Treatment of Biliary Dyskinesia and Gallbladder Sludge with Korean Medicine: Case Report

Objectives: This study aims to determine whether Korean medicine improves epigastric symptoms of biliary dyskinesia without unfavorable side effects.Methods: A 37-year-old woman who had chronic dyspepsia with intermittent back pain had gallstone-like sludge identified on ultrasound scan. We administered Saenggan-tang and used ultrasound examination to observe the changes in symptoms such as dyspepsia, the occurrence of back pain, and gallbladder contraction.Results: After 2 months of taking Saenggan-tang, symptoms such as dyspepsia, abdominal pain, headache, and back pain improved. In addition, biliary motility improvement was evaluated by ultrasonography. Moreover, there was no occurrence of any side effects.Conclusion: This study suggests that Korean medicine might be effective for managing biliary dyskinesia.

Outcomes After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Hyperkinetic Biliary Dyskinesia

Background Biliary dyskinesia (BD) is a poorly understood functional gallbladder disorder. Diagnosis is made with abdominal pain and an intact gallbladder without signs of anatomical obstruction on imaging or pathology. Our aim was to assess whether laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) resolves hyperkinetic BD symptoms. Methods Records of patients ≥18 years of age, who underwent LC by four surgeons at a tertiary care center between 2012 and 2020, were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were excluded if they had a documented gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF) <80% or had biliary stones or sludge on pathology or imaging. Demographic information, HIDA results, preoperative testing, operative details, gallbladder pathology, and symptom status at follow-up were collected from electronic medical records. Improvement in BD symptoms was assessed using McNemar’s test. Risk differences with standard errors were employed to estimate percent reduction in symptoms. Results Ninety-eight patients met inclusion criteria. Of those who presented for follow-up (n = 91), 92.3% (n = 84) reported partial or complete resolution of symptoms. Preoperative symptoms, including back pain (16.7%, 95% CI: [7.9%, 25.5%]; P < .0001), epigastric pain (31.1% [21.3%, 41.3%]; P < .0001), nausea (56.7% [45.0%, 65.8%]; P < .0001), RUQ pain (57.8% [46.1%, 66.9%]; P < .0001), and vomiting (27.8% [18.4%, 37.7%]; P < .0001) showed significant improvement after LC. Chronic cholecystitis and/or cholesterolosis were present on pathology in 79.8% of gallbladders. Discussion Our study currently represents the largest cohort of patients with hyperkinetic BD. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy appears to result in resolution of symptoms for this clinical entity.

Association of hepatobiliary pathology and gastroesophageal reflux disease

The problem of comorbidity with a high risk of polypragmasia is relevant in a large group of patients with diseases in the digestive system. Currently, the problem of comorbidity in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) attracts the attention of specialists due to the high disease prevalence and data indicating its association with other digestive system diseases, primarily of the hepatobiliary system. The article presents the results of clinical and experimental studies revealing the pathogenetic connections of GERD and hepatobiliary pathology accompanied by biliary dyskinesia, factors leading to an impairment of the duodenal propulsive activity. It is noted that the most important components of the esophageal mucosa lesion in duodenogastroesophageal reflux are bile acids, lysolecithin and pancreatic enzymes. The relevance of prescribing drugs that can affect the course of pathogenetically related diseases, which can significantly reduce the risk of polypragmasia, is justified. Such drugs include ursodeoxycholic acid, which, in the conditions of the GERD and hepatobiliary pathology association, contributes to the functional state normalization of the liver and biliary tract, reduces biliary dyskinesia, the severity of duodenal hypertension and duodenogastroesophageal reflux. The next example is the rebamipide cytoprotector, which has a multilateral protective effect against the mucous membrane of the GIT, including the esophagus, gastroduodenal zone, small intestine, as well as liver. The expediency of prescribing rebamipide to patients who are refractory to therapy with proton pump inhibitors is justified. KEYWORDS: comorbidity, hepatobiliary pathology, gastroesophageal reflux disease, ursodeoxycholic acid, rebamipid, proton pump inhibitors. FOR CITATION: Kazyulin A.N., Goncharenko A.Yu., Kalyagin I.E. Association of hepatobiliary pathology and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2021;5(6):404–412 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2021-5-6-404-412.

Parasitic GIT Damage in School Children Diagnosed with Clinical Tests and Ultrasound Imaging

Study Objective: To analyse parasitic GIT damage in children in Astrakhan Region as exemplified by Lamblia intestinalis invasion. Study Design: real-time epidemiological analysis. Materials and Methods. Follow-up enrolled 131 children aged 2.5 to 17 years with lambliosis, including 55 (42.0%) school children. Parasitic GIT damage was diagnosed in 33 (60.0%) school children. The highest percentage of subjects with GIT damage and lambliosis was recorded in children aged 7 to 14 years — 21 out of 33 (63.6%) children. Study Results. All children came from organised groups (school children). All followed up children had clinical signs of GIT damage (ultrasound imaging results): reactive pancreas changes — 2 (6.1%), reactive liver changes — 5 (15.2%), signs of biliary dyskinesia — 12 (36.3%), a combination of liver and pancreas damage — 4 (12.1%), a combination of liver, pancreas damage and signs of biliary dyskinesia — 5 (15.2%), liver damage and signs of biliary dyskinesia — 3 (9%), and pancreas damage and signs of biliary dyskinesia — 2 (6.1%). In the majority of cases (n = 25; 75.8%), children were treated with Nifuratel 15 mg/kg twice daily for 7 days. Albendazole 12 mg/kg once daily for 5-7 days was prescribed to 8 (24.2%) children. Conclusion. Lambliosis was more common in primary school children; it can be indicative of inadequate knowledge of personal hygiene routine. The main causes of disease are poor personal hygiene and contact with pets, mostly with cats. Key complaints are abdominal pain, nausea, loss of appetite, loose stool and skin allergies. Keywords: lambliosis, geography, onychophagy, personal hygiene, reactive liver changes, reactive pancreas changes.

Biliary Dyskinesia: Current Perspectives and Future Directions

Biliary dyskinesia (BD) is a disorder characterized by functional biliary pain, the absence of gallstones on ultrasound, and the finding of a reduced gallbladder ejection fraction on a cholecystokinin-cholescintigraphic scan. Cholecystectomy remains a commonly applied treatment for BD, despite a lack of high-quality evidence supporting the practice. The following article provides an overview of the current diagnostic strategies, treatment outcomes with both surgical and nonsurgical treatment, emerging considerations related to special populations, and suggestions for addressing the identified knowledge gaps, moving forward in an effort to develop stronger, more evidence-based practice guidelines for treating this poorly understood and poorly studied condition.

Diseases of the gallbladder in children — modern view of pediatric surgeon (systematic review)

Currently, the two main causes of diseases of the gallbladder in children are biliary dyskinesia and the formation of gallbladder stones. Biliary dyskinesia is an independent disease and is caused mainly by reduced motility of the gallbladder, which leads to its insufficiently good emptying and is accompanied by chronic pain abdominal syndrome. The causes of stone formation in children differ from the sources of stone formation in adults. Metabolic disorders, mainly against the background of obesity, lead to the formation of cholesterol stones, which is the most common cause of cholelithiasis in children. Blood diseases is another factor of cholelithiasis associated with hemolysis, such as sickle cell anemia, hereditary spherocytosis, and thalassemia. Symptoms of gallbladder disease are mainly in chronic abdominal pain syndrome. Inflammation of the gallbladder is a fairly rare form of the course of gallstone disease in children. The current surgical technology for treatment of gallbladder diseases in children, as in adults, is cholecystectomy, which can be realized depending on the degree of mastery of endosurgical skills using standard four-port laparoscopic techniques or a single laparoscopic approach. This review addresses the issues of semiotics, etiology, diagnosis, and surgical treatment of gallbladder disease in pediatric patients. The scientific work answers many controversial questions regarding the diagnosis of biliary dyskinesia, the choice of diagnostic method for concomitant choledocholithiasis, and the selection of the most effective surgical approach.