OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of short-chain fatty-acids on atrophy and inflammation of excluded colonic segments before and after the development of diversion colitis. INTRODUCTION: Diversion colitis is a chronic inflammatory process affecting the dysfunctional colon, possibly evolving with mucous and blood discharge. The most favored hypotheses to explain its development is short-chain fatty-acid deficiency in the colon lumen. METHODS: Wistar rats were submitted to colostomy with distal colon exclusion. Two control groups (A1 and B1) received rectally administered physiological saline, whereas two experimental groups (A2 and B2) received rectally administered short-chain fatty-acids. The A groups were prophylactically treated (5th to 40th days postoperatively), whereas the B groups were therapeutically treated (after post-operative day 40). The mucosal thickness of the excluded colon was measured histologically. The inflammatory reaction of the mucosal lamina propria and the lymphoid tissue response were quantified through established scores. RESULTS: There was a significant thickness recovery of the colonic mucosa in group B2 animals (p = 0.0001), which also exhibited a significant reduction in the number of eosinophilic polymorphonuclear cells in the lamina propria (p = 0.0126) and in the intestinal lumen (p = 0.0256). Group A2 showed no mucosal thickness recovery and significant increases in the numbers of lymphocytes (p = 0.0006) and eosinophilic polymorphonuclear cells in the lamina propria of the mucosa (p = 0.0022). CONCLUSION: Therapeutic use of short-chain fatty-acids significantly reduced eosinophilic polymorphonuclear cell numbers in the intestinal wall and in the colonic lumen; it also reversed the atrophy of the colonic mucosa. Prophylactic use did not impede the development of mucosal atrophy.

OBJETIVO: Investigar se as alterações do cólon desfuncionalizado, evidenciadas na colite de derivação fecal, seriam capazes de permitir Translocação Bacteriana (TB), ou se a mucosa intestinal atrofiada permitiria a passagem de bactérias para órgãos à distância. MÉTODOS: Foram utilizados 62 ratos Wistar, machos, pesando entre 220 e 320 gramas, divididos em dois grupos: A (Colostomia) e B (Controle), contendo cada um 31 animais. No grupo A, os animais foram submetidos à colostomia, terminal boca única, em cólon ascendente. A partir do 70º dia de observação os seguintes procedimentos foram adotados: em cinco ratos foi injetado por via retal no segmento desfuncionalizado - 2ml de uma solução salina 0,9% nos animais (subgrupo A1); em oito inoculou-se, por via retal, uma solução de 2ml contendo Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 (American Type Culture Collection), na concentração de 10(8) Unidades Formadoras de Colônias por mililitros (UFC/ml) - Subgrupo A2; em dez animais inoculava-se a mesma solução de E. coli, na concentração de 10(11)UFC/ml (Subgrupo A3); e em oito colhia-se o muco do segmento colônico distal desfuncionalizado, para dosagens de açúcares neutros e proteínas totais (subgrupo A4). Os animais do grupo B foram submetidos aos mesmos procedimentos do grupo A, e não foram submetidos à colostomia. Nos animais dos subgrupos A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, e B3, após serem mortos, realizou-se punção cardíaca para coleta de 2ml de sangue e retiraram-se fragmentos de tecidos de linfonodo do mesocólon, fígado, baço, pulmão e rim, para análise microbiológica. Essa análise consistia em evidenciar a presença de UFC de Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. Os testes de Mann-Whitney e Anova foram aplicados como técnicas investigativas para associação das variáveis. RESULTADOS: A ocorrência de TB, só foi evidenciada nos animais em que a concentração inoculada de Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, atingia níveis de 10(11)UFC/ml, ou seja, nos Subgrupos A3 e B3, no entanto, sendo significantemente superior (80%) nos animais sem colostomia (subgrupo B3) quando comparados com os ratos com colostomia (20%) do subgrupo A3 (P<0,05). Pulmão, fígado e linfonodo foram os tecidos com maior percentual de recuperação bacteriana, tanto no subgrupo A3, quanto no B3. A hemocultura foi positiva em 60 % dos animais do subgrupo B3 e em 10% do subgrupo A3 (p<0,05). Houve maior concentração de açúcares neutros, no subgrupo A4 - média 27,3mg/ml -, do que no subgrupo B4 - média 8,4mg/ml (P<0,05). CONCLUSÃO: As modificações na arquitetura da mucosa intestinal na colite de derivação fecal podem promover alterações na barreira intestinal, mas não necessariamente conduzem a maior freqüência de TB.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether the alterations of the diverted colon segment mucosa, evidenced in fecal colitis, would be able to alter Bacterial Translocation (BT). METHODS: Sixty-two Wistar male rats ranging from 220 to 320 grams of weight, were divided in two groups: A (Colostomy) and B (Control), with 31 animals each one. In group A, all animals underwent end colostomy, one stoma, in ascending colon; and in the 70th POD was injected in five rats, by rectal route diverted segment - 2ml of a 0.9% saline solution in animals (A1 subgroup); in eight it was inoculated, by rectal route, 2ml of a solution containing Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 (American Type Culture Collection), in a concentration of 10(8) Colony Forming Unit for milliliters (CFU/ml) - A2 Subgroup; in ten animals the same solution of E. coli was inoculated, in a concentration of 10(11) CFU/ml (A3 Subgroup); and in eight it was collected part of the mucus found in the diverted distal colonic segment for neutral sugars and total proteins dosage (A4 subgroup). The animals from the group B underwent the same procedures of group A, but with differences in the colostomy confection. In rats from subgroups A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, and B3 2ml of blood were aspirated from the heart, and fragments from mesenteric lymphatic nodule, liver, spleen, lung and kidney taken for microbiological analysis, after their death. This analysis consisted of evidencing the presence of E. coli ATCC 25922 CFU. Mann-Whitney and ANOVA Tests were applied as analytic techniques for association of variables. RESULTS: The occurrence of BT was evidenced only in those animals in which inoculated concentration of E. coli ATCC 25922, reached levels of 10(11)CFU/ml, i.e. in Subgroups A3 and B3, although, being significantly greater (80%) in those animals without colostomy (subgroup B3) when compared to the ones with colostomy (20%) from the subgroup A3 (P <0.05). Lung, liver and mesenteric lymphatic nodules were the tissues with larger percentile of bacterial recovery, so much in subgroup A3, as in B3. Blood culture was considered positive in 60% of the animals from subgroup B3 and in 10% of those from subgroup A3 (p <0.05). There was greater concentration of neutral sugars, in subgroup A4 - mean 27.3mg/ml -, than in subgroup B4 - mean 8.4mg/ml - (P <0.05). CONCLUSION: The modifications in the architecture of intestinal mucosa in colitis following fecal diversion can cause alterations in the intestinal barrier, but it does not necessarily lead to an increased frequency of BT.

Splenic abscess is a rare disease usually associated with immunosuppressed states. Its diagnosis may be difficult due to non-specific symptoms . The authors report a case of a healthy woman, 42 years old, bearer of splenic and renal abscesses , treated with antibiotics and splenectomy. A review of the literature is presented with emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment.

Spontaneous perforation of the common bile duct is rare. It happens predominantly in children and it is related to obstructive disease of the biliary tract. We present a case of an 18 year-old male patient, with ulcerative rectocolitis associated with malignant tumor of the head of pancreas. The patient developed an acute abdomen syndrome and laparotomy, a spontaneous perforation of common bile duct was evidenced. The authors make a revision of the clinical aspects of that pathology.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi evidenciar as repercussões histopatológicas da colostomia no segmento desfuncionalizado e, dessa forma, criar um modelo experimental da colite de derivação fecal (CO). Foram utilizados 65 ratos, adultos, da raça Wistar, com peso variando de 220 a 300 g. Os animais foram divididos em 13 grupos, contendo cinco ratos. Do grupo 1 ao grupo 12, os animais foram submetidos a laparotomia mediana, sendo realizada uma colostomia terminal tipo boca única, e observados, por períodos variados de tempo, com o máximo de cem dias. Os animais, após serem mortos, foram necropsiados e retirado o segmento co1ônico desfuncionalizado para a avaliação histopatológica. Essa avaliação consistia de uma análise quantitativa, através da medida da espessura da mucosa colônica, e de uma análise qualitativa, mediante avaliação subjetiva: da presença de infiltrado inflamatório agudo ou crônico na lâmina própria; das alterações na arquitetura das criptas colônicas; da presença de hiperplasia folicular linfóide e de linfócitos na luz dos vasos da submucosa; e da presença de eosinófilos na luz intestinal. No grupo 12, após o 100° dia de pós-operatório (OPO), foi realizada a reconstrução do trânsito intestinal, e, após trinta dias, o cólon descendente foi retirado para a análise histopatológica. O método de Tukey e o teste "t" de Student foram utilizados como parte da análise dos resultados. Verificou-se uma redução estatisticamente significante da espessura da mucosa colônica a partir do 4000PO. Concluiu-se que a colostomia desfuncionalizante realizada em ratos reproduziu alterações histopatológicas compatíveis com a colite de derivação, e que estas mostraram-se reversíveis após a reconstrução do trânsito intestinal.

The main goal of this work was to demonstrate the consequences of colostomy in the dysfunctional intestinal segment, creating a model of fecal diversion colitis (CD). Sixty five adult wistar rats, weighting 220 to 300g, were divided into 13 groups of five rats. In groups I to 12, the animals were submitted to a median laparotomy to perform a terminal colostomy after which the animals were observed for a maximum period of 100 days. The animals were then killed and a necropsy was performed for removing the defunctioning colonic segment for histopathological evaluation. Quantitative analysis was performed by measuring the width of the colonic mucosa, while qualitative analysis through the presence of inflammatory infiltrate - acute or chronic - in the lamina propria, changes in colonic crypts, presence of lymphoid follicular hyperplasia and lymphocites in the lumen of submucosal vessels, and the presence of eosinophiles in the intestinal lumen. In group 12, the animals underwent reconstruction of the normal intestinal flow 100 days after the dysfunctional colostomy, and were killed 30 days after that operations, the descending colon was removed for histopathological analysis similar to the previous groups. In group 13 (control), the animals were killed to remove a segment of the descending colon. Results were analysed according to the Turkey method and Student's T test. It was noted a significant reduction of colonic mucosa width, beginning at the 40th postoperative day (group 5). In conclusion, the colostomy in rats resembles histopathologic changes compatible with diversion colitis, and that this one was reversible after reconstruction of normal intestinal flow.

A colite de derivação fecal (CD) é um processo inflamatório que ocorre no segmento colorretal desfuncionalizado, após uma cirurgia de desvio do trânsito intestinal. As principais características dessa entidade clínica são: apresenta-se na desfuncionalização do cólon ou reto; não há doença inflamatória intestinal preexistente; nunca acomete o sítio proximal à colostomia e ocorre resolução do processo após a restauração do trânsito intestinal. Diversas são as hipóteses postuladas para explicar o seu aparecimento; todavia, a deficiência nutricional do epitélio colônico, pela ausência dos ácidos graxos de cadeia curta (AGCC), no segmento desfuncionalizado, é a mais aceita na atualidade. Os autores fazem uma revisão da literatura enfocando os aspectos clínicos, histopatológicos e terapêuticos desta doença.

The authors present a revision of diversion colitis. It is an inflammatory disorder that occurs in the colorectum segment after a diverting colostomy. The main features of this disease are: colon or rectum disfunction; no previous intestinal inflammatory disorder; it never attacks the colon upper colostomy; after intestinal transit restoration, the inflammatory process is solved. Many hypothesis are postulated to explain its occurrance. They include: fecal stasis; changes in the bacterial population of colon; nutritional deficiency of colonic epithelium due to the absence of short chain fatty acids in the defunctionalized segment is the most accepted nowadays. The absence of fatty acids produces energetic defficiency in colon mucosa, reduced electrolite absorption and secretion, and reduced mucus production. The patients have abdominal pain, mucus diarrhoea and bleeding. Histopathological features include chronical inflamation of colon wall, vascular congestion and changes in mucosa cripts. Lynphoid hiperplasy of mucosa and submucosa are common. The diagnosis is done by endoscopy, radiology, pathology and laboratory data. Surgery is considered the best treatment and when the intestinal continuity is restored the patients get cured. The topical use of short chain fatty acids by enema have had good results in some cases. As diversion colitis results in many assimptomatic patients, its incidence is understimated and more attention is needed always when a colostomy is done.