[Nutritional supportive care in the course of patients with esophagogastric cancers]

Supportive care plays a central role in the management of patients with esophagogastric cancers, at all disease stages. Malnutrition has a high prevalence in this population, reaching up to 60 % of the patients. Sarcopenia and cachexia are also common. These complications have negative impact on functional abilities, quality of life and overall survival. They impair anti-tumor treatments effectiveness and increase their toxicity. Early detection and management are needed, before reaching advanced stages, which are refractory to therapeutic interventions. Specific nutritional support is recommended, relying on different nutritional support tools (dietetic counseling, oral supplements, artificial nutrition), depending on the clinical situation. When artificial nutrition is recommended, enteral nutrition (nasogastric tube, gastrostomy or jejunostomy) should be preferred. When enteral nutrition is impossible or insufficient, parenteral nutrition could be necessary. For patients with advanced esophagogastric cancers, digestive prostheses and decompressive radiation therapy may have a symptomatic benefit on dysphagia. Adapted physical activity is also recommended at all stages of cancer care and ongoing clinical trials will help to specify its modalities and to optimize its place in the therapeutic strategy. Finally, psychosocial support could be useful. A combined approach of these different interventions on the nutritional, physical and psychological aspects is beneficial for patients with esophagogastric cancers. This multimodal and multidisciplinary approach applies to both the early stages of the disease, with prehabilitation and/or rehabilitation to reduce perioperative morbidity and mortality and the advanced stages, with a benefit on survival and quality of life, in parallel with anti-tumor treatments.

[Does hypoalbuminemia contribute to the worsening of heart failure?]

BACKGROUND

Hypoalbuminemia has now emerged as a powerful prognosticator in heart failure regardless of age, clinical presentation, left ventricular ejection fraction and usual prognostic markers. Growing evidence is that this prognostic value persists after adjusting for causative factors for hypoalbuminemia such as malnutrition, inflammation and liver dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE

To address the prognostic relevance of hypoalbuminemia in frail elderly patients with well-characterized cardiogenic pulmonary edema at high risk for adverse outcome, beyond causative factors for low serum albumin levels. Serum albumin was measured after clinical stabilization to avoid hypervolemia.

RESULTS

In all, 67 patients with a mean age of 86 years were included. Hospital mortality was 30%. Patients who died and who survived were similar in age, ejection fraction, BNP concentration, serum creatinine, serum hemoglobin, total bilirubin and prealbumin. Patients who died had lower serum albumin levels (P<0.001), higher blood urea nitrogen (P=0.03) and higher C-reactive protein (P=0.02). In multivariate analysis, serum albumin was the sole independent predictor of hospital death (P<0.01), after adjusting for malnutrition (prealbumin P=ns), inflammation (C-reactive protein P=ns) and liver dysfunction (total bilirubin P=ns).

CONCLUSION

Serum albumin is a powerful prognosticator in frail elderly patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema even after adjusting for main causative factors. These results suggest that hypoalbuminemia may contribute to the worsening of heart failure given the physiological properties of serum albumin that includes antioxidant activity and plasma colloid osmotic pressure action. Further studies are critically needed to address the relevance of prevention and correction of hypoalbuminemia in heart failure.

[Evaluation of the Follow-Up and State of Adolescents with Sickle-Cell Disease in Brazzaville (Congo)]

The experience of the adolescent with homozygous sickle-cell disease is influenced by several factors that differentiate it from the older child entirely dependent on his parents. The objective of this study was to describe the state of health and to assess the quality of follow-up and to identify the determinants of poor monitoring of adolescent sickle-cell followed in Brazzaville for an average of 12 ± 9.6 years, starting from a cross-sectional study carried out at the Brazzaville University Hospital from March to September 2016. It is based on a questionnaire composed of elements of assessment of the state of health and the quality of the follow-up. The vaccination coverage of adolescents was low, 81.3% for DTCP, 66.5% for Typhim Vi, 50.2% for viral hepatitis B, 76.4% for pneumococcus, and 59.1% for the ROR. In the last two years prior to the survey, 99 (48.7%) adolescents had only 2 follow-up visits instead of 4 planned per year. Therapeutic compliance was good in 132 (65%). No hospitalizations were reported during this period in 23 adolescents (11.3%); in 180 cases (88.7%), however, adolescents were hospitalized one to three times apart from regular follow-up visits. Since the discovery of the disease, 177 (87.2%) adolescents had already been transfused, more than three times in 89 cases. A history of neurovascular seizures was found in 10 cases (5.2%) and priapism in 35 cases (18.2%). Paraclinical examinations were not systematic during follow-up visits. The socioeconomic level of the family and the level of education of the father had a negative impact on monitoring and adherence (P < 0.01). On clinical examinations, stunting, undernutrition, pubertal delay, tooth decay, enuresis were found in 45.3%, 36%, 53.7%, 27.6%, 15.3%, respectively. The biological examinations carried out during the investigation showed an average inter-critical hemoglobin level between 7 and 8 g/dl, creatinine level was normal in all cases, ferritinemia was elevated in 93.6%, a negative proteinuria was found in 71.4% of the cases, and hematuria in 26.6%. Systematic abdominal ultrasound revealed vesicular lithiasis in 8 cases, hepatomegaly in 10 cases, and splenomegaly in 102 cases. Echocardiography performed in all subjects showed cardiomyopathy in 9 cases. The follow-up of the adolescent sickle-cell in Brazzaville still faces enormous difficulties. The improvement of the standard of living, the therapeutic education and the introduction of a total free of charge of the global management of sickle-cell disease would make it possible to minimize these difficulties which also would improve the future of these teenagers, adults of tomorrow.

[Serum albumin and cardiovascular diseases: A comprehensive review of the literature]

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Conceptually, endothelial dysfunction, inflammatory status and oxidative stress are at the forefront in the onset and development of most cardiovascular diseases, particularly coronary artery disease and heart failure. Serum albumin, the most abundant plasma protein, has many physiological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiplatelet aggregation activity. It also plays an essential role in the fluid exchange across the capillary membrane. Definite evidence is that hypo-albuminemia is a powerful prognostic marker in the general population as well as in many pathological settings. In the more specific context of cardiovascular diseases, serum albumin is independently associated with the development of a variety of deleterious conditions such as coronary artery disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and stroke. Serum albumin has also emerged as a powerful prognostic parameter in patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, congenital heart disease, infective endocarditis, cardiovascular surgery and stroke, regardless of usual prognostic markers. This prognostic value probably refers mainly to the malnutrition-inflammation syndrome and the severity of comorbidities. Nevertheless, hypo-albuminemia may act as an unknown and modifiable risk factor that contributes to the emergence and the pejorative evolution of cardiovascular diseases, mainly by exacerbation of inflammation, oxidative stress and platelet aggregation, and by pulmonary and myocardial edema. This article provides an overview of the physiological properties of serum albumin, the prevalence, causes, prognostic value and potential contribution to the emergence and aggravation of cardiovascular disease of hypoalbuminemia, as well as its clinical implications.

[Wasting in chronic kidney disease: Refeeding techniques and artificial nutrition practices]

Protein energy wasting (PEW) is an independent factor associated with morbi-mortality in chronic kidney disease. Wasting is particularly common in chronic diseases of organs such as kidney disease with a major impact at the stage of dialysis. It covers 20 to 70% of patients diagnosed with chronic kidney disease according to the degree of evolution of the disease and the diagnostic method used patients. Mechanisms of PEW are based mainly on anorexia and metabolic abnormalities caused by kidney disease. Nutritional treatment differs depending on the stage of the kidney disease acute or chronic treated whether or not by dialysis. Nutritional monitoring should be regular, individualized and collaborative to detect a risk of PEW or treat installed PEW. Refeeding techniques should allow all the nutritional needs. Their indications depend on the clinic, biochemical assessment and nutrient intake.

[Gelatinous transformation of the bone marrow: A retrospective monocentric case series of 12 patients]

PURPOSE

Gelatinous bone marrow transformation is a rare complication of unknown pathogenesis related to several underlying diseases. It is described as a focal loss of hematopoietic cells and a deposition of eosinophilic gelatinous substance rich in hyaluronic acid. We report a retrospective monocentric study followed by a literature review.

METHODS

We have identified 12 patients with gelatinous transformation from 1999 to 2014. Clinical, biological and cytological data were collected.

RESULTS

A bone marrow aspirate was performed for mild to severe pancytopenia (50%), less frequently for monocytopenia. Mean haemoglobin was 10.4g/dL, platelets 126.9G/L and leucocytes 3.82G/L. Gelatinous transformation was found in all patients. We have identified three hematologic malignancies, three cancers, three severe infections, two anorexia nervosa and one kidney injury. Ten patients had undernutrition, 9 out of the 12 patients died within a year due to advanced underlying disease and comorbidities.

CONCLUSION

Gelatinous bone marrow transformation is found in various situations of severe undernutrition including anorexia nervosa, advanced cancers or severe sepsis, especially in HIV infection. The deposition of hyaluronic acid probably reduces haematopoiesis. Due to a complex inflammatory process, it alters the hematopoietic microenvironment and the bone marrow stroma. Severe undernutrition and other mechanisms are reviewed in this study. Gelatinous degeneration is still a rare disorder, indicative of an advanced underlying disease; its recognition could help guide investigations.

[Understanding the pathophysiology of malnutrition for better treatment]

Malnutrition results from an imbalance between intake and protein-energy requirements resulting in tissue losses with adverse functional consequences. However, it would be better to speak of "states of malnutrition" rather than "malnutrition". Indeed, the mechanisms involved associate, with varying degrees, intake deficiency and increased needs with different clinical consequences. Adaptation to nutrient deficiency aims at establishing lasting saving conditions by promoting optimization of energy reserve utilization while preserving protein pool. This is achieved by reducing basal metabolism (low T3), by decreasing the secretion of anabolic factors and moderately increasing catabolic hormones. Unlike the previous process, the metabolic response to injury or stress, which will sometime induce major increase in requirements, will have as immediate purpose the defense of the organism. The body will draw sometime substantially in its protein pool to produce the glucose required for example by the immune cells. Stress response stems from both an endocrine response, and an immuno-inflammatory one with the important role of pro-inflammatory cytokines released in response to pathogens and more recently alarmins in response to endogenous stress in the inflammatory phenomena of the stress response and in the resulting malnutrition state. Treatment of these malnutrition conditions will thus differ: promoting anabolism in one case and fighting resistance to anabolism and hypercatabolism in the other.

[Managing nutritional support in thoracic oncology]

INTRODUCTION

Cancer treatments are based on specific anticancer chemotherapy. However, there is increasing interest in general aspects of care, which are increasingly evidence based.

STATE OF THE ART

The importance of muscle mass is becoming increasingly evident. Its role is not only limited to the maintenance of physical performance and quality of life. In oncology, recent studies have shown a close link between sarcopenia (low muscle mass) and mortality as well as between sarcopenia and chemotherapy toxicity. To treat malnutrition and the lack of energy intake, nutritional support is considered, whether through the prescription of oral nutritional supplements, enteral nutrition or even parenteral nutrition. Scientific arguments are often absent and few studies have been carried out in patients with lung cancer.

PERSPECTIVES

There are many experimental arguments and a few clinical trials that support using omega 3 fatty acids to modulate inflammatory reaction and to reduce its consequences on muscular proteolysis. The benefit of regular physical activity has already been proven in chronic respiratory disease and its use in association with nutritional support must be recommended in oncologic care.

CONCLUSION

Given the increasing recognition of the role of muscle mass in cancer, the purpose of any nutritional support must be focused on increasing muscle anabolism and decreasing proteolysis.