Body weight and fluid input/output are usually monitored for checking fluid balance in case of intravenous hyperhydration during nephrotoxic chemotherapy. The reliability of measuring fluid input/output is uncertain. Moreover, this measurement is redundant, complex, labour-intensive and represents an occupational hazard for nurses and other health-care workers handling fluids or body excreta. In a prospective cohort study, we determined the concordance between body weight and fluid intake/output. We also examined the clinical consequences with respect to the safety of selecting only body weight measurement as a parameter for fluid overload. A total of 591 combined observations of fluid balances and body weights were collected. We observed a higher increase in body weight than in fluid balance. The Pearson correlation between fluid balance and body weight was relatively low (r = 0.28). With regard to the safety of measuring body weight only, we found 4 cases (0.6%) who might not have received furosemide if the fluid input/output had not been measured, without clinical consequences, however. After standardization, body weight can safely be used as the only parameter for monitoring fluid retention in case of hyperhydration during chemotherapy.

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The role of IgG in effecting gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility associated with neurologic autoimmunity (idiopathic or paraneoplastic) remains poorly defined.Serum IgG prepared from patients with anti-neuronal nuclear autoantibody type 1 [ANNA-1 (aka anti-Hu), n = 7] or ganglionic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (a3AChR, n = 6) autoantibody were tested on myenteric neurons in longitudinal muscle myenteric plexus (LMMP) preparations from the ileum of 38 guinea pigs. IgG prepared from healthy subjects or neurologic patients (n = 7) without GI symptoms served as controls. Action potential discharges in all neurons of a ganglion in response to acute application of IgG were monitored by fast imaging using a voltage-sensitive dye. Data were analysed as % neurons per ganglion responding and frequency of action potential discharge.Only 0.7 ± 1.2% of 708 neurons (26 ganglia) responded to two of seven control IgG samples (mean action potential frequency 0.5 ± 0.9 Hz). Six of seven samples containing ANNA-1-IgG evoked a response in 7.4 ± 5.7% of 1266 neurons (45 ganglia) (P < 0.05) with a significantly higher action potential discharge (1.8 ± 1.1 Hz, P < 0.05). We observed no correlation between ANNA-1 titer and the percentage of responding neurons or action potential frequency. Four of six samples containing a3AChR-IgG evoked a response in a smaller number of neurons [6.5 ± 9.9% of 612 neurons (32 ganglia)] with an action potential frequency of 1.9 ± 1.5 Hz. In conclusion, our data indicate that IgG in serum of patients with autoimmune GI dysmotilities elicits hyperexcitability in enteric neurons. These findings are consistent with IgGs of neuronal specificity playing an effector role in autoimmune GI dysmotilities. 2Inhibition of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) restores rhythmic propagating antral contractions in a mouse model of Type 2 diabetes A. WORTH, S. JOKELA-WILLIS, K. HANNIGAN, P. BLAIR, S. WARD, K. SANDERS and G. HENNIG* Department of Physiology & Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA Background and Aims: Gastroparesis is a common condition in individuals with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM;~30-40%). To date, the majority of studies have used gastric emptying methods to measure the severity of gastroparesis in patients or animals with T2DM, however these methods are unable to resolve the location and pattern of motility changes. We have used isolated stomach preparations in combination with video imaging to precisely measure gastric contractions in a mouse model of T2DM (Lep ob/ob mice).Our aim was to determine if inhibition of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) could compensate for reduced cholinergic transmission in mice with T2DM, thereby restoring normal patterns of gastric motility. Methods: Lep ob/ob mice and age-matched controls (C57BL/6) were euthanized humanely. The stomach was opened along the lesser curvature and pinned out flat in a Sylgard-lined organ bath. The mucosa and submucosa were dissected away and a small array (~4 · 4) of surface markers was placed on the circular muscle. L-NNA (100 lM...