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Query: UMLS:C0000729 (abdominal cramps)
 531 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In June 1983, an outbreak of waterborne giardiasis occurred in a group of 93 university students and faculty participating in a geology field course in Colorado. All cases occurred in one subgroup of persons who were heavily exposed to untreated stream water on a field trip, and the risk of illness was strongly related to the amount of untreated stream water consumed. The median incubation period from a brief exposure to the first symptom was 7 days. The authors compared symptoms and stool sample results among 31 Giardia-positive persons in the exposed group and 36 Giardia-negative participants in an unexposed group to assess several case definitions for acute giardiasis. Diarrhea, abdominal cramps, flatulence, foul-smelling stools, nausea, excessive tiredness, bloating, anorexia, and chills were each significantly more common in the first group than in the second. A giardiasis case definition of 5 days or more of diarrhea--the definition used in many epidemiologic studies of giardiasis--had a specificity of 100 percent but a sensitivity of only 32.2 percent compared with a definition based on results of stool examinations. When a case was defined as an illness lasting 7 days or more, with a combination of two or more of six symptoms (diarrhea, flatulence, foul-smelling stools, nausea, abdominal cramps, and excessive tiredness), sensitivity rose to 73 percent, with a specificity of 88 percent. Such a case definition may be an improvement over that of 5 days of diarrhea, especially in outbreaks where there is good laboratory documentation that Giardia is the etiologic agent. The definition should be validated in other outbreaks and in situations where giardiasis must be distinguished from gastrointestinal disease caused by other agents.
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PMID:Acute giardiasis: an improved clinical case definition for epidemiologic studies. 199 3

We compared the clinical and microbiological efficacy of dirithromycin with that of azithromycin in outpatients with acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis who could be graded into stage III according to Ball's system of stratification. A total of 80 patients was studied. Of these, 40 were treated with dirithromycin as a once-daily dose of 500 mg for 5 days, and 40 with azithromycin as a once-daily dose of 500 mg for 3 days. At post-therapy, treatment success (cure or improvement) was achieved in 36 out of 40 (90%) patients receiving dirithromycin compared with 37 out of 40 (92.5%) in the azithromycin group. At the late post-therapy visit, 34 out of 36 (94.4%) dirithromycin-treated patients were cured as were 33 of 37 (89.2%) azithromycin-treated patients. A small proportion of patients treated with dirithromycin (10%) or with azithromycin (12.5%) suffered mild side effects. Gastrointestinal disorders, including abdominal cramps, nausea, or diarrhea, were common adverse effects. The main pathogens isolated before treatment were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. Eradication rates at the end of treatment were 90% (36 out of 40) for the dirithromycin group and 92.5% (37 out of 40) for the azithromycin group. Persistence of H. influenzae isolates was found in 3 out of 11 (27.3%) patients treated with dirithromycin and in 2 out of 9 (22.2%) who had received azithromycin. At the late post-therapy visit, eradication occurred in 34 out of 36 (94.4%) strains in the dirithromycin group and in 33 out of 37 (89.2%) in the azithromycin group. We conclude that dirithromycin and azithromycin appear to be equally effective in the treatment of acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis.
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PMID:Comparative study of dirithromycin and azithromycin in the treatment of acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. 1032 42

Constipation is a common gastrointestinal disease affecting 2-27% of the population in Western hemisphere. Approximately in half of patients the diagnosis of functional constipation is made after having ruled out secondary causes. Treatment of chronic functional constipation primarily addresses education on toilet habits, dietary advice, and patient reassurance. Further therapies are guided according to functional subtype slow-transit constipation, dyssynergic defecation, and constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). Traditionally, the pharmacologic treatment of constipation uses primarily bulking agents and/or laxatives (osmotic or secretory). However, often these therapies do not provide the desired improvement, have a short-lived efficacy and/or are accompanied by side-effects such as bloating and abdominal cramps. Thus, there is a clinical need for new, more potent drugs particularly for patients who are not satisfactorily treated by conventional therapies. This review discusses recent developments in the pharmacologic treatment of chronic constipation including recently FDA-approved lubiprostone, emerging 5-HT receptors modifiers, investigational substances, and probiotics.
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PMID:Pharmacologic treatment of constipation: what is new? 1868 11

Aerophagia is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by repetitive air swallowing, abdominal distension, belching and flatulence. Pathologic aerophagia is a condition caused by the swallowing of excessive volumes of air with associated various gastrointestinal symptoms, such as burping, abdominal cramps, flatulence and a reduced appetite. It is a clinical entity that can simulate pediatric gastrointestinal motility disorders, such as gastroparesis, megacolon and intestinal pseudo-obstruction, and presents more frequently in children with mental retardation. Early recognition and diagnosis of functional aerophagia or pathologic aerophagia is required to avoid unnecessary, expensive diagnostic investigations or serious clinical complications. Functional aerophagia is frequent in the adult population, but rarely discussed in the pediatric literature. We present two pediatric clinical cases with a history of functional constipation in whom gaseous abdominal distension was the most important symptom. Mechanical intestinal obstruction, chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, malabsorption and congenital aganglionic megacolon were ruled out. Extensive gaseous abdominal distension was due to aerophagia, and treatment consisted of parents' reassurance and psychological counseling.
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PMID:Functional aerophagia in children: a frequent, atypical disorder. 2484 94