Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

Performance of the predictive criteria of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis at a secondary care public hospital in the State of Nuevo León, Mexico

Introduction and aims: Currently there is no ideal diagnostic/therapeutic approach for patients with suspected choledocholithiasis. The primary aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of the criteria for predicting choledocholithiasis proposed by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) in 2019. Materials and methods: A retrospective study was conducted that included 352 patients seen at a secondary care public healthcare institution in Monterrey, Nuevo León, that treats an open population and does not have endoscopic ultrasound or magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography at its disposal. Results: The most frequent predictor presented by the patients was abnormal liver function tests (90.63%), and with their use alone, sensitivity was higher than that of all the predictors analyzed (91.41%). In addition, the finding of common bile duct stones on ultrasound imaging was the only predictor independently associated with the confirmatory diagnosis of choledocholithiasis. Regarding the general performance of the 2019 criteria, the high-risk category had 68.75% sensitivity, 52.08% specificity, a positive predictive value of 79.28%, a negative predictive value of 38.46%, diagnostic accuracy of 64.20%, and a confirmatory diagnosis of choledocholithiasis in 79.28% of the patients of that risk category. Conclusions: The study corroborated that the presence of choledocholithiasis could be predicted using the choledocholithiasis predictors and risk categories proposed by the ASGE, with acceptable accuracy, in accordance with the standards suggested by those same guidelines. Resumen: Introducción y objetivos: Actualmente no existe un enfoque óptimo, diagnóstico/terapéutico, para los pacientes con sospecha de coledocolitiasis. El objetivo principal del estudio fue evaluar el rendimiento de los criterios propuestos por la Sociedad Americana de Endoscopía Gastrointestinal (ASGE, por sus siglas en inglés) en el año 2019 para la predicción de coledocolitiasis. Material y métodos: Cohorte retrospectiva de 352 pacientes de una institución pública de segundo nivel que atiende a población abierta en Monterrey, Nuevo León; la cual no cuenta con ultrasonido endoscópico o colangiorresonancia magnética. Resultados: Se evidenció que el predictor más frecuentemente presentado por los pacientes fue la alteración en las PFH (90.63%). Por sí solo, su sensibilidad fue la mayor entre todos los predictores analizados en este estudio (91.41%). Por otro lado, el hallazgo de litiasis en el colédoco por ultrasonido fue el único predictor que se asoció de forma independiente con el diagnóstico confirmatorio de coledocolitiasis. En cuanto al rendimiento general de los criterios del año 2019, la categoría de riesgo alto tuvo una sensibilidad del 68.75% y una especificidad del 52.08%; un valor predictivo positivo del 79.28% y un valor predictivo negativo del 38.46%; y una exactitud diagnóstica del 64.20%; se corroboró el diagnóstico de coledocolitiasis en el 79.28% de los pacientes de esta categoría de riesgo. Conclusiones: Se logró corroborar que los predictores de coledocolitiasis y las categorías de riesgo propuestas por la ASGE, permiten predecir la presencia de coledocolitiasis con aceptable precisión, acorde con los estándares sugeridos por la misma guía

Acute-onset of superior mesenteric artery syndrome following surgical correction of scoliosis: Case report and review of literature

Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome is a rare condition caused by compression of the third portion of duodenum by the angle between the superior mesenteric artery against the aorta. A rare presentation of SMA syndrome is following scoliosis repair and spinal fusion with a low incidence and most of these patients present with symptoms within one to two weeks or even more after the surgical repair. A high suspicion index after surgical correction of scoliosis with well-known risk factors (low BMI, low percentile of weight for height, and a high degree of change in the Cobb's angles) can anticipate the postoperative diagnosis. Management has been described for postsurgical scoliosis repair with a late onset presentation of SMA syndrome with nutritional support with good success rates, but there is no data for best treatment management for acute onset especially when the surgical correction of the spine causes complete duodenal obstruction and a surgical intervention might be warranted. Here in, we present a 14 year-old boy with an acute 24-h postoperative SMA syndrome following surgical correction of scoliosis

Down-Regulation of CD9 Expression and its Correlation to Tumor Progression in B Lymphomas

Histological transformation, a pivotal event in the natural history of cancers including lymphomas, is typically associated with more aggressive clinical behavior. L3055, a B lymphoma cell line of germinal center (GC) origin, is dependent on follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) for survival and proliferation, similar to GC-B cells. However, L3055 cells become less FDC-dependent after prolonged culture, which is analogous to transformation in vivo. Comparison of two L3055 subclones (i.e., the FDC-dependent indolent clone 12 and the FDC-independent aggressive clone 33) by DNA microarray revealed that CD9 was the most differentially expressed gene (P = 0.05). L3055-12 expresses high levels of CD9 while L3055-33 does not. Reduced levels or loss of CD9 expression is also observed in other CD9-positive B lymphoma cell lines. The resultant CD9-negative cells grow faster than CD9-positive cells due to their greater resistance to apoptosis. Furthermore, CD9-negative cells are less dependent on FDCs for their survival and growth compared with CD9-positive cells. CD9 down-regulation in B lymphomas appears to be controlled epigenetically, mainly through histone modifications. These findings imply that CD9 is inversely correlated with B lymphoma progression, and CD9 inactivation may play an important role in B lymphoma transformation