
Economics of Diarrhoea in Intensive Care Unit
Critical IllnessEnteral nutrition (EN) is the first choice route for nutritional support in ICU patients with a functioning digestive tract. Nevertheless, EN alone is often associated with digestive intolerance, including diarrhoea. In case of diarrhoea, EN is often reduced or discontinued, resulting in insufficient energy and protein intakes and increase complications rate in ICU patients. Diarrhoea is more frequent in ICU patients receiving EN that in those without EN or on Parenteral nutrition (PN). This difference is likely to be related to the level of EN administration needed to optimize the coverage of nutritional needs at a time when the gut has reduced absorptive capacity. Diarrhoea is suspected to have a negative economic impact on global cost, because the management of patients with diarrhoea is time-consuming for the nurses and all medical staff, it requires investigations (water and electrolytes balances, microbiology investigations, etc.) and treatments (anti-diarrhoeal drugs, antibiotics, etc). However, the economic impact of diarrhoea related to EN or the combination of EN and PN has never been evaluated in the ICU setting.

Pentosan Polysulfate in Treating Patients With Gastrointestinal Disturbance Caused by Radiation...
DiarrheaRadiation EnteritisRATIONALE: Pentosan polysulfate may be effective in treating side effects of radiation therapy to the abdomen or pelvis. It is not yet known whether pentosan polysulfate is more effective than no further therapy for treating gastrointestinal disturbance caused by previous radiation therapy. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to determine the effectiveness of pentosan polysulfate in treating patients who have inflammation of the rectum, diarrhea, or blood in stools caused by previous radiation therapy to the abdomen and pelvis.

Octreotide Compared With Loperamide Hydrochloride for Chemotherapy-Related Diarrhea in Patients...
Colorectal CancerDiarrheaRATIONALE: Drugs such as octreotide and loperamide hydrochloride use different ways to relieve the diarrhea caused by chemotherapy. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of octreotide with loperamide hydrochloride for the treatment of chemotherapy-related diarrhea in patients who have colorectal cancer.

Calcium Aluminosilicate Anti-Diarrheal in Treating and Preventing Diarrhea in Patients With Metastatic...
Chemotherapeutic Agent ToxicityColorectal Cancer1 moreRATIONALE: Calcium aluminosilicate anti-diarrheal (CASAD) may help treat and prevent diarrhea caused by irinotecan. It is not yet known whether CASAD is more effective than a placebo in treating and preventing diarrhea in patients receiving irinotecan. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying CASAD to see how well it works compared with a placebo in treating and preventing diarrhea in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer receiving irinotecan.

Cyclophosphamide in Treating Young Patients With Severe Autoimmune Enteropathy
DiarrheaGastrointestinal Complications2 moreRATIONALE: Cyclophosphamide may help control the symptoms of autoimmune enteropathy . PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well cyclophosphamide works in treating young patients with severe autoimmune enteropathy.

Low-Residue Diet in Treating Diarrhea in Patients Receiving Pelvic Radiation Therapy.
Cervical CancerDiarrhea3 moreRATIONALE: Eating a diet low in residue (fiber, fat, and certain milk or vegetable products) may help prevent or reduce diarrhea caused by pelvic radiation therapy. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying a low-residue diet to see how well it works compared to no dietary intervention in treating diarrhea in patients who are undergoing radiation therapy to the pelvis for uterine, cervical, or prostate cancer.

Health Education Delivery Methods for a Low Fermentable Carbohydrate Diet in Patients With Functional...
Irritable Bowel SyndromeFunctional Diarrhea1 moreThere is evidence for the use of a diet low in short chain fermentable carbohydrates (low FODMAP diet) in the management of functional gut symptoms, such as abdominal pain and bloating. However, the provision of advice on the low FODMAP diet can be challenging due to limited resources and the need for a dietitian with expertise in the low FODMAP diet. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility in terms of recruitment and retention in planning a future trial. The purpose of the future trial will be to investigate the clinical and cost effectiveness, as well as the acceptability of different education methods of the low FODMAP diet for the treatment of IBS. To date, there are no studies on the implementation of the low FOMDAP diet using a mobile app or leaflets in the education of the low FODMAP diet. Therefore, a feasibility study design was chosen in order to obtain key data on recruitment and retention rates at each study group.

Improving the Quality of Private Sector Health Care in West Bengal
Myocardial InfarctionDiarrhea (Dysentery)1 moreThe rural healthcare market in much of the developing world is composed largely of informal private providers. These private providers often have little to no certifiable medical training. Recent studies in India using medical vignettes (or hypothetical medical situations) to measure clinical competence and direct observations of doctor-patient interactions to measure clinical practice highlight the poor quality of care that most patients receive-a problem that is clearly relevant beyond India and affects most low-income countries worldwide. For instance: In rural India, standardized patients presenting with chest pain and (on further questioning) radiating pain in the arm are (correctly) diagnosed with a heart attack in less than 25 percent of cases. Across 8 low and middle-income countries, health care providers completed the four necessary vital statistics for new patients in less than 4 percent of interactions: health care providers in the public sectors of many developing countries routinely spend less than 1 minute per patient. To address these deplorably low standards in both medical knowledge and practice, the Liver Foundation in Kolkata has been working with private rural health care providers through capacity building activities to improve quality in the private sector. The program consists of multiple-week training to private rural health care providers on the basis of a well-developed curriculum in the district of Birbhum, West Bengal. This study aims to assess the impact of this training program using a randomized evaluation, in which providers are randomly assigned to the treatment, i.e. the Liver Foundation's training program, or the control, i.e. no such training. As an independent outside evaluation team, we will run a baseline survey for all providers (through a third party data collection agency), monitor the application of and compliance in the Liver Foundation's training intervention, and conduct a final endline study. By comparing the treatment and control groups on a variety of measures developed to capture competence in provider knowledge and practice, we can rigorously assess whether such a training program for informal rural health care providers is an effective means of improving provider medical knowledge and practice in the short run. It is worth noting that this study will not be able to capture long run effects , such as price or location changes, on health care for the rural poor.

Text Message Reminders to Health Workers on Malaria, Pneumonia, and Diarrhea Case Management in...
MalariaPneumonia1 moreThe purpose of this study is to assess whether twice-daily text message reminders over a six-month period to health workers in Malawi about diagnosis and treatment of malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea improve case management of these diseases.

Children Immune Functions(2)
DiarrheaUpper Respiratory InfectionsTo investigate the effect of milk-based formulas on infections and immune functions in healthy children.