. However, when comparing concentration/g moisture, K content increased when moisture was below 70%, but decreased when this rose above 70%.
Background Postoperative infections may be classified as surgical site infections developing within surgical sites or remote infections developing in areas outside the surgical site. Postoperative respiratory tract infections (PRTI) are a type of remote infection, and may be associated with a prolonged hospitalization period and increased medical expenses. The aim of this study is to compare postoperative hospitalization and medical expenses between patients with PRTI and non PRTI after gastrointestinal surgery. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data from a multicenter joint study involving multiple centers affiliated to the Japan Society for Surgical Infection. We used a one-to-one matching analysis to evaluate 86 patients who underwent gastrointestinal surgery between March 1, 2014 and February 29, 2016. Results There was a significant increase in the postoperative hospitalization period among patients with PRTI (38.6 days) compared with patients without PRTI (16.1 days). Furthermore, postoperative medical expenses were significantly higher in patients with PRTI (1388.2 USD) than in those without PRTI (629.4 USD). Conclusions The hospitalization period and medical expenses are known to increase in patients that develop surgical site infections. Our findings show that these parameters also increase in patients with PRTI following gastrointestinal surgery. However, further studies are needed to confirm these results.
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