Digestive Surgery最新文献

Introduction: Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) is a predictor for postoperative complications after esophagectomy. Cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) is the golden standard for measuring VO2max. The alternative steep ramp test (SRT) is less strenuous with several benefits, providing an estimation of VO2max. This study aimed to determine whether SRT is a reliable alternative for CPET to evaluate preoperative fitness.

Methods: A total of 113 patients were included in this study. The agreement between SRT and CPET was analyzed using a t test, Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and the Bland-Altman analysis. The threshold for adequate preoperative fitness was set at 17.0 mL/kg/min.

Results: The mean difference between CPET and SRT was 2.77 mL/kg/min (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.14-3.41). The ICC was 0.79 (95% CI: 0.70-0.85). The upper limit of agreement of the Bland-Altman was 9.44. The addition of 9.44 to the CPET threshold gives an SRT threshold of 26.44 mL/kg/min. Thirty-one (27.4%) patients scored higher than the SRT threshold.

Conclusion: The SRT VO2max differs from VO2max as measured by CPET. However, the difference was found to be clinically irrelevant for a substantial portion of patients. Hence, SRT is a promising alternative to CPET for determining physical fitness and might render CPET obsolete for fit individuals.

Background: Acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) is a life-threatening condition with mortality exceeding 50%. This scoping review evaluates current diagnostic and management strategies, comparing endovascular and open surgical approaches.

Summary: Following Arksey and O'Malley's framework, a systematic search was conducted in OVID MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science (2005-2024). English-language studies on AMI were included. Data on diagnostic methods, mortality, hospital/ICU stay, and surgical outcomes were extracted. Thirty-nine studies (20,991 patients) were analysed. CT angiography was the primary diagnostic tool, with diagnostic delays ranging from 13.9 to 48 h. Endovascular interventions demonstrated lower 30-day mortality (0%-53.8%) versus open surgery (21%-81%). Hospital (5-15.35 vs. 5.7-27.26 days) and ICU stays (0-5.35 vs. 2-13 days) were shorter with endovascular management. Bowel resection and re-laparotomy rates were also reduced.

Key messages: Endovascular management is associated with improved outcomes, including reduced mortality and shorter hospital stays. Timely diagnosis and patient selection remain critical. A multidisciplinary approach is essential, though further prospective studies are needed to standardise protocols.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate whether the retrieval of 15 or more lymph nodes (LN) during gastrectomy for cancer is associated with better survival and more accurate pathological staging.

Methods: Patients that underwent gastrectomy between 2011 and 2016 were reviewed from the Dutch Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Audit. Patients with <15 and ≥15 LN retrieved were compared after propensity-score matching based on patient and tumor characteristics. The primary endpoint was 3-year overall survival.

Results: A total of 2,047 patients were included in the study. After propensity score matching, 522 patients with ≥15 LNs were matched to 522 patients with <15 LNs. There was no statistically significant difference in overall survival between both groups with 3-year survival rates of 56% versus 59%, respectively. Patients with ≥15 LNs had a more advanced pN-category. While median survival was higher for patients with ≥15 LNs versus <15 LNs in the subgroups pN2, pN3a, and pN3b, no statistically significant differences were found. Similar results were found in the propensity score matched cohort using 23 LNs as cut-off.

Conclusion: ≥15 LNs retrieved during gastrectomy for cancer was associated with higher pN-stage, likely as a result of stage migration. Three-year overall survival was comparable for patients with ≥15 LNs and patients with <15 LNs retrieved.

Introduction: The proposed centralisation of colonic cancer surgery (CCS) to dedicated cancer centres may overburden such units while removing the opportunity for patients to receive treatment locally. This study presents outcomes of patients undergoing CCS in a regional hospital by a fellowship-trained colorectal surgeon.

Methods: Demographic, perioperative, postoperative, and oncological outcomes for 50 successive patients who underwent CCS in a regional hospital were collected. Outcomes were compared to colorectal cancer key performance indicators and textbook outcomes.

Results: Fifty patients (56% male) were identified, of whom 41 (82%) underwent elective surgery. The median follow-up was 49 months. Operations performed included 31 (62%) right hemicolectomies, 18 (36%) high anterior resections, 1 (2%) subtotal colectomy, and 1 (2%) low anterior resection. The majority (64%, n = 32) were completed laparoscopically. Anastomotic leak rate was 4.3% (n = 2). The major morbidity rate (Clavien-Dindo ≥III) was 14% (n = 7). Readmission, reoperation, and mortality at 30 days were 0%, 8%, and 0%, respectively. The R0 resection rate was 98% with a median lymph node yield of 20. Textbook outcome was achieved in 27 patients (54%). Overall survival at 1, 3, and 5 years was 96%, 77%, and 77%, respectively. Disease-free survival at 1, 3, and 5 years was 86%, 77%, and 75%.

Conclusion: CCS can be delivered safely and effectively in regional hospitals under the care of appropriately supported subspecialists. Both patient and healthcare system benefit from the delivery of high-quality oncological surgery locally, reducing the burden on tertiary centres. The projected doubling of colorectal cancer cases by 2040 requires appropriate utilisation of available resources.

Introduction: Liquid biopsies enable noninvasive tumor material sampling in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Genetic information, especially alterations in circulating free DNA (cfDNA) levels, might help predict poorer tumor differentiation, disease progression, and might be used as treatment efficacy evaluator. However, the data on this topic are insufficient.

Methods: Newly diagnosed, PDAC patients without prior systemic treatment and chronic pancreatitis patients treated at the tertiary university hospital and healthy controls were included in this prospective study. Blood samples were collected pretreatment, and cfDNA was extracted and measured using necessary equipment according to manufacturer's protocols.

Results: Fifty-seven patients (47 PDAC and 10 chronic pancreatitis) and 8 healthy controls were included. cfDNA levels were significantly higher in cancer patients compared to chronic pancreatitis (p = 0.032) and healthy controls (p < 0.001). The determined cfDNA cut-off value for distinguishing PDAC from chronic pancreatitis was 23.65 ng/mL and for distinguishing PDAC from healthy controls - 22.9 ng/mL. However, no distinctions in cfDNA levels were noted concerning tumor characteristics or survival rates.

Conclusion: Liquid biopsies and alterations in cfDNA levels could aid in distinguishing PDAC from benign inflammatory diseases or healthy patients. Nonetheless, further studies are necessary for more comprehensive validation.

Introduction: This study aims to investigate the current evidence regarding long-term outcomes using laparoscopic peritoneal lavage (LPL) versus primary bowel resection (PR) in Hinchey III diverticulitis.

Methods: A systematic review was undertaken based upon articles published between January 1, 2000, and March 1, 2024. Databases Pubmed, Scopus, and Embase were used employing the key search terms "Diverticulitis" and "Peritoneal Lavage." Articles were selected according to the PRISMA guidelines and statistical analysis was undertaken. Cumulative analysis of diverticulitis recurrence and secondary outcomes of disease-related mortality, serious adverse events, stoma incidence, reoperation, and readmission rates were performed.

Results: An initial search identified 506 articles for review. A total of 294 patients were included for final analysis from 3 prospective randomized controlled trials. There was no significant difference in disease-related mortality or serious adverse events between LPL and PR. There was significantly decreased likelihood of having a stoma in the LPL group; however, there was also a significantly increased likelihood of having recurrent diverticulitis. There was heterogenicity across all trials.

Conclusion: There is a paucity of level 1 evidence available regarding the long-term outcomes of Hinchey III diverticulitis managed with LPL. At 3-year follow-up, there is a significantly decreased likelihood of having a stoma, tempered by the fact that there is a significantly increased likelihood of having recurrent diverticulitis. Further homogenous high-quality randomized studies are required to clarify whether LPL shows long-term benefit over PR.

Introduction: The incidence of adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) after abdominal surgery is 2.4%. Delay in surgery increases morbidity and mortality. Plasma intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) levels indicate intestinal damage and may guide treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate whether plasma I-FABP levels may optimize selection of patients requiring surgery presenting with ASBO.

Methods: Patients with suspected ASBO underwent a contrast swallow. If bowel transit was absent after 8 h, surgery was performed. I-FABP levels were assessed at several moments. Data were analyzed by comparing groups based on bowel transit, ischemia, and positive or negative laparotomies. Furthermore, a true operative group (patients with mechanical obstruction during surgery and patients needing operative treatment who deceased due to non-operative treatment) was compared to a true non-operative group (patients with negative laparotomies and patients successfully treated with non-operative treatment).

Results: Median I-FABP levels were higher in patients without bowel transit (1,207 pg/mL) than in patients with bowel transit (589 pg/mL, p = 0.01). Median I-FABP levels in the negative laparotomy group (301 pg/mL) showed a trend to significance compared to the positive laparotomy group (1,177 pg/mL, p = 0.05). There was no significant difference between the true operative group (1,150 pg/mL) and the true non-operative group (664 pg/mL) or between proven ischemia (975 pg/mL) and no ischemia (921 pg/mL).

Conclusion: I-FABP might help identify ASBO patients in whom surgery can be postponed.

Introduction: Evidence regarding staging laparoscopy (SL) for clinical metastatic (cM+) gastric cancer (GC) patients is limited. Recently, an Italian Gastric Cancer Research Group (GIRCG) study showed SL changed peritoneal status in over 20% of cases. This study aimed to evaluate SL's role in cM+ patients and refine its indications.

Methods: Clinical data of cM+ GC patients who underwent SL between 2010 and 2022 at nine GIRCG centers were retrospectively analyzed. The primary outcome was SL's yield, defined as peritoneal status changed by SL over all SLs.

Results: Among 182 cM+ patients who received SL, 38 (20.9%) had SL-findings changing peritoneal status. Notably, 10.1% of cases with preoperative signs of carcinomatosis had no peritoneal disease, while 46.3% with extraperitoneal disease alone had peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) at SL. Thirty-one patients (17.0%) underwent R0 resection: 17 (54.8%) with PC, 3 (9.7%) with liver metastases, 4 (12.9%) with PC and nodal metastases, 2 (6.4%) with lung, and 1 (3.2%) with bone metastases. Seventeen patients with suspected preoperative PC underwent curative treatment: 9 had peritoneal disease ruled out by SL, while the other 8 had limited PC, allowing R0 resection. Logistic regression revealed an inverse correlation between diffuse histotype and absence of PC at SL in patients with peritoneal involvement at imaging (p = 0.02).

Conclusion: SL aids in directing cM+ GC patients to appropriate treatment, with a 20.9% yield. For those with peritoneal involvement at imaging, SL helps identify candidates for curative treatment. In patients with extraperitoneal disease, SL should be considered to assess potential radical strategies.

Background: Prognosis of perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHCC) is poor, and curative-intent resection is the most effective treatment associated with long-term survival. Surgery is technically demanding since it involves a major hepatectomy with en bloc resection of the caudate lobe and extrahepatic bile duct. Furthermore, to achieve negative margins, it may be necessary to perform concomitant vascular resection or pancreatoduodenectomy. Despite this aggressive approach, recurrence is often observed, considering 5-year recurrence-free survival below 15% and 5-year overall survival that barely exceeds 40%.

Summary: The literature reports that survival rates are better in patients with negative margins, and surprisingly, R0 resections range between 19% and 95%. This variability is probably due to different surgical strategies and the pathologist's expertise with specimens. In fact, a proper pathological examination of residual disease should take into consideration both the ductal and the radial margin (RM) status. Currently, detailed pathological reports are lacking, and there is a likelihood of misinterpreting residual disease status due to the missing of RM description and the utilization of various definitions for surgical margins.

Key messages: The aim of PHCC surgery is to achieve negative margins including RM. More clarity in reporting on RM is needed to define true radical resection and consistent design of oncological studies for adjuvant treatments.

Introduction: Cholangiocarcinoma is the second most common primary liver tumour worldwide with an increasing incidence in recent decades. While the effects of fibrosis on hepatocellular carcinoma have been widely demonstrated, the impact on cholangiocarcinoma remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of liver fibrosis on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients who have undergone liver resection for cholangiocarcinoma.

Methods: Eighty patients with cholangiocarcinoma who underwent curatively intended liver surgery between January 2007 and December 2020 were included in this retrospective single-centre study. Clinical and histopathological features were analysed. The primary endpoint was cause-specific survival. Secondary endpoints were DFS and identification of prognostic factors.

Results: The present study shows that the median OS is significantly reduced in patients with fibrosis (p < 0.001). The median OS in patients with fibrosis was three times shorter than in the group without fibrosis. In addition, a significantly shorter DFS was observed in patients with fibrosis (p < 0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that fibrosis is the strongest independent factor with a negative impact on OS and DFS.

Conclusion: Liver fibrosis has a significant impact on OS and DFS in patients with cholangiocarcinoma. Patients with known liver fibrosis require thorough perioperative care and postoperative follow-up.