Ventral hernia repair with concurrent intra-abdominal surgery : results from an eleven-year population-based cohort in Sweden

Background: One remaining question in ventral hernia repair is whether to perform concurrent abdominal surgery or plan two-stage procedures. The aim was to explore the risk for reoperation and mortality due to surgical complication during index admission. Method: Eleven-year data were retrieved from the National Patient Register and 68,058 primary surgical admissions were included, divided into minor and major hernia surgery and concurrent abdominal surgery. Results were evaluated by logistic regression analysis. Results: The risk for reoperation during index admission was higher for patients with concurrent surgery. Major hernia surgery and major concurrent surgery had an OR 37.9 compared to major hernia surgery only. Mortality rate within 30 days increased, OR 9.32. The combined risk for serious adverse event was accumulative. Conclusion: These results stress the importance of critically evaluating needs for and planning of concurrent abdominal surgery during ventral hernia repair. Reoperation rate was a valid and useful outcome variable

Major complications and mortality after ventral hernia repair : An eleven-year Swedish nationwide cohort study

Background and aims: Ventral hernia repair is one of the most common surgical procedures performed worldwide. Despite the large volume, consensus is lacking regarding indications for repair or choice of surgical method used for reconstruction. The aim of this study was to explore the risk for major complications and mortality in ventral hernia repair using data from a nationwide patient register. Method: Patient data of individuals over 18 years of age who had a ventral hernia procedure between 2004 and 2014 were retrieved from the Patient Register kept by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. After exclusion of patients with concomitant bowel surgery, 45 676 primary surgical admissions were included. Procedures were dichotomised into laparoscopic and open surgery, and stratified for primary and incisional hernias. Results: A total of 45 676 admissions were analysed. The material comprised 36% (16 670) incisional hernias and 64% (29 006) primary hernias. Women had a higher risk for reoperation during index admission after primary hernia repair (OR 1.84 (1.29–2.62)). Forty-three patients died of complications within 30 days of index surgery. Patients aged 80 years and older had a 2.5 times higher risk for a complication leading to reoperation, and a 12-fold higher mortality risk than patients aged 70–79 years. Conclusion: Age is the dominant mortality risk factor in ventral hernia repair. Laparoscopic surgery was associated with a lower risk for reoperation during index admission. Reoperation seems to be a valid outcome variable, while registration of complications is generally poor in this type of cohort.Originally included in thesis in manuscript form. </p

Risk factors for surgical complications in ventral hernia repair

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for an adverse event, i.e. early surgical complication, need for ICU care and readmission, following ventral hernia repair. Our hypothesis was that there is an association between an increased complication rate following ventral hernia repair and specific factors, including hernia size, BMI &gt; 35, concomitant bowel surgery, ASA-class, age, gender and method of hernia repair. METHODS: Data from a hernia database with prospectively entered data on 408 patients operated for ventral hernia between 2007 and 2014 at two Swedish university hospitals were analysed. A 3-month follow-up of complications, need for intensive care and readmission, was performed by reviewing the medical records. RESULTS: Eighty-one of 408 patients (20%) had a registered complication. Fifty-eight (14%) of these were classed as Clavien I-IIIa, and in 19 cases a Clavien IIIb-IV complication was reported. Large hernia size was associated with increased risk for early complication. A Kendall Tau test analysis revealed a proportional relationship between hernia size and modified Clavien outcome class (p &lt; 0.001). Morbid obesity, ASA-class, method, hernia recurrence, age and concomitant bowel surgery were not statistically significant predictors of adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of hernia aperture size is of great importance in the preoperative evaluation of ventral hernia patients to consider risk for post-operative complications. These results suggest a careful attitude when applying watchful waiting concepts and when postponing hernia surgery to achieve weight loss. A delaying attitude may result in increased risk of complications caused by increasing hernia size

Tumour colonisation of Parvimonas micra is associated with decreased survival in colorectal cancer patients

Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota may impact colorectal cancer (CRC) development and progression. In this study, the tumour colonisation of two CRC-associated bacteria, Parvimonas micra and Fusobacterium nucleatum, was studied in relation to patient survival in a cohort of 257 CRC patients. Colonisation of P. micra and F. nucleatum was analysed in fresh frozen tumour tissue (n = 112) and in faeces (n = 250) by qPCR. When analysing tumour tissues, both P. micra and F. nucleatum were found to be associated with decreased five-year cancer-specific survival, an association that remained significant in multivariable analysis for P. micra. Furthermore, we found significant associations of high levels of P. micra and F. nucleatum with tumour molecular characteristics, i.e., tumours mutated in BRAFV600E, and tumours of the MSI subtype. The analysis of faecal samples showed weaker associations with prognosis and tumour molecular characteristics. In conclusion, our findings support a novel association of tumour colonisation of P. micra with decreased patient survival. A better understanding of the role of the gut microbiota in CRC might contribute to the advancement of prognostic tools and new targets for therapy

Porphyromonas gingivalis in colorectal cancer and its association to patient prognosis

Microbiota dysbiosis may affect both the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). Large metagenomic studies have highlighted specific oral bacteria linked to CRC including Porphyromonas gingivalis. Few studies have however analysed the implications of this bacterium in CRC progression and survival. In this study, we investigated the intestinal presence of P. gingivalis by qPCR in both faecal and mucosal samples from two different patient cohorts, including patients with precancerous dysplasia or CRC, as well as controls. P. gingivalis was detected in 2.6-5.3% of CRC patients and significantly different levels of P. gingivalis were found in faeces of CRC patients compared to controls (P = 0.028). Furthermore, an association was found between the presence of P. gingivalis in faeces and tumour tissue (P &lt; 0.001). Our findings further suggested a potential link between mucosal P. gingivalis and tumours of MSI subtype (P = 0.040). Last but not least, patients with faecal P. gingivalis were found to have a significantly decreased cancer-specific survival (P = 0.040). In conclusion, P. gingivalis could be linked to patients with CRC and to a worse patient prognosis. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of P. gingivalis in CRC pathogenesis

Parvimonas micra is associated with tumour immune profiles in molecular subtypes of colorectal cancer

The importance of the tumour microbiome in different aspects of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been increasingly recognised, but many questions remain. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of specific CRC associated microbes on the tumour immune response, which has a considerable prognostic value in CRC. We applied specific qPCR to detect Parvimonas micra and Fusobacterium nucleatum in tumour tissues from an immunologically well-characterised cohort of 69 CRC patients. This cohort included detailed analyses of immune profiles based on flow cytometry and transcriptomics in tumour tissue and blood, along with comprehensive analyses of molecular subtypes. P. micra and F. nucleatum were detected in 24% and 64% of tumour tissues, respectively. We found a significant association of P. micra with high-grade tumours and tumours of CMS1 subtype. F. nucleatum was significantly associated with right-sided tumours, microsatellite instability, and CMS1 tumours. The immunological analyses revealed significant associations of P. micra with activated CD69+ T lymphocytes and increased antigen-presenting HLA-DR+ B lymphocytes. P. micra was also positively associated with M1 and M2 macrophage traits. The impact of P. micra tumour colonisation on the immune response was further assessed using transcriptomics in validation of our findings. No associations were found between F. nucleatum and immune profiles in this study. Our findings support novel associations between P. micra and the immune response in CRC. A better understanding of these interactions might help to identify important predictive and prognostic tools as well as new targets for therapy