Pancreatitis is a common disease of the digestive system with a high mortality and complication rate. The successful management of patients requires a multidisciplinary team of gastroenterologists, ...surgeons, interventional radiologists, and specialists in critical care medicine and nutrition. The odyssey in managing pancreatitis is a notable example of how evidence-based knowledge leads to improvement in patient care. In the last decades, operative treatment has moved towards minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy and endoscopic or percutaneous retroperitoneal approaches. New insights into nutritional and anesthesiology management have further improved the treatment and outcomes of pancreatitis. This book provides a comprehensive overview of this condition with chapters on physiology and pathophysiology, surgical and endoscopic management, enteral and parenteral nutritional interventions, and much more.
AIM:To assess the treatment and tumor-related variables associated with outcome after treatment of spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).METHODS: Patients with ruptured HCC were ...identif ied. The complications, mortality and survival were assessed. The relationship between tumor size and the severity of hemoperitoneum and between tumor size and grade were examined.RESULTS: From January 1993 to January 2008, 556 patients with HCC with or without cirrhosis were evaluated; of which, 16 (2.87%) p...
Screening significantly reduces mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC). Screen detected (SD) tumors associate with better prognosis, even at later stage, compared to non-screen detected (NSD) tumors. ...We aimed to evaluate the association between diagnostic modality (SD vs. NSD) and short- and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing surgery for CRC.
This retrospective cohort study involved patients aged 50-69 years, residing in Veneto, Italy, who underwent curative-intent surgery for CRC between 2006 and 2018. The clinical multi-institutional dataset was linked with the screening dataset in order to define diagnostic modality (SD vs. NSD). Short- and long-term outcomes were compared between the two groups.
Of 1,360 patients included, 464 were SD (34.1%) and 896 NSD (65.9%). Patients with a SD CRC were more likely to have less comorbidities (p = 0.013), lower ASA score (p = 0.001), tumors located in the proximal colon (p = 0.0018) and earlier stage at diagnosis (p < 0.0001). NSD patients were found to have more aggressive disease at diagnosis, higher complication rate and higher readmission rate due to surgical complications (all p < 0.05). NSD patients had a significantly lower Disease Free Survival and Overall Survival (all p < 0.0001), even after adjusting by demographic, clinic-pathological, tumor, and treatment characteristics.
SD tumors were associated with better long-term outcomes, even after multiple adjustments. Our results confirm the advantages for the target population to participate in the screening programs and comply with their therapeutic pathways.
Outpatient treatments are actually the techniques of choice in the management of low-grade hemorrhoidal disease. Among these, rubber band ligation (RBL) and injection sclerotherapy (IS) are the most ...frequently performed. Both techniques are used, without one having been determined to be superior over the other. We analyzed the studies that compare these two techniques in terms of efficacy and safety in order to offer a proposal for treatment choice. RBL seems to be most efficient in terms of symptom resolution for second-degree hemorrhoidal disease and equal or superior for treatment of third-degree disease. However, IS offers lower rates of severe post-operative pain and minor complications. Since outpatient treatments are offered to patients as painless options that allow a prompt recovery, we propose a stepwise protocol using 3% polidocanol or aluminum potassium sulfate and tannic acid IS as the first treatment option, as it has less complications, followed by RBL in cases of relapse.
In Fournier's gangrene, surgical debridement plus antimicrobial therapy is the mainstay of treatment but can cause a great loss of tissue. The disease needs long hospital stays and, despite all, has ...a high mortality rate. The aim of our study is to investigate if factors, such as hyperbaric therapy, can offer an improvement in prognosis.
We retrospectively evaluated data on 23 consecutive patients admitted for Fournier's gangrene at the University Hospital "P. Giaccone" of Palermo from 2011 to 2018. Factors related to length of hospital stay and mortality were examined.
Mortality occurred in three patients (13.1%) and was correlated with the delay between admission and surgical operation 1.7 days (C.I. 0.9-3.5) in patients who survived vs. 6.8 days (C.I. 3.5-13.4) in patients who died (
= 0.001). Hospital stay was longer in patients treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy mean 11 (C.I. 0.50-21.89) vs. mean 25 (C.I. 18.02-31.97);
= 0.02 without an improvement in survival (
= 1.00).
Our study proves that a delay in the treatment of patients with Fournier's gangrene has a correlation with the mortality rate, while the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy seems to not improve the survival rate, increasing the hospital stay instead.
Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a devastating malignancy arising from the bile ducts. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key players in CCA invasiveness and in the generation of a desmoplastic ...reaction. The aim of the present study was to develop a novel model by which to study tumor-stroma interactions using primary cultures of human biliary epithelial cells (hBECs) and stromal cells (SCs) in CCA. hBECs and SCs, isolated from surgical resections (n=10), were semi-purified by centrifugation on a Percoll gradient; hBECs were further immunopurified. hBECs and SCs were characterized using epithelial cytokeratin 7 (CK7) and CK19 and mesenchymal vimentin (VMN), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), CD68 cell markers. The purity of cultured cells was assessed by fluorescent immunocytochemistry. hBECs were HEA125/CK7/CK19-positive and VMN/α-SMA-negative. SCs were VMN/α-SMA-positive and CK7/CK19-negative. CCA 2-D culture models have been described but they use long-standing CCA cell lines of various biliary tumor cell origins with stromal cells derived from non-cholangiocarcinoma tissues. Recently, a novel 3-D organotypic co-culture model of rat cholangiocarcinoma was described. In the present study, we obtained pure and stable primary cultures of hBECs and SCs from CCA surgical specimens. These cell cultures may provide a useful tool by which to study CCA tumor-stroma interactions.
Perianal lesions are common in patients with Crohn’s disease, and display aggressive behavior in some cases. An accurate diagnosis is necessary for the optimal management of perianal lesions. ...Treatment of perianal Crohn’s disease includes medical and/or surgical options. Recent discoveries in the pathogenesis of this disease have led to advances in medical and surgical therapy with good results. Perianal lesions in Crohn’s disease remain a challenging aspect for both gastroenterologists and surgeons and lead to a greatly impaired quality of life for all patients affected by this disease. A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory to obtain the best results.
Colorectal cancer incidence in patients undergoing screening protocols is decreasing because of the higher rate of discovered preneoplastic colonic lesions; however, adenomatous polyps may not always ...be removable endoscopically and surgery may still be necessary. The aim of this study was to assess the vascular endothelial growth factor expression in the different steps of colorectal carcinogenesis to explore its potential role as a marker of malignancy in polypoid lesions. A total of 92 subjects with colonic adenoma or cancer who underwent screening colonoscopy or surgery were prospectively enrolled. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for VEGF-A messenger RNA expression and immunohistochemistry for VEGF-A were performed. Immunoassays for VEGF-A, VEGF-C, VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, and VEGFR-3 were also performed. Non-parametric statistics, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, and logistic multiple regression analysis were used. VEGF-A messenger RNA expression was higher in patients with high-grade dysplasia or colorectal cancer than in those with low-grade dysplasia adenomas (p = 0.01). At immunohistochemistry, VEGF-A expression was significantly higher in colorectal cancer patients compared to dysplastic adenomas (p < 0.001), and the accuracy of VEGF-A expression for prediction of malignancy was 91.7 (95% confidence interval = 78.7–97.9). VEGF-C protein expression was lower in colorectal cancer patients than in simple adenomas (p = 0.02). VEGF-A levels were directly correlated to polyp size (rho = 0.73, p = 0.0062). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that malignancy and polyp size were independent predictors of VEGF-A mucosal levels. This study demonstrated that the VEGF-A expression changes along the colorectal carcinogenesis pathway showing a neat step up at the passage from high-grade dysplasia to invasive cancer. This feature might potentially be useful to stratify colorectal polyps in different risks of progression classes. Moreover, the high level of VEGF-A expression predicted the presence of lymphovascular invasion with good accuracy.
Most patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IH-CCA) are unresectable and treatment options are limited. This study evaluates the efficacy of hepatic artery infusion (HAI) chemotherapy in ...patients whose disease is not initially treatable with resection. We selected patients with unresectable IH-CCA treated only with HAI chemotherapy at our centre between January 2008 and December 2012. We compared our outcome, using mRECIST, with published results of patients treated with systemic chemotherapy during the same period. Eleven patients underwent HAI chemotherapy with fluorouracil and oxaliplatin after placement of an HAI pump. A CT scan performed after the sixth cycle of therapy revealed that 5 of them had partial hepatic response (more than 45 %), 2 stable disease and 4 showed clear signs of disease progression. The average survival of the entire group was 17.6 months. Three of the patients with partial hepatic response underwent resection and 2 had more than 70 % tumour necrosis, both of whom are still alive and disease-free. The median survival of patients with liver-only disease treated with systemic chemotherapy, who were not submitted for resection, was 15.3 months. HAI chemotherapy enables this small group of patients to have their unresectable IH-CCA disease converted into a resectable one, thus confirming its role in treatment of this disease.
Hemorrhoidal artery embolization (Emborrhoid) is a novel method for the treatment of severe hemorrhoidal bleeding. Despite having a technical success rate of 93%-100%, the clinical success ranges ...between 63% and 94%, with a rebleeding rate of 13.6%.
To evaluate the effectiveness of this procedure in reducing hemorrhoidal flow and hemorrhoidal bleeding.
This prospective observational pilot study was conducted at Division of General Surgery 1 and Tertiary Referral Pelvic Floor Center, Treviso Regional Hospital, Italy. In a 2 months period (February-March 2022), consecutive patients with hemorrhoidal bleeding scores (HBSs) ≥ 4, Goligher scores of II or III, failure of non-operative management, and a candidate for Emborrhoid were included. Endoanal ultrasound with eco-Doppler was performed preoperatively and 1 month after the procedure. The primary endpoint was to quantify the changes in arterial hemorrhoidal flow after treatment. The secondary endpoint was to evaluate the correlation between the flow changes and the HBS.
Eleven patients underwent Emborrhoid. The overall pretreatment mean systolic peak (MSP) was 14.66 cm/s. The highest MSP values were found in the anterior left lateral (17.82 cm/s at 1 o'clock and 15.88 cm/s at 3 o'clock) and in the posterior right lateral (14.62 cm/s at 7 o'clock and 16.71 cm/s at 9 o'clock) quadrants of the anal canal. After treatment, the overall MSP values were significantly reduced (
= 0.008) although the correlation between MSP and HBS changes was weak (
= 0.570). A statistical difference was found between distal embolization compared with proximal embolization (
= 0.047). However, the coil landing zone was not related to symptoms improvement (
= 1.000). A significant difference in MSP changes was also reported between patients with type 1 and type 2 superior rectal artery (SRA) anatomy (
= 0.040). No relationship between hemorrhoidal grades (
= 1.000), SRA anatomy (
= 1.000) and treatment outcomes was found.
The preliminary findings of this pilot study confirm that Emborrhoid was effective in reducing the arterial hemorrhoidal flow in hemorrhoidal disease. However, the correlation between the post-operative MSP and HBS changes was weak. Hemorrhoidal grade, SRA anatomy and type of embolization were not related to treatment outcomes.
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