Liver transplantation as last-resort treatment for patients with bile duct injuries following cholecystectomy: A multicenter analysis

Background Liver transplantation (LT) has been used as a last resort in patients with end-stage liver disease due to bile duct injuries (BDI) following cholecystectomy. Our study aimed to identify and evaluate factors that cause or contribute to an extended liver disease that requires LT as ultimate solution, after BDI during cholecystectomy. Methods Data from 8 high-volume LT centers relating to patients who underwent LT after suffering BDI during cholecystectomy were prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed. Results Thirty-four patients (16 men, 18 women) with a median age of 45 (range 22-69) years were included in this study. Thirty of them (88.2%) underwent LT because of liver failure, most commonly as a result of secondary biliary cirrhosis. The median time interval between BDI and LT was 63 (range 0-336) months. There were 23 cases (67.6%) of postoperative morbidity, 6 cases (17.6%) of post-transplant 30-day mortality, and 10 deaths (29.4%) in total after LT. There was a higher probability that patients with concomitant vascular injury (hazard ratio 10.69, P=0.039) would be referred sooner for LT. Overall survival following LT at 1, 3, 5 and 10 years was 82.4%, 76.5%, 73.5% and 70.6%, respectively. Conclusion LT for selected patients with otherwise unmanageable BDI following cholecystectomy yields acceptable long-term outcomes

Flowcharts for the diagnosis and treatment of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis: Tokyo Guidelines

Diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for acute biliary inflammation/ infection (acute cholangitis and acute cholecystitis), according to severity grade, have not yet been established in the world. Therefore we formulated flowcharts for the management of acute biliary inflammation/ infection in accordance with severity grade. For mild (grade I) acute cholangitis, medical treatment may be sufficient/appropriate. For moderate (grade II) acute cholangitis, early biliary drainage should be performed. For severe (grade III) acute cholangitis, appropriate organ support such as ventilatory/circulatory management is required. After hemodynamic stabilization is achieved, urgent endoscopic or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage should be performed. For patients with acute cholangitis of any grade of severity, treatment for the underlying etiology, including endoscopic, percutaneous, or surgical treatment should be performed after the patient's general condition has improved. For patients with mild (grade I) cholecystitis, early laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the preferred treatment. For patients with moderate (grade II) acute cholecystitis, early laparoscopic or open cholecystectomy is preferred. In patients with extensive local inflammation, elective cholecystectomy is recommended after initial management with percutaneous gallbladder drainage and/or cholecystostomy. For the patient with severe (grade III) acute cholecystitis, multiorgan support is a critical part of management. Biliary peritonitis due to perforation of the gallbladder is an indication for urgent cholecystectomy and/or drainage. Delayed elective cholecystectomy may be performed after initial treatment with gallbladder drainage and improvement of the patient's general medical condition. © Springer-Verlag Tokyo 2007.published_or_final_versio

Need for criteria for the diagnosis and severity assessment of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis: Tokyo Guidelines

The Tokyo Guidelines formulate clinical guidance for healthcare providers regarding the diagnosis, severity assessment, and treatment of acute cholangitis and acute cholecystitis. The Guidelines were developed through a comprehensive literature search and selection of evidence. Recommendations were based on the strength and quality of evidence. Expert consensus opinion was used to enhance or formulate important areas where data were insufficient. A working group, composed of gastroenterologists and surgeons with expertise in biliary tract surgery, supplemented with physicians in critical care medicine, epidemiology, and laboratory medicine, was selected to formulate draft guidelines. Several other groups (including members of the Japanese Society for Abdominal Emergency Medicine, the Japan Biliary Association, and the Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery) have reviewed and revised the draft guidelines. To build a global consensus on the management of acute biliary infection, an international expert panel, representing experts in this area, was established. Between April 1 and 2, 2006, an International Consensus Meeting on acute biliary infections was held in Tokyo. A consensus was determined based on best available scientific evidence and discussion by the panel of experts. This report describes the highlights of the Tokyo International Consensus Meeting in 2006. Some important areas focused on at the meeting include proposals for internationally accepted diagnostic criteria and severity assessment for both clinical and research purposes

New diagnostic criteria and severity assessment of acute cholangitis in revised Tokyo guidelines

Background: The Tokyo Guidelines for the management of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis were published in 2007 (TG07) and have been widely cited in the world literature. Because of new information that has been published since 2007, we organized the Tokyo Guidelines Revision Committee to conduct a multicenter analysis to develop the updated Tokyo Guidelines (TG13). Methods/materials : We retrospectively analyzed 1,432 biliary disease cases where acute cholangitis was suspected. The cases were collected from multiple tertiary care centers in Japan. The 'gold standard' for acute cholangitis in this study was that one of the three following conditions was present: (1) purulent bile was observed; (2) clinical remission following bile duct drainage; or (3) remission was achieved by antibacterial therapy alone, in patients in whom the only site of infection was the biliary tree. Comparisons were made for the validity of each diagnostic criterion among TG13, TG07 and Charcot's triad. Results: The major changes in diagnostic criteria of TG07 were re-arrangement of the diagnostic items and exclusion of abdominal pain from the diagnostic list. The sensitivity improved from 82.8 % (TG07) to 91.8 % (TG13). While the specificity was similar to TG07, the false positive rate in cases of acute cholecystitis was reduced from 15.5 to 5.9 %. The sensitivity of Charcot's triad was only 26.4 % but the specificity was 95.6 %. However, the false positive rate in cases of acute cholecystitis was 11.9 % and not negligible. As for severity grading, Grade II (moderate) acute cholangitis is defined as being associated with any two of the significant prognostic factors which were derived from evidence presented recently in the literature. The factors chosen allow severity assessment to be performed soon after diagnosis of acute cholangitis. Conclusion: TG13 present a new standard for the diagnosis, severity grading, and management of acute cholangitis. © 2012 The Author(s).link_to_subscribed_fulltex

New diagnostic criteria and severity assessment of acute cholecystitis in revised Tokyo guidelines

Background: The Tokyo Guidelines for the management of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis (TG07) were published in 2007 as the world's first guidelines for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis. The diagnostic criteria and severity assessment of acute cholecystitis have since been widely used all over the world. A validation study of TG07 has shown that the diagnostic criteria for acute cholecystitis are highly reliable but that the definition of definite diagnosis is ambiguous. In addition, considerable new evidence referring to acute cholecystitis as well as evaluations of TG07 have been published. Consequently, we organized the Tokyo Guidelines Revision Committee to evaluate TG07, recognize new evidence, and conduct a multi-center analysis to revise the guidelines (TG13). Methods and materials: We retrospectively analyzed 451 patients with acute cholecystitis from multiple tertiary care centers in Japan. All 451 patients were first evaluated using the criteria in TG07. The "gold standard" for acute cholecystitis in this study was a diagnosis by pathology. The validity of TG07 diagnostic criteria was investigated by comparing clinical with pathological diagnosis. Results: Of 451 patients evaluated, a total of 227 patients were given a diagnosis of acute cholecystitis by pathological examination (prevalence 50.3 %). TG07 criteria provided a definite diagnosis of acute cholecystitis in 224 patients. The sensitivity of TG07 diagnostic criteria for acute cholecystitis was 92.1 %, and the specificity was 93.3 %. Based on the preliminary results, new diagnostic criteria for acute cholecystitis were proposed. Using the new criteria, the sensitivity of definite diagnosis was 91.2 %, and the specificity was 96.9 %. The accuracy rate was improved from 92.7 to 94.0 %. In regard to severity grading among 227 patients, 111 patients were classified as Mild (Grade I), 104 as Moderate (Grade II), and 12 as Severe (Grade III). Conclusion: The proposed new diagnostic criteria achieved better performance than the diagnostic criteria in TG07. Therefore, the proposed criteria have been adopted as new diagnostic criteria for acute cholecystitis and are referred to as the 2013 Tokyo Guidelines (TG13). Regarding severity assessment, no new evidence was found to suggest that the criteria in TG07 needed major adjustment. As a result, TG07 severity assessment criteria have been adopted in TG13 with minor changes. © 2012 The Author(s).link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Techniques of biliary drainage for acute cholangitis: Tokyo Guidelines

Biliary decompression and drainage done in a timely manner is the cornerstone of acute cholangitis treatment. The mortality rate of acute cholangitis was extremely high when no interventional procedures, other than open drainage, were available. At present, endoscopic drainage is the procedure of first choice, in view of its safety and effectiveness. In patients with severe (grade III) disease, defined according to the severity assessment criteria in the Guidelines, biliary drainage should be done promptly with respiration management, while patients with moderate (grade II) disease also need to undergo drainage promptly with close monitoring of their responses to the primary care. For endoscopic drainage, endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (ENBD) or stent placement procedures are performed. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have reported no difference in the drainage effect of these two procedures, but case-series studies have indicated the frequent occurrence of hemorrhage associated with endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST), and complications such as pancreatitis. Although the usefulness of percutaneous transhepatic drainage is supported by the case-series studies, its lower success rate and higher complication rates makes it a second-option procedure

Development of biotissue training models for anastomotic suturing in pancreatic surgery

Background: Anastomotic suturing is the Achilles heel of pancreatic surgery. Especially in laparoscopic and robotically assisted surgery, the pancreatic anastomosis should first be trained outside the operating room. Realistic training models are therefore needed. Methods: Models of the pancreas, small bowel, stomach, bile duct, and a realistic training torso were developed for training of anastomoses in pancreatic surgery. Pancreas models with soft and hard tex-tures, small and large ducts were incrementally developed and evaluated. Experienced pancreatic sur-geons (n = 44) evaluated haptic realism, rigidity, fragility of tissues, and realism of suturing and knot tying. Results: In the iterative development process the pancreas models showed high haptic realism and highest realism in suturing (4.6 & PLUSMN; 0.7 and 4.9 & PLUSMN; 0.5 on 1-5 Likert scale, soft pancreas). The small bowel model showed highest haptic realism (4.8 & PLUSMN; 0.4) and optimal wall thickness (0.1 & PLUSMN; 0.4 on -2 to +2 Likert scale) and suturing behavior (0.1 & PLUSMN; 0.4). The bile duct models showed optimal wall thickness (0.3 & PLUSMN; 0.8 and 0.4 & PLUSMN; 0.8 on -2 to +2 Likert scale) and optimal tissue fragility (0 & PLUSMN; 0.9 and 0.3 & PLUSMN; 0.7). Conclusion: The biotissue training models showed high haptic realism and realistic suturing behavior. They are suitable for realistic training of anastomoses in pancreatic surgery which may improve patient outcomes.Surgical oncolog

Antimicrobial therapy for acute cholangitis: Tokyo Guidelines

Antimicrobial agents should be administered to all patients with suspected acute cholangitis as a priority as soon as possible. Bile cultures should be performed at the earliest opportunity. The important factors which should be considered in selecting antimicrobial therapy include the agent’s activity against potentially infecting bacteria, the severity of the cholangitis, the presence or absence of renal and hepatic diseases, the patient’s recent history of antimicrobial therapy, and any recent culture results, if available. Biliary penetration of the microbial agents should also be considered in the selection of antimicrobials, but activity against the infecting isolates is of greatest importance. If the causative organisms are identified, empirically chosen antimicrobial drugs should be replaced by narrower-spectrum antimicrobial agents, the most appropriate for the species and the site of the infection

Predictors of survival after hepatic resection among patients with colorectal liver metastasis

Studies suggest improved survival following resection of colorectal cancer liver metastases (CLMs). We investigated predictors of survival among patients with CLM who underwent hepatic resection using the SEER-Medicare database to identify patients ⩾65 years diagnosed with CLM, 1991–2003, who underwent hepatectomy. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify factors associated with survival after hepatectomy. Of 923 patients with CLM who underwent hepatectomy, 514 were stages I–III and developed CLM>6 months after diagnosis (metachronous), and 409 were stage IV with CLM at diagnosis (synchronous). From the date of hepatectomy, 5 year survival was 22%; younger age, being married, female gender, surgery in an NCI-designated cancer centre, fewer comorbidities, fewer positive lymph nodes, and lower grade were associated with improved survival. Both 5-fluorouracil (5FU)-based chemotherapy and hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) of floxuridine-based chemotherapy following hepatectomy improved survival (HR=0.62, 95% CI: 0.50–0.78; HR=0.51, 95% CI: 0.28–0.97, respectively) in the synchronous, but not metachronous, group. The HR for overall mortality was higher in hospitals with a high vs low procedure volume (0.75, 95% CI: 0.58–0.94). A substantial subgroup of patients with CLM who undergo hepatectomy experiences long-term survival. High hospital procedure volume and use of 5FU-based or HAI-based chemotherapy after resection were associated with improved prognosis

Surgical treatment of patients with acute cholecystitis: Tokyo Guidelines

Cholecystectomy has been widely performed in the treatment of acute cholecystitis, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been increasingly adopted as the method of surgery over the past 15 years. Despite the success of laparoscopic cholecystectomy as an elective treatment for symptomatic gallstones, acute cholecystitis was initially considered a contraindication for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The reasons for it being considered a contraindication were the technical difficulty of performing it in acute cholecystitis and the development of complications, including bile duct injury, bowel injury, and hepatic injury. However, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is now accepted as being safe for acute cholecystitis, when surgeons who are expert at the laparoscopic technique perform it. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been found to be superior to open cholecystectomy as a treatment for acute cholecystitis because of a lower incidence of complications, shorter length of postoperative hospital stay, quicker recuperation, and earlier return to work. However, laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis has not become routine, because the timing and approach to the surgical management in patients with acute cholecystitis is still a matter of controversy. These Guidelines describe the timing of and the optimal surgical treatment of acute cholecystitis in a question-and-answer format