Bile acid malabsorption after continent urinary diversion with an ileal reservoir

Defecation disturbances after cystectomy for urinary bladder cancer

OBJECTIVE

• To describe and compare long-term defecation disturbances in patients who had undergone a cystectomy due to urinary bladder cancer with non-continent urostomies, continent reservoirs and orthotopic neobladder urinary diversions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

• During their follow-up we attempted to contact all men and women aged 30-80 years who had undergone cystectomy and urinary diversion at seven Swedish hospitals. • During a qualitative phase we identified defecation disturbances as a distressful symptom and included this item in a study-specific questionnaire together with free-hand comments. The patients completed the questionnaire at home. • Outcome variables were dichotomized and the results are presented as relative risks with 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS

• The questionnaire was returned from 452 (92%) of 491 identified patients. Up to 30% reported problems with the physiological emptying process of stool (bowel movement, sensory rectal function, awareness of need for defecation, motoric rectal and anal function, straining ability). • A sense of decreased straining capacity was reported by 20% of the men and women with non-continent urostomy and 14% and 8% of those with continent reservoirs and orthotopic neobladders, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

• Of the cystectomized individuals 30% reported problems with the physiological emptying process of stool (bowel movement, sensory rectal function, awareness of need for defecation, motoric rectal and anal function, straining ability). • Those wanting to improve the situation for bladder cancer survivors may consider communicating before surgery the possibility of stool-emptying problems, and asking about them after surgery.

Gastrointestinal function and metabolic control after construction of an orthotopic ileal neobladder in bladder cancer

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of ileum resection in orthotopic neobladder construction on gastrointestinal function and metabolic control.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We included 28 patients who underwent radical cystectomy and construction of an orthotopic neobladder or continent ileal reservoir for bladder cancer. As controls, 10 patients endoscopically treated for non-invasive bladder cancer (TaG2) were enrolled. Gastrointestinal symptoms, enterohepatic bile salt circulation, gastric emptying and gastrointestinal hormones involved in metabolic control were monitored.

RESULTS

Of the cystectomy patients, 25% experienced daily diarrhoea and faecal urgency due to bile acid malabsorption, compared to 0% of the controls (p = 0.013). The cystectomy patients experienced faster gastric emptying and had higher levels of peptide YY. Plasma concentrations of insulin, glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucose were unchanged.

CONCLUSIONS

Using the distal ileum for orthotopic neobladder construction causes bowel disorders in a quarter of cystectomy patients. Diarrhoea and faecal urgency are probably caused by decreased reabsorption of bile and are not due to changes in gastrointestinal hormones. A sizeable proportion of patients develop bile salt-induced diarrhoea, which can be relieved by treatment with cholestyramine.

In vitro determination of active bile acid absorption in small biopsy specimens obtained endoscopically or surgically from the human intestine

BACKGROUND

In the construction of a Kock reservoir for continent urinary diversion, 70 cm of the distal ileum are used. Impaired absorption of bile acids in these patients might cause diarrhoea. Data on the absorption of bile acids in different parts of the human intestine are limited.

METHODS

Biopsies were taken during endoscopy from the duodenum, the terminal ileum or the right colon, and during surgery 10, 50, 100 and 150 cm proximally to the ileo-caecal valve using standard endoscopy biopsy forceps. The biopsy specimens were incubated in vitro with radio-labelled taurocholic acid at 37 degrees C for 22 or 45 min The radioactivity was determined using the liquid scintillation technique.

RESULTS

A linear increase in the uptake was observed, with increased concentrations of taurocholic acid between 100 and 500 microm in all specimens tested, that represented passive uptake or unspecific binding. The active uptake could be calculated from the intercept of the line representing passive uptake with the ordinate. The active uptake in the terminal ileum was 3-4 times greater than 100 cm proximal to the valve.

CONCLUSIONS

The active absorption of bile acids in humans can be determined in small biopsy specimens taken using standard biopsy forceps during endoscopy or surgery. This method is suitable for clinical studies of bile acid absorption. Active uptake of bile acids not only takes place in the very distal part of the ileum but also to a considerable degree 100 cm proximally to the ileo-colonic valve. This should be taken into account when selecting the ileal segment for continent urinary diversion.