Bologna guidelines for diagnosis and management of adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) : 2017 update of the evidence-based guidelines from the world society of emergency surgery ASBO working group

Background: Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) is a common surgical emergency, causing high morbidity and even some mortality. The adhesions causing such bowel obstructions are typically the footprints of previous abdominal surgical procedures. The present paper presents a revised version of the Bologna guidelines to evidence-based diagnosis and treatment of ASBO. The working group has added paragraphs on prevention of ASBO and special patient groups. Methods: The guideline was written under the auspices of the World Society of Emergency Surgery by the ASBO working group. A systematic literature search was performed prior to the update of the guidelines to identify relevant new papers on epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of ASBO. Literature was critically appraised according to an evidence-based guideline development method. Final recommendations were approved by the workgroup, taking into account the level of evidence of the conclusion. Recommendations: Adhesion formation might be reduced by minimally invasive surgical techniques and the use of adhesion barriers. Non-operative treatment is effective in most patients with ASBO. Contraindications for non-operative treatment include peritonitis, strangulation, and ischemia. When the adhesive etiology of obstruction is unsure, or when contraindications for non-operative management might be present, CT is the diagnostic technique of choice. The principles of non-operative treatment are nil per os, naso-gastric, or long-tube decompression, and intravenous supplementation with fluids and electrolytes. When operative treatment is required, a laparoscopic approach may be beneficial for selected cases of simple ASBO. Younger patients have a higher lifetime risk for recurrent ASBO and might therefore benefit from application of adhesion barriers as both primary and secondary prevention. Discussion: This guideline presents recommendations that can be used by surgeons who treat patients with ASBO. Scientific evidence for some aspects of ASBO management is scarce, in particular aspects relating to special patient groups. Results of a randomized trial of laparoscopic versus open surgery for ASBO are awaited.Peer reviewe

The impact of patient-reported frailty on cardiovascular outcomes in elderly patients after non-ST-acute coronary syndrome

Background: As life expectancy increases, the population of older individuals with coronary artery disease and frailty is growing. We aimed to assess the impact of patient-reported frailty on the treatment and prognosis of elderly early survivors of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). Methods: Frailty data were obtained from two prospective trials, POPular Age and the POPular Age Registry, which both assessed elderly NSTE-ACS patients. Frailty was assessed one month after admission with the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI) and was defined as a GFI-score of 4 or higher. In these early survivors of NSTE-ACS, we assessed differences in treatment and 1-year outcomes between frail and non-frail patients, considering major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, including cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke) and major bleeding. Results: The total study population consisted of 2192 NSTE-ACS patients, aged ≥70 years. The GFI-score was available in 1320 patients (79 ± 5 years, 37% women), of whom 712 (54%) were considered frail. Frail patients were at higher risk for MACE than non-frail patients (9.7% vs. 5.1%, adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–2.43, p = 0.04), but not for major bleeding (3.7% vs. 2.8%, adjusted HR 1.23, 95% CI 0.65–2.32, p = 0.53). Cubic spline analysis showed a gradual increase of the risk for clinical outcomes with higher GFI-scores. Conclusions: In elderly NSTE-ACS patients who survived 1-month follow-up, patient-reported frailty was independently associated with a higher risk for 1-year MACE, but not with major bleeding. These findings emphasize the importance of frailty screening for risk stratification in elderly NSTE-ACS patients.</p

Inter- and Intra-Observer Variability and the Effect of Experience in Cine-MRI for Adhesion Detection

Cine-MRI for adhesion detection is a promising novel modality that can help the large group of patients developing pain after abdominal surgery. Few studies into its diagnostic accuracy are available, and none address observer variability. This retrospective study explores the inter- and intra-observer variability, diagnostic accuracy, and the effect of experience. A total of 15 observers with a variety of experience reviewed 61 sagittal cine-MRI slices, placing box annotations with a confidence score at locations suspect for adhesions. Five observers reviewed the slices again one year later. Inter- and intra-observer variability are quantified using Fleiss’ (inter) and Cohen’s (intra) κ and percentage agreement. Diagnostic accuracy is quantified with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis based on a consensus standard. Inter-observer Fleiss’ κ values range from 0.04 to 0.34, showing poor to fair agreement. High general and cine-MRI experience led to significantly (p < 0.001) better agreement among observers. The intra-observer results show Cohen’s κ values between 0.37 and 0.53 for all observers, except one with a low κ of −0.11. Group AUC scores lie between 0.66 and 0.72, with individual observers reaching 0.78. This study confirms that cine-MRI can diagnose adhesions, with respect to a radiologist consensus panel and shows that experience improves reading cine-MRI. Observers without specific experience adapt to this modality quickly after a short online tutorial. Observer agreement is fair at best and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) scores leave room for improvement. Consistently interpreting this novel modality needs further research, for instance, by developing reporting guidelines or artificial intelligence-based methods

Efficacy of polyethylene glycol adhesion barrier after gynecological laparoscopic surgery: Results of a randomized controlled pilot study

Postoperative adhesions are the most frequent complication of peritoneal surgery, causing small bowel obstruction, female infertility and chronic pain. This pilot study assessed the efficacy of a sprayable polyethylene glycol (PEG) barrier in the prevention of de novo adhesions. 16 patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery were randomly assigned by shuffled sealed envelopes to receive either the adhesion barrier or no adhesion prevention. Incidence and severity of adhesions were scored at eight sites in the pelvis and reassessed by second look laparoscopy. Adhesion prevention was considered successful if no de novo adhesion were found at second look laparoscopy. One patient was excluded before randomization. Nine patients were randomized to treatment and six patients to control group. De novo adhesions were found in 0/9 patients who received the PEG barrier compared to 4/6 without adhesion prevention (0% vs. 67%, P = 0.01). Reduction in adhesion score was significantly greater in patients receiving PEG barrier (−2.6 vs. −0.06, P = 0.03). Meta-analysis of three randomized trials demonstrated that PEG barrier reduces the incidence of adhesions (odds ratio [OR] = 0.27; 95% CI 0.11–0.67). From this study, PEG barrier seems effective in reducing postoperative formation of de novo adhesions

Electrocautery causes more ischemic peritoneal tissue damage than ultrasonic dissection

Contains fulltext : 96869.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Minimizing peritoneal tissue injury during abdominal surgery has the benefit of reducing postoperative inflammatory response, pain, and adhesion formation. Ultrasonic dissection seems to reduce tissue damage. This study aimed to compare electrocautery and ultrasonic dissection in terms of peritoneal tissue ischemia measured by microdialysis. METHODS: In this study, 18 Wistar rats underwent a median laparotomy and had a peritoneal microdialysis catheter implanted in the left lateral sidewall. The animals were randomly assigned to receive two standard peritoneal incisions parallel to the catheter by either ultrasonic dissection or electrocautery. After the operation, samples of microdialysis dialysate were taken every 2 h until 72 h postoperatively for measurements of pyruvate, lactate, glucose, and glycerol, and ratios were calculated. RESULTS: The mean lactate-pyruvate ratio (LPR), lactate-glucose ratio (LGR), and glycerol concentration were significantly higher in the electrocautery group than in the ultrasonic dissection group until respectively 34, 48, and 48 h after surgery. The mean areas under the curve (AUC) of LPR, LGR, and glycerol concentration also were higher in the electrocautery group than in the ultrasonic dissection group (4,387 vs. 1,639, P=0.011; 59 vs. 21, P=0.008; 7,438 vs. 4,169, P=0.008, respectively). CONCLUSION: Electrosurgery causes more ischemic peritoneal tissue damage than ultrasonic dissection.01 juni 201

The impact of patient-reported frailty on cardiovascular outcomes in elderly patients after non-ST-acute coronary syndrome

Background: As life expectancy increases, the population of older individuals with coronary artery disease and frailty is growing. We aimed to assess the impact of patient-reported frailty on the treatment and prognosis of elderly early survivors of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). Methods: Frailty data were obtained from two prospective trials, POPular Age and the POPular Age Registry, which both assessed elderly NSTE-ACS patients. Frailty was assessed one month after admission with the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI) and was defined as a GFI-score of 4 or higher. In these early survivors of NSTE-ACS, we assessed differences in treatment and 1-year outcomes between frail and non-frail patients, considering major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, including cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke) and major bleeding. Results: The total study population consisted of 2192 NSTE-ACS patients, aged ≥70 years. The GFI-score was available in 1320 patients (79 ± 5 years, 37% women), of whom 712 (54%) were considered frail. Frail patients were at higher risk for MACE than non-frail patients (9.7% vs. 5.1%, adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–2.43, p = 0.04), but not for major bleeding (3.7% vs. 2.8%, adjusted HR 1.23, 95% CI 0.65–2.32, p = 0.53). Cubic spline analysis showed a gradual increase of the risk for clinical outcomes with higher GFI-scores. Conclusions: In elderly NSTE-ACS patients who survived 1-month follow-up, patient-reported frailty was independently associated with a higher risk for 1-year MACE, but not with major bleeding. These findings emphasize the importance of frailty screening for risk stratification in elderly NSTE-ACS patients

Blood coagulation and beyond: position paper from the fourth Maastricht consensus conference on thrombosis

The Fourth Maastricht Consensus Conference on Thrombosis included the following themes. Theme 1: The "coagulome" as a critical driver of cardiovascular disease. Blood coagulation proteins also play divergent roles in biology and pathophysiology, related to specific organs, including brain, heart, bone marrow, and kidney. Four investigators shared their views on these organ- specific topics. Theme 2: Novel mechanisms of thrombosis. Mechanisms linking factor XII to fibrin, including their structural and physical properties, contribute to thrombosis, which is also affected by variation in microbiome status. Virus infection-associated coagulopathies perturb the hemostatic balance resulting in thrombosis and/ or bleeding. Theme 3: How to limit bleeding risks: insights from translational studies. This theme included state-of- the- art methodology for exploring the contribution of genetic determinants of a bleeding diathesis; determination of polymorphisms in genes that control the rate of metabolism by the liver of P2Y12 inhibitors, to improve safety of antithrombotic therapy. Novel reversal agents for direct oral anticoagulants are discussed. Theme 4: Hemostasis in extracorporeal systems: the value and limitations of ex vivo models. Perfusion flow chamber and nanotechnology developments are developed for studying bleeding and thrombosis tendencies. Vascularized organoids are utilized for disease modeling and drug development studies. Strategies for tackling extracorporeal membrane oxygenation-associated coagulopathy are discussed. Theme 5: Clinical dilemmas in thrombosis and antithrombotic management. Plenary presentations addressed controversial areas, i. e., thrombophilia testing, thrombosis risk assessment in hemophilia, novel antiplatelet strategies, and clinically tested factor XI(a) inhibitors, both possibly with reduced bleeding risk. Finally, COVID- 19-associated coagulopathy is revisited.Nephrolog

The WSES/SICG/ACOI/SICUT/AcEMC/SIFIPAC guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of acute left colonic diverticulitis in the elderly

Acute left colonic diverticulitis (ALCD) in the elderly presents with unique epidemiological features when compared with younger patients. The clinical presentation is more nuanced in the elderly population, having higher in-hospital and postoperative mortality. Furthermore, geriatric comorbidities are a risk factor for complicated diverticulitis. Finally, elderly patients have a lower risk of recurrent episodes and, in case of recurrence, a lower probability of requiring urgent surgery than younger patients. The aim of the present work is to study age-related factors that may support a unique approach to the diagnosis and treatment of this problem in the elderly when compared with the WSES guidelines for the management of acute left-sided colonic diverticulitis. During the 1 degrees Pisa Workshop of Acute Care & Trauma Surgery held in Pisa (Italy) in September 2019, with the collaboration of the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), the Italian Society of Geriatric Surgery (SICG), the Italian Hospital Surgeons Association (ACOI), the Italian Emergency Surgery and Trauma Association (SICUT), the Academy of Emergency Medicine and Care (AcEMC) and the Italian Society of Surgical Pathophysiology (SIFIPAC), three panel members presented a number of statements developed for each of the four themes regarding the diagnosis and management of ALCD in older patients, formulated according to the GRADE approach, at a Consensus Conference where a panel of experts participated. The statements were subsequently debated, revised, and finally approved by the Consensus Conference attendees. The current paper is a summary report of the definitive guidelines statements on each of the following topics: diagnosis, management, surgical technique and antibiotic therapy.Peer reviewe

Conservative versus invasive strategy in elderly patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction: insights from the international POPular age registry

This registry assessed the impact of conservative and invasive strategies on major adverse clinical events (MACE) in elderly patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Patients aged ≥75 years with NSTEMI were prospectively registered from European centers and followed up for one year. Outcomes were compared between conservative and invasive groups in the overall population and a propensity score-matched (PSM) cohort. MACE included cardiovascular death, acute coronary syndrome, and stroke. The study included 1190 patients (median age 80 years, 43% female). CAG was performed in 67% (N = 798), with two-thirds undergoing revascularization. Conservatively treated patients had higher baseline risk. After propensity score matching, 319 patient pairs were successfully matched. MACE occurred more frequently in the conservative group (total population 20% vs. 12%, adjHR 0.53, 95% CI 0.37–0.77, p = 0.001), remaining significant in the PSM cohort (18% vs. 12%, adjHR 0.50, 95% CI 0.31–0.81, p = 0.004). In conclusion, an early invasive strategy was associated with benefits over conservative management in elderly patients with NSTEMI. Risk factors associated with ischemia and bleeding should guide strategy selection rather than solely relying on age