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A J van Tilburg

Publications and source records attributed to A J van Tilburg.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

A comparison of 3 types of covered metal stents for the palliation of patients with dysphagia caused by esophagogastric carcinoma: a prospective, randomized study.

BACKGROUND: There are currently 3 types of covered metal stents available in Europe for palliation of patients with malignant dysphagia. Their relative merits have not been compared in a prospective, randomized study. METHODS: One hundred consecutive patients with esophagogastric carcinoma were randomized to placement of an Ultraflex stent, a Flamingo Wallstent, or a Gianturco-Z stent. Malignant strictures of the esophagus were treated by insertion of a small-diameter stent (n = 71), whereas those involving the gastric cardia were treated with a large-diameter stent (n = 29). RESULTS: At 4 weeks, dysphagia had improved in all patient groups (p < 0.001), but the degree of improvement did not differ among the 3 groups (p = 0.14). There were differences among the 3 stent types with respect to major complications (Ultraflex stent: 8/34 [24%], Flamingo Wallstent: 6/33 [18%], and Gianturco-Z stent: 12/33 [36%]), but these were not statistically significant (p = 0.23). Nine patients (26%) with an Ultraflex stent, 11 (33%) with a Flamingo Wallstent, and 8 (24%) with a Gianturco-Z stent had recurrent dysphagia (p = 0.73), mainly because of tumor overgrowth or stent migration; 12 of 13 episodes of migration involved small-diameter stents in the esophagus. CONCLUSIONS: All 3 covered metal stents evaluated offer the same degree of palliation of patients with malignant dysphagia. Placement of Gianturco-Z stents was associated with more complications as compared with Ultraflex stents and Flamingo Wallstents. Although stent migration is reduced by increasing stent diameter, tumor overgrowth remains an intractable problem that requires a new approach.

Aged↗

Bleeding into a liver cyst can be treated conservatively.

OBJECTIVE: To report the case of a patient with haemorrhage in a large hepatic cyst. PATIENT: A 66-year-old man, who presented with right shoulder pain and subsequent sudden abdominal pain. A large hepatic cyst containing blood was found at ultrasonography. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was treated conservatively. RESULTS: The patient's symptoms resolved quickly. No symptoms or complications recurred during a follow-up of 2 years. CONCLUSION: Therapy for non-parasitic liver cysts is indicated when symptoms or complications related to the cysts occur. This case shows that spontaneous haemorrhage into a non-parasitic hepatic cyst may follow a benign course and may be treated conservatively.

Aged↗

Primary bile acid malabsorption: a pathophysiologic and clinical entity?

Primary bile acid malabsorption is defined as chronic diarrhoea with bile acid malabsorption of unknown cause and a symptomatic response to cholestyramine. Convincing evidence of the proposed pathophysiology--a defect of the active bile acid absorption in the distal ileum--has never been substantiated. We found no evidence of a bile acid transport defect across the ileal brush border membrane in 10 patients with primary bile acid malabsorption; moreover, transport was significantly higher than in a control group. In the patients with primary bile acid malabsorption the estimated bile acid pool was significantly larger than in a control group and in a group of patients with ileal disease. In addition, the oro-anal transit time of radiopaque markers was shorter in the primary bile acid malabsorption group than in both other groups. This suggests that the bile acid pool size as well as intestinal motility could play a role in the pathophysiology of primary bile acid malabsorption.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Primary bile acid diarrhoea without an ileal carrier defect: quantification of active bile acid transport across the ileal brush border membrane.

Unexplained bile acid malabsorption associated with diarrhoea that responds to cholestyramine was first described in 1973 but convincing evidence of the proposed mechanism--a defective active ileal bile acid transport--has never been substantiated. Active bile acid transport was quantified in vitro using brush border membrane vesicles prepared from terminal ileal biopsy specimens from 10 patients who fulfilled the criteria of idiopathic bile acid diarrhoea. They were recruited from 181 patients with bile acid malabsorption of various causes. Transport was quantified as in vitro Na+ dependent bile acid transport (INBAT), expressed as pmol taurocholate/mg brush border membrane protein/15 seconds, and in vitro Na+ dependent bile acid local transport capacity (INBALTC), expressed as pmol taurocholate/g ileal biopsy tissue/15 seconds. The lowest INBAT and INBALTC values in the 10 patients with idiopathic bile acid diarrhoea were well above the 10th centile values of a control group of 132 patients. Both INBAT (mean (range) 88 (30-136)) and INBALTC (158 (85-268)) values were significantly higher in the 10 patients than in the control group (INBAT: mean (range) 63 (1-244), INBALTC: mean (range) 98 (1-408)). Quantification of active ileal bile acid transport in these 10 patients with idiopathic bile acid malabsorption suggests that a genetic (carrier) defect is rare in adults.

Adult↗

The selenium-75-homocholic acid taurine test reevaluated: combined measurement of fecal selenium-75 activity and 3 alpha-hydroxy bile acids in 211 patients.

The recommended reference values for the selenium-75-homocholic acid taurine (75SeHCAT) test, used in the analysis of chronic diarrhea, were evaluated in 211 patients by comparing simultaneous measurements of 3 alpha-hydroxy bile acids and 75Se activity in daily collected stools. An initial evaluation in 11 patients showed that the fecal collection method, which allows inspection and additional analysis of stools, was equivalent to the abdominal retention method. Selenium-75-HCAT whole-body retention half-life (WBR50) was greater than 2.8 days in less than 10% of the patients with bile acid malabsorption and less than 1.7 days in less than 10% of the normals. We recommend that a 75SeHCAT WBR50 less than 1.7 days is abnormal, a WBR50 greater than 2.8 days is normal, and a WBR50 in the range 1.7-2.8 days is equivocal, which was the case in 48% (94/195) of the patients in this study.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Na+-dependent bile acid transport in the ileum: the balance between diarrhea and constipation.

Ileal Na+-dependent bile acid transport was quantified in vitro as the uptake of 3H-taurocholate into brush-border membrane vesicles. Vesicles were prepared from ileal biopsies of 158 patients placed in 10 diagnostic categories. Active bile acid transport (expressed as picomoles taurocholate uptake per milligram brush-border membrane protein per 15 s, median and interquartile ranges indicated) did not differ significantly in 6 categories: irritable bowel syndrome (71, 35-97; n = 21), colon polyps (42, 30-89; n = 29), colitis (62, 33-91; n = 31), postvagotomy or postcholecystectomy (69, 37-97; n = 11), diarrhea without increased bile acid loss (58, 48-85; n = 12), and lack of gastrointestinal pathology (74, 45-103; n = 22). A decreased active bile acid transport was found in 3 categories: ileal disease (4, 1-36; n = 11), partial ileal resection (5, 1-35; n = 5), and constipation (41, 22-50; n = 8). Bile acid transport was increased in patients with bile acid-losing diarrhea with endoscopically and histologically normal ilea (111, 94-135; n = 8). These findings indicate that a low fecal bile acid loss, presumed to be present in constipated patients, is associated with a low Na+-dependent ileal bile acid transport and a high bile acid loss is associated with a high active bile acid transport. Ileal bile acid transport might be regulated by the availability of bile acids to the ileal enterocytes.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Familial occurrence of collagenous colitis. A report of two families.

Collagenous colitis is a rare condition characterized clinically by chronic diarrhea and histologically by a thickened subepithelial collagenous band in colonic biopsies in an endoscopically normal colon. Familial occurrence of collagenous colitis has to our knowledge never been described. Here we report two families in which two first-degree related members suffered from collagenous colitis. In one family, two sisters were affected by chronic diarrhea and autoimmune disorders such as thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and pernicious anemia. Collagenous colitis was diagnosed in one of these sisters, based on colonic biopsies. Colonic biopsies of the other sister showed microscopic colitis. Review of colonic biopsies of this patient taken 11 years earlier, however, showed definite histological features of collagenous colitis. In the other family, in a father and son, both with diarrhea for several years but not suffering from any other diseases, a diagnosis of collagenous colitis was made on colonic biopsies. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing showed that only the HLA A2 antigen was present in all 4 patients.

Adult↗

Intestinal lymphangiectasia in systemic sclerosis.

Protein-losing gastroenteropathy is a well-recognized entity in systemic sclerosis, for which several mechanisms have been postulated. Acquired intestinal lymphangiectasia as a cause of increased intestinal protein loss has not previously been described in the literature. We report the first case of acquired intestinal lymphangiectasia in systemic sclerosis.

Diagnosis, Differential↗