1/21. Treatment of cachexia with recombinant growth hormone in a patient before lung transplantation: a case report.OBJECTIVES: To describe the effects of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in a severely malnourished patient before lung transplantation. DESIGN: Case study. SETTING: intensive care unit. patients: A 38-yr-old severely malnourished (body mass index, 15.1 kg/m2) woman (receiving prednisone) with bronchiolitis obliterans evolving during 10 yrs presented with end-stage lung disease and required continuous noninvasive mechanical ventilation. INTERVENTIONS: Two courses of 35 days of 16 IU/day (0.42 IU/kg/day) rhGH administered subcutaneously, with an interruption of 5 wks between the two courses of rhGH. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: weight gain of 14.7% and 12.8% fat-free mass, as measured by 50-kHz bioelectrical impedance analysis, during treatment during a 3.5-month period. nitrogen excretion decreased from 23.7 g/day before treatment to 8.0 g/day while receiving rhGH. Improvement of pulmonary function was also noted and allowed discharge of the patient from the hospital after the second course of rhGH. She underwent successful lung transplantation 2 months later and reached 48.8 kg of body weight 6 months later. CONCLUSIONS: rhGH treatment is a possible strategy that could be used with malnourished patients who are awaiting lung transplantation to improve the nutritional status and respiratory muscle function to prevent recurring respiratory infection and postoperative complications favored by malnutrition and possibly to decrease the length of hospital stay.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/21. Intravenous immunoglobulins as treatment of life threatening esophageal involvement in polymyositis and dermatomyositis.Esophageal involvement is considered a major cause of morbidity and an indicator of poor prognosis in polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). We describe 3 patients with steroid resistant PM/DM with life threatening esophageal involvement, resulting in impossible oral feeding and enteral nutrition with a gastric tube. All patients had both dramatic and rapid improvement of all clinical manifestations after initiation of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy. Swallowing disorders completely disappeared after the second infusion of IVIG, which permitted normal oral feeding and ablation of the gastric tube. Our findings suggest IVIG should be considered the treatment of choice in such cases.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/21. Diabetic neuropathic cachexia: the importance of positive recognition and early nutritional support.We report on a patient with acute painful diabetic neuropathy in whom abdominal pain and severe weight loss mimicked neoplastic disease. Positive recognition of the diabetic neuropathic cachexia syndrome might have avoided extensive invasive investigation. Intensive enteral nutritional support was associated with prompt resolution.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/21. hypothermia with acute renal failure in a patient suffering from diabetic nephropathy and malnutrition.We report a rare case of hypothermia with acute renal failure in a patient suffering from diabetic nephropathy. A 71-year-old male who had been receiving insulin therapy for the treatment of diabetes mellitus complicated with advanced diabetic nephropathy since 1998 was malnourished with an extremely decreased muscle mass. Without any prolonged exposure to excessively low external temperatures or hypothyroidism, pituitary insufficiency, adrenal insufficiency, sepsis, hypoglycemia, and diabetic ketoacidosis, acute hypothermia appeared together with an aggravation of diabetic nephropathy. His skin temperature fell to below measurable levels and his rectal temperature fell to 30.0 degrees C. His consciousness was drowsy and the hypothermia was not accompanied by shivering. Skeletal muscle is known to play an important role as a center of heat production and shivering thermogenesis in skeletal muscle mainly operates on acute cold stress. Therefore, in this case, hypothermia may have occurred because the shivering thermogenesis could not fully act on the acute cold stress due to the dramatically reduced muscle mass. We should always keep in mind that older, malnourished diabetic patients can easily suffer from impairments of the thermoregulatory system.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/21. cachexia in patients with advanced cancer.Cancer cachexia generally is considered to be the end stage in the progression of nutritional deterioration and wasting of malignancy (Ottery, 1995). In patients with advanced cancer, this condition is very common and decreases quality of life, as well as survival (Fearon et al., 2001; Ottery; Smith & Souba, 2001; Whitman, 2000). However, if early diagnosis and intervention can control cachexia, the potential exists to greatly improve a patient's quality of life and prolong survival. Because metabolic alterations inhibit the effective use of conventional nutritional support, anti-inflammatory agents or fish oil are possible options. Orexigenic agents may be prescribed if patients wish to improve oral intake. steroids and progestational agents may be used to attempt to improve mood and appetite. Nutrition affects symptoms that need to be managed effectively. nurses should work aggressively to correct factors that contribute to decreased food intake (e.g., nausea, pain) and correct factors that worsen debility (e.g., anemia). Information must be presented so that informed choices can be made and realistic eating goals set. An interdisciplinary approach that involves the nurse, physician, dietician, and possibly social worker or case manager, as well as the patient and family, is necessary to identify nutritional alterations, assess specific needs, and plan individual interventions. Whitman (2000) stated that counseling is the most effective and least expensive intervention. It may be conducted by any member of the healthcare team and should be combined with other interventions. Palliation of cachexia in patients with advanced cancer is a challenge for nurses. Hopefully, early and judicious use of these interventions may decrease the significant morbidity and mortality that result from cancer cachexia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.5keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/21. pellagra: a rare disease observed in a victim of mental and physical abuse.Lesions of the brain stem and cerebellum due to nutritional deficiencies are mostly seen in chronic alcohol abuse and more rarely in severe malnutrition. We report the case of a 27-year-old woman, found dead in the family flat. She presented cachexia (167 cm, 25 kg) and multiple hematomas of the limbs. Postmortem examination revealed lesions due to peritonitis. Neuropathological examination showed severe atrophy of the corpus callosum and central neuronal chromatolysis, which are observed in pellagra. Inflammatory colitis or celiac disease was not found. Toxicological analysis was negative, in particular no alcohol absorption. pellagra, which is due to nicotinamide deficiency, is a disease rarely seen in this country. In this case, nutritional deficiency was the consequence of failure to eat in a context of abuse. The woman was born of an incestuous relationship and presented intellectual retardation due to poor affective relations with her mother.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.5keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/21. Reversible focal splenial lesion of the corpus callosum on MR images in a patient with malnutrition.T2-weighted MR (magnetic resonance) images of a 19-year-old woman undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy for a nasopharyngeal carcinoma revealed a lesion marked by focal hyper signal intensity in the splenium of the corpus callosum. The lesion was not visible two weeks later. She suffered from malnutrition caused by appetite loss during chemotherapy. We concluded that the lesion revealed by the abnormal signal intensity in the splenium had been caused by malnutrition.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/21. Superior mesenteric artery (Wilkie's) syndrome as a result of cardiac cachexia.Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome is a rare acquired disorder in which acute angulation of SMA causes compression of the third part of the duodenum between the SMA and the aorta, leading to obstruction. Loss of fatty tissue as a result of a variety of debilitating conditions is believed to be the etiologic factor causing the acute angulation. We report a case of an 86-year-old man with prolonged congestive heart failure and aortic stenosis in which SMA syndrome developed as a result of cardiac cachexia. Because of poor functional status and comorbidities, he was not a suitable candidate for decompressive surgery. Conservative treatment using a gastrostomy tube with jejunal extension led to improvement in nutritional status and resolution of symptoms.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/21. parenteral nutrition in advanced cancer: indications and clinical practice guidelines.cachexia is a disturbing and disfiguring aspect of many advanced cancers. parenteral nutrition (PN) is a controversial and expensive treatment for cancer cachexia. Guidelines for the use of PN for these patients have been suggested. These two case reports will highlight some of the issues around the etiology of cancer cachexia, the clinical dilemmas and the use of clinical practice guidelines.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/21. Malnutrition, a rare form of child abuse: diagnostic criteria.Infantile malnutrition is often difficult to diagnose as it is rarely observed in industrialized countries. It may be associated with physical violence or occur in isolation. The essential clinical sign is height and weight retardation, but malnutrition also causes a variety of internal and bone lesions, which lead to neuropsychological sequelae and death. We report a rare case of death by malnutrition in a female child aged 6 1/2 months. The infant presented height and weight growth retardation and internal lesions related to prolonged protein-energy malnutrition (fat and muscle wasting, thymic atrophy, liver steatosis) resulting in a picture of marasmus or kwashiorkor. We detail the positive and negative criteria that established the diagnosis of abuse, whereas the parents had claimed a simple dietary error.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4keywords = nutrition (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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