JPN Guidelines for the management of acute pancreatitis:surgical management

Acute pancreatitis represents a spectrum of disease ranging from a mild, self-limited course to a rapidly progressive, severe illness. The mortality rate of severe acute pancreatitis exceeds 20%, and some patients diagnosed as mild to moderate acute pancreatitis at the onset of the disease may progress to a severe, life-threatening illness within 2–3 days. The Japanese (JPN) guidelines were designed to provide recommendations regarding the management of acute pancreatitis in patients having a diversity of clinical characteristics. This article sets forth the JPN guidelines for the surgical management of acute pancreatitis, excluding gallstone pancreatitis, by incorporating the latest evidence for the surgical management of severe pancreatitis in the Japanese-language version of the evidence-based Guidelines for the Management of Acute Pancreatitis published in 2003. Ten guidelines are proposed: (1) computed tomography-guided or ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for bacteriology should be performed in patients suspected of having infected pancreatic necrosis; (2) infected pancreatic necrosis accompanied by signs of sepsis is an indication for surgical intervention; (3) patients with sterile pancreatic necrosis should be managed conservatively, and surgical intervention should be performed only in selected cases, such as those with persistent organ complications or severe clinical deterioration despite maximum intensive care; (4) early surgical intervention is not recommended for necrotizing pancreatitis; (5) necrosectomy is recommended as the surgical procedure for infected pancreatic necrosis; (6) simple drainage should be avoided after necrosectomy, and either continuous closed lavage or open drainage should be performed; (7) surgical or percutaneous drainage should be performed for pancreatic abscess; (8) pancreatic abscesses for which clinical findings are not improved by percutaneous drainage should be subjected to surgical drainage immediately; (9) pancreatic pseudocysts that produce symptoms and complications or the diameter of which increases should be drained percutaneously or endoscopically; and (10) pancreatic pseudocysts that do not tend to improve in response to percutaneous drainage or endoscopic drainage should be managed surgically

Optimized diabetes therapy knowledge-based systems: Safety critical issues

Computers offer a solution to the problem of calculating the correct insulin dose, both for the physician at a clinic consultation and on a daily basis for patients. In order to be acceptable to its users the computer system must be reliable and able to adapt to the individual requirements of each patient. Two knowledge-based systems have been developed, a patient and a physician system, to accomplish these tasks

Randomized controlled pilot trial of a hand-held patient-oriented, insulin regimen optimizer.

A robust, hand-held, patient-oriented insulin regimen optimizer (POIRO) has been developed. Relevant information is entered by selecting appropriate items from choices displayed on a touch-sensitive screen rather than a conventional keyboard. All data items are recorded, together with their time and date of entry, and may be recalled at any time with glucose values displayed graphically to provide an overview of glycaemic control. When requested, an integral, hybrid, statistical and rule-based expert system program uses all available data to suggest an optimum insulin dose within physician determined, pre-set limits. POIRO has been formally evaluated in a randomized crossover pilot trial, comparing two 3 week periods with and without decision support, in six patients with type 1 diabetes. Mean (SE) pre-prandial blood glucose levels were significantly lower during the period when decision support was available (7.5 (0.4) versus 8.9 (0.4) mmol/l, p = 0.015) with no increase in the frequency or severity of hypoglycaemia. The device, which was well received by the patients, may offer a relatively inexpensive method of providing expert diabetic advice at a distance. The persistence of improved glycaemic control, even after decision support was switched off, suggests the device could be used intermittently by patients and may have educational value

Effect of cervical relining of acrylic resin copings on the accuracy of stone dies obtained using a polyether impression material

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the respective dies after polyether elastomeric procedure in the presence or absence of cervical contact of the acrylic resin shell with the cervical region, establishing a comparison to dies obtained with stock trays. This study consisted of three groups with 10 specimens each: 1) acrylic copings without cervical contact, (cn); 2) acrylic copings with cervical contact (cc); 3) perforated stock tray, (st). The accuracy of the resulting dies was verified with the aid of a master crown, precisely fit to the master steel die. ANOVA test found statistically significant differences among groups (p<0.001). Tukey's test found that the smallest discrepancy occurred in group cn, followed by cc, while the st group presented the highest difference (cc x cn: p=0.007; st x cn: p<0.001; st x cc: p<0.001)

Iatrogenic Bile Duct Injuries in Kashmir Valley

Cholecystectomy is one of the commonest operations performed throughout the world and bile duct injury is the worst complication of this procedure. In a prospective and retrospective study 25 patients were seen in a tertiary care hospital over a period of 10 years. 72% of patients were referred from other hospitals. 48% of patients presented within one month of injury. Pain was the commonest presentation (92%) followed by jaundice (80%). Liver functions were deranged in 70% of patients, USG revealed biliary dilatation in 69.6% of patients. ERCP was done in 16 patients and revealed cut off of the common hepatic duct in 43.8% of patients. Intraoperative findings revealed adhesions in 96% of patients. 48% of patients had bile duct stricture. Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy was the commonest procedure performed. All patients showed improvement in liver function after surgery. Wound infection was the commonest complication seen in 32% patients. 3 patients died in our series