BackgroundAcute pancreatitis is the most common major complication after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Many drugs have been evaluated for prophylaxis, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are potent inhibitors of phospholipase A2 and play a role in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis. Rectal NSAIDs have been shown in prospective studies to decrease the incidence of this complication, but the indication is not generalized in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of rectal administration of indomethacin in reducing the incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis in high-risk patients.MethodsThis was a controlled clinical trial where patients with an elevated risk of developing post-ERCP pancreatitis were assigned to receive 100 mg of rectal indomethacin or a 2.6 g suppository of glycerin immediately after ERCP, without placement of a pancreatic stent. The patients were determined to be at high risk based on validated patient- and procedure-related risk factors. Post-ERCP pancreatitis was defined as the presence of new upper abdominal pain, hyperamylasemia/hyperlipasemia (at least three times the upper limit) 2 hours after the procedure and hospitalization at least 48 hours because of the complication. Pancreatitis severity was defined according to Cotton’s criteria.ResultsOne hundred sixty-six patients were included; 82 in the study group and 84 in the placebo group. Patients had at least one major and/or two minor risk factors for developing post-ERCP pancreatitis. The incidence of the complication was 4.87 % (4/82) in the study group and 20.23 % (17/84) in the placebo group; this difference was significant (P = 0.01). According to Cotton’s criteria, 17 patients (80.9 %) developed mild pancreatitis and 4 (19.1 %) had moderate pancreatitis; 3 of these 4 patients belonged to the placebo group (P = 0.60). Based on these results, an absolute risk reduction of 0.15 (15 %), a relative risk reduction of 0.75 (75 %) and a number needed to treat of 6.5 patients were calculated to prevent an episode of post-ERCP pancreatitis. There was no mortality.ConclusionsRectal indomethacin reduced the incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis among patients at high risk of developing this complication.Trial registrationNational Clinical Trials NCT02110810. Date April 7, 2014.

OBJECTIVE:Hypoalbuminemia is a common clinical deficiency in burn patients and is associated with complications related to increased extravascular fluid, including edema, abnormal healing, and susceptibility to sepsis. Some prognostic scales do not include biochemical parameters, whereas others consider them together with comorbidities. The purpose of this study was to determine whether serum albumin can predict mortality in burn patients.METHODS:We studied burn patients ≥16 years of age who had complete clinical documentation, including the Abbreviated Burn Severity Index, serum albumin, globulin, and lipids. Sensitivity and specificity analyses were performed to determine the cut-off level of albumin that predicts mortality.RESULTS:In our analysis of 486 patients, we found that mortality was higher for burns caused by flame (p = 0.000), full-thickness burns (p = 0.004), inhalation injuries (p = 0.000), burns affecting >30% of the body surface area (p = 0.001), and burns associated with infection (p = 0.008). Protein and lipid levels were lower in the patients who died (p<0.05). Albumin levels showed the highest sensitivity and specificity (84% and 83%, respectively), and the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (0.869) had a cut-off of 1.95 g/dL for mortality.CONCLUSION:Patients with albumin levels <2 g/dL had a mortality risk of >80%, with 84% sensitivity and 83% specificity. At admission, the albumin level could be used as a sensitive and specific marker of burn severity and an indicator of mortality.

The objective was to evaluate whether pre operative administration of dexamethasone improved post operative nausea and vomiting (PONV), pain and respiratory function tests in women undergoing conservative surgery for breast cancer. This was a controlled clinical trial conducted between June 2013 and October 2014. Eighty patients were evaluated. Patients received a pre operative dose of 8 mg of dexamethasone (n = 40) or placebo (n = 40). The data on PONV and pain intensity was obtained and forced spirometry tests were performed, 1 hr before and at 1, 6, 12 and 24 hr after surgery. Any use of additional analgesic/antiemetic drugs was recorded. Patients were followed until 30 days after surgery for any surgical or medical complications. The pain intensity was lower in the treatment group for all periods; PONV was lower at 6, 12 and 24 hr; Additional analgesics/antiemetics were required less frequently (all p < .05).Both groups exhibited a restrictive ventilatory pattern immediately after surgery, which was reversed in the following hours. However, spirometric values were higher in the dexamethasone group. There were no pulmonary or metabolic complications after surgery. Our conclusions were that dexamethasone significantly reduced the incidences of PONV, pain and improved respiratory parameters, and reduced the need for additional post operative analgesic and antiemetic drugs. K E Y W O R D Sdexamethasone, mastectomy, nausea, postoperative pain, respiratory function tests, vomiting | INTRODUCTIONGlobally, breast cancer (BC) remains the most common malignancy in women. In developing countries, such as Mexico there has been an increase in mortality caused by BC (Rodríguez-Cuevas, GuisaHohenstein & Labastida-Almendaro, 2009;Siegel, Ma, Zou & Jemal, 2014). It is the most common cancer in this country, followed by cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; each year 25,000-30,000 new cases are diagnosed. Fortunately, more patients now have access to proper screening using mammography, so the proportion of patients with local tumours found at diagnosis is increasing. Total or partial mastectomy with or without axillary lymph node dissection is the most frequently used surgical treatment, along with adjuvant chemoor radiotherapy. Post operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common complication after anaesthesia and surgery (Kovac, 2000;Watcha & White, 1992). Women undergoing mastectomy are at particularly high risk for developing PONV, and the reported incidence is 60%-80% in patients not receiving antiemetic medication (Hammas, Thorn & Wattwil, 2002;Oddby-Muhrbeck, Jakobsson, Andersson & Askergren, 1994;Sadhasivam et al., 1999). Emetic episodes predispose patients to numerous complications, such as gastric aspiration, wound dehiscence, psychological distress, and delayed recovery and discharge times (Watcha & White, 1992). These reasons justify the use of prophylactic antiemetics in women scheduled for breast surgery. In addition, respiratory function is often compromised after a major surgical procedure, particularly those p...

Our results suggest that the platelet count/spleen diameter ratio may be a useful tool for detecting esophageal varices in patients with hepatic cirrhosis.

Introduction: Hemorrhoidal disease occurs in 50% of people aged > 40 years and is the most common reason for anorectal surgery. Pain is the main complication. Multiple topical and systemic drugs have been investigated for pain control, but there is no ideal treatment. Metronidazole has been shown to decrease postoperative pain but is not used widely.Objective: To evaluate the effect of oral metronidazole versus placebo and to assess postoperative pain following hemorrhoidectomy.Material and methods: Controlled clinical trial in adult patients who underwent elective hemorrhoidectomy for grade III/IV hemorrhoids. Patients were assigned to receive metronidazole (500 mg q8 h orally; study group, SG) or placebo (control group, CG) for 7 days after surgery. Pain was assessed using a visual analog scale after surgery. Analgesic administration (time and use of analgesics) and resumption of daily life activities were also assessed.Results: Forty-four patients were included, 22 in each group. Postoperative pain differed significantly between the SG and CG at 6 h

The quadrantectomy procedure had better acceptance, but the overall health status did not differ between the groups. The overall health status was lower among the women older than 50 years who had received a mastectomy without reconstruction.

Background: The prevalence of malnutrition remains high in hospitals but no "gold standard" has been established to identify nutritional risks adequately. The Nutrition Risk Screening-2002 (NRS-2002, Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), and Controlling Nutritional Status Index (CONUT) are widely used screening tools, but their efficacy has not yet been compared in Mexican patients. Here, we aimed to compare the efficacy of these tools in identifying nutritional risks within the first 48 h of admission in a group of patients with gastrointestinal diseases. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 196 patients. The results of the screening tools, length of hospital stay, serum albumin and cholesterol concentrations, lymphocyte counts, age, body mass index (BMI), complications, and mortality were analyzed. Kappa (κ) statistics were applied to determine the degree of agreement between tools. The performances of the screening tools in predicting complications and mortality were assessed using binary logistic regression. Results: The NRS-2002, SGA, and CONUT tools identified nutritional risk in 67, 74, and 51% of the patients, respectively. The observed agreements between tools were: NRS2002/SGA, κ = 0.53; CONUT/NRS-2002, κ = 0.42; and SGA/CONUT, κ = 0.36. Within age groups, the best agreement was found in those aged 51-65 years (κ = 0.68). CONUT and length of stay were both predictive for the number of complications. The number of complications and serum cholesterol concentrations were predictive for mortality. Conclusions: The proportion of patients identified as having nutritional risk was high using all three screening tools. SGA, NRS-2002, and CONUT had similar capacities for screening risk, but the best agreement was observed between NRS-2002 and SGA. Only CONUT predicted complications, but none of these tools performed well in predicting mortality.

Weight gain is observed in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and is a well-known complication. Several factors that contributing to weight gain have been identified. However, there is a lack of information about factors associated with weight changes following adjuvant chemotherapy. A retrospective cohort of 200 pre- and post-menopausal Mexican patients treated for breast cancer was made. Anthropometric variables were measured before/after treatment. Biomarkers, cellular differentiation and chemotherapy were similar between groups. Weight gain occurred in 85.6% of pre-menopausal and 72.6% of post-menopausal women (p = .03). At the end of chemotherapy, weight and body mass index (BMI) did not differ significantly between pre-menopausal (69.3 ± 12.6 kg; 26.6 ± 4.8 kg/m ) and post-menopausal women (69.5 ± 10.9 kg; 27.3 ± 4.4 kg/m ) (p = .91 and 0.34). Dexamethasone doses were higher in pre-menopausal (85.7 ± 39.1 g) than post-menopausal patients (79.2 ± 22.5 g; p = .13). Weight loss was observed in 9.2% of pre-menopausal and 20.2% of post-menopausal patients (p = .04). A multivariate analysis revealed that age (OR = 2.7; 95% CI = 1.26-5.79; p = .01), menopausal status (OR = 2.29; 95% CI = 1.09-4.80; p = .03), dexamethasone dosage (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.04-4.23; p = .03) and daily caloric intake (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.12-5.10; p = .02) were independent variables that inducted weight gain. Pre- and post-menopausal women gained weight, but more pre-menopausal patients showed gain. An effort should be made to administer lower steroid doses to reduce weight gain.