Double PTEG (percutaneous trans-esophageal gastro-tubing) was useful in nutrition and decompression for a gastric cancer patient with pyloric stenosis: a case report

Background For gastric cancer patients with strong pyloric stenosis, decompression by nasogastric tube insertion for gastric distension and central venous nutrition management have been performed. However long-term indwelling of the nasogastric tube is accompanied by pain, and Central venous catheter placement is inferior to enteral nutrition from infection risk and nutritional viewpoint. Furthermore, these generally require management in hospitalization. Case presentation An 81-year-old male was referred to our hospital for gastric cancer accompanied by pyloric stenosis. Blood test resulted in low nutrition and anemia. CT showed thickening of the wall from the anterior gastric part to the pylorus and enlargement of 50mm in the regional lymph node, and gastric distention. We planned resection after preoperative chemotherapy. We performed double PTEG (Percutaneous Tran Esophageal Gastro-tubing) from cervical co-wound for decompression and nutrition management of the stomach. Total laparoscopic gastrectomy was performed on day 114 after insertion of the double PTEG. During which time he had been good nutrition and no gastric distention with stayed at home for 42 days. On the 10th postoperative day, he was clinically released from hospital without any complications. Conclusions We conducted a new management to reduce and nourish patients with gastric cancer who had a pyloric stenosis by double PTEG (percutaneous trans-esophageal gastro-tubing), and can perform curative surgery after preoperative chemotherapy including home management period.

Eosinophil-associated micro-inflammation in the gastroduodenal tract contributes to gastric hypersensitivity in a rat model of early life adversity

Gastric hypersensitivity is a major pathophysiological feature of functional dyspepsia (FD). Recent clinical studies have shown that a large number of FD patients present with gastroduodenal micro-inflammation, which may be involved in the pathophysiology of FD. However, no animal model reflecting this clinical characteristic has been established. The underlying mechanism between micro-inflammation and FD remains unknown. In this study, using a maternal separation (MS)-induced FD model, we aimed to reproduce the gastroduodenal micro-inflammation and reveal the interaction between gastroduodenal micro-inflammation and gastric hypersensitivity. The MS model was established by separating newborn Sprague Dawley rats for 2 h a day from postnatal day 1 to day 10. At 7-8 weeks of age, electromyography was used to determine the visceromotor response to gastric distention (GD) and immunohistochemistry was performed to detect distension-associated neuronal activation as well as immunohistological changes. Our results demonstrated that MS-induced FD rats underwent gastric hypersensitivity with GD at 60 and 80 mmHg, which are related to increased p-ERK1/2 expression in the dorsal horn of T9-T10 spinal cords. Eosinophils, but not mast cells, were significantly increased in the gastroduodenal tract, and the co-expression rate of CD11b and major basic protein significantly increased in MS rats. Treatment with dexamethasone reversed gastric hypersensitivity in MS-induced FD rats by inhibiting eosinophil infiltration. These findings indicated that neonatal MS stress induces eosinophil-associated gastroduodenal micro-inflammation and gastric hypersensitivity in adulthood in rats. Micro-inflammation contributes to gastric hypersensitivity; therefore, anti-inflammatory therapy may be effective in treating FD patients with gastroduodenal micro-inflammation.

Association of Symptoms with Eating Habits and Food Preferences in Chronic Gastritis Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose. There is a lack of research on the relationship between symptoms and dietary factors of chronic gastritis (CG) patients, and the contribution of dietary management in relieving symptoms of CG patients has not attracted enough attention. This study aimed to identify the associations between different symptoms and dietary factors. Patients and Methods. All CG patients in this cross-sectional study were recruited from 3 hospitals in Beijing, China, from October 2015 to January 2016. Association Rule Mining analysis was performed to identify the correlations between gastrointestinal symptoms and dietary factors (including eating habits and food preferences), and subgroup analysis focused on gender differences. Results. The majority of patients (58.17%) reported that their symptoms were related to dietary factors. About 53% reported that they had the habit of “eating too fast,” followed by “irregular mealtimes” (29.66%) and “eating leftover food” (28.14%). Sweets (27.57%), spicy foods (25.10%), and meat (24.33%) were the most popular among all participants. Stomachache and gastric distention were the most common symptoms and were both associated with irregular mealtimes, irregular meal sizes, eating out in restaurants, meats, barbecue, fried foods, sour foods, sweets, snacks, and salty foods (support >0.05 and lift >1.0). Their most strongly associated factors were irregular meal sizes, barbecues, and snacks (lift >1.2). In addition, irregular mealtimes, salty foods, and sweet foods may be important diet factors influencing the symptoms in CG patients (support >0.05 and lift >1.0), as they were associated with almost all dyspeptic symptoms in the whole group and subgroup analyses. Furthermore, alcohol, barbecue, and spicy foods were associated with almost all symptoms for males (support >0.05 and lift >1.0), but sweets were the only dietary factor associated with all symptoms for females (support >0.05 and lift >1.0). Conclusion. This study has provided new data for the association of symptoms with eating habits and food preferences in CG patients. The role of individual daily management schemes, such as dietary or lifestyle programs, needs more attention.

Sini-San Regulates the NO-cGMP-PKG Pathway in the Spinal Dorsal Horn in a Modified Rat Model of Functional Dyspepsia

The present study investigated the effect of Chinese medicine Sini-San (SNS) on visceral hypersensitivity in a rat model of functional dyspepsia (FD), and it explored related underlying mechanisms. The rat model of FD was developed by combining neonatal iodoacetamide (IA) treatment and adult tail-clamping. After SNS treatment, the behavior and electromyographic testing were performed to evaluate the visceromotor responses of rats to gastric distention. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the distribution of iNOS-positive cells in the spinal dorsal horn, while the real-time quantitative PCR and western blot were used for detection of the gene expression of c-fos, iNOS, and GABAb and protein levels of iNOS and GABAb in the spinal dorsal horn, respectively. The protein concentration of cGMP and PKG proteins in the spinal dorsal horn were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In this study, SNS treatment significantly reduced the behavioral score and electromyographic response to graded intragastric distension pressure. The middle-dose of SNS treatment significantly reduced the distribution of iNOS-positive cells in the spinal dorsal horn of FD model rats. The gene expression of c-fos, iNOS, and GABAb and the protein contents of iNOS, GABAb, cGMP, and PKG in the spinal dorsal horn of FD model rats were restored to a normal level by middle-dose of SNS treatment. Our results suggest that Sini-San may alleviate the visceral hypersensitivity in FD model rats via regulation of the NO/cGMP/PKG pathway in the spinal dorsal horn.