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The lesion responsible for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding in the pediatric population may not be determined with standard primary endoscopic methods. Wireless capsule endoscopy, now a first-line modality for evaluation of the small bowel in the adult population, is a tool that may be useful among children. We report a case of a 2.5-year-old girl who presented with melenic stools. Upper and lower endoscopy, Meckel scans, and mesenteric angiography yielded negative results. Wireless capsule endoscopy identified numerous abnormal, dilated, blood vessels in the proximal jejunum, with associated fresh blood. The patient underwent surgical exploration, with resection of the affected portion of the jejunum. Pathologically, the dilated blood vessels were consistent with mixed, juvenile, capillary hemangioma-angiomatosis of developmental or congenital origin. The patient fared well postoperatively, with no additional bleeding in 9 months of follow-up monitoring. This case report highlights the use of capsule endoscopy in the diagnosis and successful treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding in a young infant. This is the youngest reported patient treated with the use of wireless capsule endoscopy in the pediatric population.

We examined the effect of nicotine on rectal sensation, rectal compliance, and anorectal sphincter function in healthy volunteers. Eleven healthy (ex-smoker) subjects were randomized in a double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study of 12 mg nicotine-containing chewing gum. All treatment periods (nicotine or placebo chewing gum) were preceded by a control period without chewing gum. Crossover study was done after a washout period of more than seven days. The following measurements were made: highest anorectal sphincter tone, highest anorectal sphincter squeeze tone, percentage relaxation of the anorectal sphincter with rectal balloon distension, threshold of rectal sensation, maximal tolerable volume of air inflation of a rectal balloon, and rectal compliance. There was no significant difference in the two control periods. Chewing placebo gum had no significant effect on any of the measurements when compared with control. Compared with placebo, nicotine did not significantly affect on any of the measurements. We conclude that neither nicotine nor the sham-feeding effect of chewing placebo gum appear to have any effect on anorectal sensorimotor function or on rectal compliance in healthy ex-smokers.

Expired air samples have been analyzed from three groups of human subjects (normal, liver dysfunction, lung cancer) and the baboon (Papio anubus). Of the several hundred compounds present, three compounds were of particular interest due to their structural relationship to the isoprenoid-type intermediates in the sterol pathway. These compounds were 1-methyl-4-(1-methyl-ethenyl)-cyclohexene, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, and 6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-one. Hydroxyacetone was also found in all samples screened. The relationship of these compounds to the non-sterol pathway of mevalonate metabolism is discussed.

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