Laparoscopic versus open distal pancreatectomy in the management of traumatic pancreatic disruption

Purpose: Traumatic pancreatic transection is uncommon. The role of laparoscopy in the setting of this injury has not been well described. Patients and Methods: Six large-volume pediatric trauma centers contributed patients \u3c18 years of age who underwent a distal pancreatectomy for traumatic pancreatic transection from 2000 to 2010. Results: Twenty-one patients without another indication for emergency laparotomy underwent a distal pancreatectomy for Grade III pancreatic injuries, of which 7 underwent laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy. Mean (±SD) age was 8.6±4.7 years, and 67% were male. There was no difference in the presence of other injuries between the two groups (43% in each group). Computed tomography revealed a transected pancreas in 85% of the laparoscopic patients and 75% of the open group (P=1.0). Mean operative time was 218±101 minutes with laparoscopy compared with 195±111 minutes with the open procedure (P=.7). Median duration of hospitalization was 6 days (range, 6-18 days) in the laparoscopic group compared with 11 days (range, 5-26 days) in the open group (P=0.3). Postoperative morbidity was not different between the two groups (57% versus 21% for laparoscopic versus open, P=.2). Conclusions: Laparoscopy is equivalent to open distal pancreatectomy in children with select traumatic pancreatic injuries. © Copyright 2012, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2012

Suboptimal Nocturnal Glucose Control Is Associated With Large for Gestational Age in Treated Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) provides far greater detail about fetal exposure to maternal glucose across the 24 hour day. Our aim was to examine the role of temporal glucose variation on the development of large for gestational age infants (LGA) in women with treated gestational diabetes (GDM). Research Design and Methods: A prospective observational study of 162 pregnant women with GDM in specialist multidisciplinary antenatal diabetes clinics. Participants undertook a 7-day masked CGM at 30-32 weeks gestation. Standard summary indices and glycemic variability measures of CGM were calculated. Functional data analysis was applied to determine differences in temporal glucose profiles. LGA was defined as birth weight ≥90th percentile adjusted for infant sex, gestational age, maternal BMI, ethnicity and parity. Results - Mean glucose was significantly higher in women who delivered an LGA infant (6.2 vs 5.8 mmol/l P=0.025 or 111.6 mg/dl vs 104.4 mg/dl respectively). There were no significant differences in percentage time in, above or below the target glucose range, or in glucose variability measures (all P>0.05). Functional data analysis revealed that the higher mean glucose was driven by a significantly higher glucose for 6 hours overnight (00h30-06h30) in mothers of LGA infants (6.0 ± 1.0 mmol/l vs 5.5 ± 0.8 mmol/l p=0.005; 108.0 ± 18.0 mg/dl vs 99.0 ± 14.4 mg/dl respectively). Conclusions: Mothers of LGA infants run significantly higher glucose overnight compared to mothers without LGA. Detecting and addressing nocturnal glucose control may help to further reduce rates of LGA in women with GDM

Development of a multi-institutional registry for children with operative congenital lung malformations

Introduction The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-institutional registry to characterize the demographics, management, and outcomes of a contemporary cohort of children undergoing congenital lung malformation (CLM) resection. Methods After central reliance IRB approval, a web-based, secure database was created to capture retrospective cohort data on pathologically-confirmed CLMs performed between 2009 and 2015 within a multi-institutional research collaborative. Results Eleven children's hospitals contributed 506 patients. Among 344 prenatally diagnosed lesions, the congenital pulmonary airway malformation volume ratio was measured in 49.1%, and fetal MRI was performed in 34.3%. One hundred thirty-four (26.7%) children had respiratory symptoms at birth. Fifty-eight (11.6%) underwent neonatal resection, 322 (64.1%) had surgery at 1–12 months, and 122 (24.3%) had operations after 12 months. The median age at resection was 6.7 months (interquartile range, 3.6–11.4). Among 230 elective lobectomies performed in asymptomatic patients, thoracoscopy was successfully utilized in 102 (44.3%), but there was substantial variation across centers. The most common lesions were congenital pulmonary airway malformation (n = 234, 47.3%) and intralobar bronchopulmonary sequestration (n = 106, 21.4%). Conclusion This multicenter cohort study on operative CLMs highlights marked disease heterogeneity and substantial practice variation in preoperative evaluation and operative management. Future registry studies are planned to help establish evidence-based guidelines to optimize the care of these patients

Current operative management of congenital lobar emphysema in children: A report from the Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical presentation and operative outcomes of patients with congenital lobar emphysema (CLE) within a large multicenter research consortium. Methods After central reliance IRB-approval, a retrospective cohort study was performed on all operatively managed lung malformations at eleven participating children's hospitals (2009–2015). Results Fifty-three (10.5%) children with pathology-confirmed CLE were identified among 506 lung malformations. A lung mass was detected prenatally in 13 (24.5%) compared to 331 (73.1%) in non-CLE cases (p < 0.0001). Thirty-two (60.4%) CLE patients presented with respiratory symptoms at birth compared to 102 (22.7%) in non-CLE (p < 0.0001). The most common locations for CLE were the left upper (n = 24, 45.3%), right middle (n = 16, 30.2%), and right upper (n = 10, 18.9%) lobes. Eighteen (34.0%) had resection as neonates, 30 (56.6%) had surgery at 1–12 months of age, and five (9.4%) had resections after 12 months. Six (11.3%) underwent thoracoscopic excision. Median hospital length of stay was 5.0 days (interquartile range, 4.0–13.0). Conclusions Among lung malformations, CLE is associated with several unique features, including a low prenatal detection rate, a predilection for the upper/middle lobes, and infrequent utilization of thoracoscopy. Although respiratory distress at birth is common, CLE often presents clinically in a delayed and more insidious fashion