Structured and shared CT radiological report of gastric cancer: a consensus proposal by the Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer (GIRCG) and the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology (SIRM)

Objectives Written radiological report remains the most important means of communication between radiologist and referring medical/surgical doctor, even though CT reports are frequently just descriptive, unclear, and unstructured. The Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology (SIRM) and the Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer (GIRCG) promoted a critical shared discussion between 10 skilled radiologists and 10 surgical oncologists, by means of multi-round consensus-building Delphi survey, to develop a structured reporting template for CT of GC patients. Methods Twenty-four items were organized according to the broad categories of a structured report as suggested by the European Society of Radiology (clinical referral, technique, findings, conclusion, and advice) and grouped into three "CT report sections" depending on the diagnostic phase of the radiological assessment for the oncologic patient (staging, restaging, and follow-up). Results In the final round, 23 out of 24 items obtained agreement ( >= 8) and consensus ( 0.05). Conclusions The structured report obtained, shared by surgical and medical oncologists and radiologists, allows an appropriate, clearer, and focused CT report essential to high-quality patient care in GC, avoiding the exclusion of key radiological information useful for multidisciplinary decision-making

Gastro-intestinal emergency surgery: Evaluation of morbidity and mortality. Protocol of a prospective, multicenter study in Italy for evaluating the burden of abdominal emergency surgery in different age groups. (The GESEMM study)

Gastrointestinal emergencies (GE) are frequently encountered in emergency department (ED), and patients can present with wide-ranging symptoms. more than 3 million patients admitted to US hospitals each year for EGS diagnoses, more than the sum of all new cancer diagnoses. In addition to the complexity of the urgent surgical patient (often suffering from multiple co-morbidities), there is the unpredictability and the severity of the event. In the light of this, these patients need a rapid decision-making process that allows a correct diagnosis and an adequate and timely treatment. The primary endpoint of this Italian nationwide study is to analyze the clinicopathological findings, management strategies and short-term outcomes of gastrointestinal emergency procedures performed in patients over 18. Secondary endpoints will be to evaluate to analyze the prognostic role of existing risk-scores to define the most suitable scoring system for gastro-intestinal surgical emergency. The primary outcomes are 30-day overall postoperative morbidity and mortality rates. Secondary outcomes are 30-day postoperative morbidity and mortality rates, stratified for each procedure or cause of intervention, length of hospital stay, admission and length of stay in ICU, and place of discharge (home or rehabilitation or care facility). In conclusion, to improve the level of care that should be reserved for these patients, we aim to analyze the clinicopathological findings, management strategies and short-term outcomes of gastrointestinal emergency procedures performed in patients over 18, to analyze the prognostic role of existing risk-scores and to define new tools suitable for EGS. This process could ameliorate outcomes and avoid futile treatments. These results may potentially influence the survival of many high-risk EGS procedure

Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Occlusione intestinale acuta da endometriosi ileale trattata in laparoscopia. Case report

Il 10-20% delle donne in età fertile è affetto da endometriosi. La sua localizzazione ileale, solitamente nel tratto terminale, è solo del 7%. L’occlusione intestinale si verifica in non più dello 0,15% delle pazienti affette da endometriosi. Presentiamo un caso di occlusione intestinale acuta da endometriosi ileale, in una donna di 39 anni, in cui l’approccio diagnostico e terapeutico è stato condotto per via laparoscopic

Un nuovo efficace sistema per ridurre il dolore dopo videolaparocolecistectomia

Scopo. L’obiettivo primario di questo studio prospettico randomizzato controllato in doppio cieco (www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT00599144) è stato la valutazione dell’efficacia, sul controllo del dolore post-videolaparocolecistectomia, della bupivacaina 0,5% al dosaggio ottimale di 2 mg/kg imbevuta in un foglio di cellulosa ossidata rigenerata (Tabotamp®) posizionato nel letto della colecisti. Pazienti e metodi. Quarantacinque pazienti sottoposti a videolaparocolecistectomia sono stati randomizzati in tre gruppi di 15 pazienti ciascuno: gruppo A, Tabotamp® imbevuto di bupivacaina posizionato nel letto della colecisti; gruppo B, bupivacaina infiltrata nella fascia muscolare della sede dei trocar; gruppo C, gruppo di controllo senza utilizzo di anestetico locale. Sei e 24 ore dopo l’intervento sono stati annotati il carattere del dolore e la sua intensità con una visual analog scale (VAS). Risultati. Ad entrambe le misurazioni non abbiamo avuto differenze statisticamente significative per quanto riguarda l’intensità del dolore. Per quanto riguarda il tipo di dolore, i pazienti hanno globalmente riferito dolore viscerale nel 55,56% dei casi, parietale nel 62,22% e alla spalla nel 44,44%. Nel gruppo A vi è un vantaggio statisticamente significativo (p<0,05) nel decremento del dolore viscerale ed alla spalla rispetto ad entrambi gli altri gruppi, sia a 6 che a 24 ore. L’anestetico locale, sia per il gruppo A che per il gruppo B, riduce in maniera statisticamente significativa l’utilizzo di farmaci analgesici post-operatori. Conclusione. L’anestetico imbevuto in un foglietto di cellulosa ossidata rigenerata posizionato nel letto della colecisti, sicuro ed economicamente poco costoso, può dare sensibili vantaggi nell’incrementare il comfort postoperatorio dopo videolaparocolecistectomia

Robot-assisted surgery in elderly and very elderly population: our experience in oncologic and general surgery with literature review

Although there is no agreement on a definition of elderly, commonly an age cutoff of ≥65 or 75 years is used. Nowadays most of malignancies requiring surgical treatment are diagnosed in old population. Comorbidities and frailty represent well-known problems during and after surgery in elderly patients. Minimally invasive surgery offers earlier postoperative mobilization, less blood loss, lower morbidity as well as reduction in hospital stay and as such represents an interesting and validated option for elderly population. Robot-assisted surgery is a recent improvement of conventional minimally invasive surgery

Robot-assisted surgery in elderly and very elderly population: our experience in oncologic and general surgery with literature review

Background Although there is no agreement on a defini- tion of elderly, commonly an age cutoff of C65 or 75 years is used. Nowadays most of malignancies requiring surgical treatment are diagnosed in old population. Comorbidities and frailty represent well-known problems during and after surgery in elderly patients. Minimally invasive surgery offers earlier postoperative mobilization, less blood loss, lower morbidity as well as reduction in hospital stay and as such represents an interesting and validated option for elderly population. Robot-assisted surgery is a recent improvement of conventional minimally invasive surgery. Aims We provided a complete review of old and very old patients undergoing robot-assisted surgery for oncologic and general surgery interventions. Patients and methods A retrospective review of all patients undergoing robot-assisted surgery in our General Surgery Unit from September 2012 to June 2016 was conducted. Analysis was performed for the entire cohort and in particular for three of the most performed surgeries & Aldo Rocca [email protected] 1 Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, Hospital of Arezzo, Arezzo, Italy 2 (gastric resections, right colectomy, and liver resections) classifying patients into three age groups: B64, 65–79, and C80. Data from these three different age groups were compared and examined in respect of different outcomes: ASA score, comorbidities, oncologic outcomes, conversion rate, estimated blood loss, hospital stay, geriatric events, mortality, etc. Results Using our in-patient robotic surgery database, we retrospectively examined 363 patients, who underwent robot-assisted surgery for different diseases (402 different robotic procedures): colorectal surgery, upper GI, HPB, etc.; the oncologic procedures were 81%. Male were 56%. The mean age was 65.63 years (18–89). Patients aged C65 years represented 61% and C80 years 13%. Overall conversion rate was of 6%, most in the group 65–79 years (59% of all conversions). The more frequent diseases treated were colorectal surgery 43%, followed by hepato- bilopancreatic surgery 23.4%, upper gastro-intestinal 23.2%, and others 10.4%. Discussion Robot-assisted surgery is a safe and effective technique in aging patient population too. There was no increased risk of death or morbidity compared to younger patients in the three groups examined. A higher conversion rate was observed in our experience for patients aged 65–79. Prolonged operative time and in any cases steep positions (Trendelenburg) have not represented a problem for the majority of patients. Conclusions In any case, considering the high direct costs, minimally invasive robot-assisted surgery should be per- formed on a case-by-case basis, tailored to each patient with their specific histories and comorbidities.Background Although there is no agreement on a defini- tion of elderly, commonly an age cutoff of C65 or 75 years is used. Nowadays most of malignancies requiring surgical treatment are diagnosed in old population. Comorbidities and frailty represent well-known problems during and after surgery in elderly patients. Minimally invasive surgery offers earlier postoperative mobilization, less blood loss, lower morbidity as well as reduction in hospital stay and as such represents an interesting and validated option for elderly population. Robot-assisted surgery is a recent improvement of conventional minimally invasive surgery. Aims We provided a complete review of old and very old patients undergoing robot-assisted surgery for oncologic and general surgery interventions. Patients and methods A retrospective review of all patients undergoing robot-assisted surgery in our General Surgery Unit from September 2012 to June 2016 was conducted. Analysis was performed for the entire cohort and in particular for three of the most performed surgeries & Aldo Rocca [email protected] 1 Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, Hospital of Arezzo, Arezzo, Italy 2 (gastric resections, right colectomy, and liver resections) classifying patients into three age groups: B64, 65–79, and C80. Data from these three different age groups were compared and examined in respect of different outcomes: ASA score, comorbidities, oncologic outcomes, conversion rate, estimated blood loss, hospital stay, geriatric events, mortality, etc. Results Using our in-patient robotic surgery database, we retrospectively examined 363 patients, who underwent robot-assisted surgery for different diseases (402 different robotic procedures): colorectal surgery, upper GI, HPB, etc.; the oncologic procedures were 81%. Male were 56%. The mean age was 65.63 years (18–89). Patients aged C65 years represented 61% and C80 years 13%. Overall conversion rate was of 6%, most in the group 65–79 years (59% of all conversions). The more frequent diseases treated were colorectal surgery 43%, followed by hepato- bilopancreatic surgery 23.4%, upper gastro-intestinal 23.2%, and others 10.4%. Discussion Robot-assisted surgery is a safe and effective technique in aging patient population too. There was no increased risk of death or morbidity compared to younger patients in the three groups examined. A higher conversion rate was observed in our experience for patients aged 65–79. Prolonged operative time and in any cases steep positions (Trendelenburg) have not represented a problem for the majority of patients. Conclusions In any case, considering the high direct costs, minimally invasive robot-assisted surgery should be per- formed on a case-by-case basis, tailored to each patient with their specific histories and comorbidities

Minimally Invasive Approach to Gastric GISTs: Analysis of a Multicenter Robotic and Laparoscopic Experience with Literature Review

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are most frequently located in the stomach. In the setting of a multidisciplinary approach, surgery represents the best therapeutic option, consisting mainly in a wedge gastric resection. (1) Materials and methods: Between January 2010 to September 2020, 105 patients with a primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GISTs) located in the stomach, underwent surgery at three surgical units. (2) Results: A multi-institutional analysis of minimally invasive series including 81 cases (36 laparoscopic and 45 robotic) from 3 referral centers was performed. Males were 35 (43.2%), the average age was 66.64 years old. ASA score ≥3 was 6 (13.3%) in the RS and 4 (11.1%) in the LS and the average tumor size was 4.4 cm. Most of the procedures were wedge resections (N = 76; 93.8%) and the main operative time was 151 min in the RS and 97 min in the LS. Conversion was necessary in five cases (6.2%). (3) Conclusions: Minimal invasive approaches for gastric GISTs performed in selected patients and experienced centers are safe. A robotic approach represents a useful option, especially for GISTs that are more than 5 cm, even located in unfavorable places

Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer in referral centers in Italy

Background: The coronavirus pandemic had a major impact in Italy. The Italian health system's re-organization to face the emergency may have led to significant consequences especially in the diagnosis and treatment of malignancies. This study aimed to assess the impact of the pandemic in the diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer in nine Gruppo Italiano RIcerca Cancro Gastrico (GIRCG) centers. Methods: All patients assessed for gastric adenocarcinoma at nine GIRCG centers between January 2019 and November 2020 were included. Patients were grouped according to the date of "patient 1's" diagnosis in Italy: preCOVID versus COVID. Clinico-pathological and outcome differences between the two groups were analyzed. Results: A total of 632 patients were included in the analysis (205 in the COVID group). The cT4 weighted ratios were higher in 2020 from April to September, with the greatest differences in May, August and September. The cM+ weighted ratio was significantly higher in July 2020. The mean number of gastrectomies had the greatest reduction in March and May 2020 compared with 2019. The median times from diagnosis to chemotherapy, to complete diagnostic work-up or to operation were longer in 2019. The median time from the end of chemotherapy to surgery was 17 days longer in the preCOVID group. Conclusions: A greater number of advanced or metastatic cases were diagnosed after the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially after the "full lockdown" periods. During the pandemic, once gastric cancer patients were referred to one of the centers, a shorter time to complete the diagnostic work-up or to address them to the best treatment option was required