[Pancreatic necrosis: pro surgical therapy]

[Indications for Surgical and Interventional Therapy of Acute Pancreatitis]

BACKGROUND

15 to 20% of patients with acute pancreatitis develop necrosis of the pancreatic parenchyma or extrapancreatic tissue. The disease is associated with a mortality rate of up to 20%. The mainstays of treatment consist of intensive medical care and surgical and interventional therapy.

METHODS

A systematic literature search focused on indications for surgical and interventional therapy of necrotising pancreatitis. 85 articles were analysed for this review. By using the Delphi method, the results were presented to the quality committee for pancreas diseases of the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery and to expert pancreatologists in an interactive conference using plenary voting during the visceral medicine congress 2019 in Wiesbaden. For the finalised recommendations, an agreement of 84% of participants was achieved.

RESULTS

Documented or clinical suspicion of infected, necrotising pancreatitis are indications for surgical and interventional therapy (recommendation grade: strong; evidence grade; low). Sterile necrosis is a less common indication for intervention due to late complications or persistent severe pancreatitis. Invasive interventions should be delayed when possible until four weeks after onset of pancreatitis. Optimal treatment strategy consists of a "step-up approach" (evidence grade: high; recommendation grade: strong). The first step is catheter drainage, followed, if necessary, by minimally invasive surgical or interventional necrosectomy. If minimally invasive techniques do not result in clinical improvement, open necrosectomy is necessary. 35 to 50% of patients are successfully treated with drainage alone. Indications for emergency intervention are bowel perforation, bowel ischemia and bleeding. Surgical decompression of abdominal compartment syndrome is indicated if the patient is refractory to medical treatment and percutaneous drainage. Abscesses and symptomatic pseudocysts are indications for interventional drainage. Early cholecystectomy during index admission is recommended for patients with mild biliary pancreatitis. Cholecystectomy should be delayed after severe, biliary pancreatitis.

CONCLUSION

The recommendations for surgical an interventional therapy of necrotising pancreatitis address the basis of current indications in literature. They should serve in daily practice as a reference standard for decision making in multidisciplinary teams.

[Video-assisted retroperitoneal debridement : Minimally invasive treatment and long-term results for necrotizing pancreatitis]

BACKGROUND

Among patients with necrotizing pancreatitis 15-20% develop infected necrosis, which entails mortality rates of up to 20%. Particularly driven by the results of the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group there has been a paradigm change from open necrosectomy to step-up treatment with initial percutaneous and/or endoscopic drainage followed, if necessary, by minimally invasive retroperitoneal debridement.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Description of case series in which patients underwent video-assisted retroperitoneal debridement (VARD) including follow-up focused on quality of life.

METHODS

Systematic cohort study including all patients who underwent a VARD procedure at the Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery at Aachen University Hospital from 2011 to 2015. Quality of life was recorded using the EORTC QLQ-C 30 questionnaire and compared to a representative sample of the German general population.

RESULTS

The VARD procedure was performed in 9 cases, although in 1 case conversion to an open approach due to an acute bleeding was necessary. There was no 30-day and 60-day mortality following VARD. During the postoperative stay no patient required specific treatment for surgical complications. In particular, no enterocutaneous fistula or organ perforation was observed. Regarding the quality of life score there was no significant difference concerning the global health status, compared to the sample from the general population.

DISCUSSION

Our data reinforce that a step-up approach in patients with necrotizing pancreatitis is a feasible and safe treatment procedure. For the first time, we could demonstrate satisfactory results in a long-term follow-up including QOL.

Effect of perioperative glucocorticoid administration on postoperative complications following esophagectomy: A meta-analysis

Perioperative corticosteroid administration is a controversial therapy for improving the short-term prognosis following surgery. The objective of the current meta-analysis was to evaluate the effects of the perioperative use of corticosteroids during esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma. A comprehensive study was performed using references selected from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid databases), EMBASE and three Chinese databases (Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals). Eligible studies were restricted to randomized clinical trials that reported data from patients undergoing esophagectomy. In addition, treated groups of patients received perioperative corticosteroid administration and control groups received a placebo infusion, such as saline water. The studies evaluated the incidence of postoperative complications and the variation of inflammatory mediators. All extracted data underwent meta-analysis using Review Manager 5.1 software. Only six studies were eligible for selection. The following parameters were found to be reduced following the use of methylprednisolone: Interleukin (IL)-6 immediately following surgery and on postoperative days (PODs) 1 and 3; IL-8 immediately following surgery; and PaO₂/FiO₂ on POD 3. Moreover, organ failure, cardiovascular complications and pulmonary morbidity were all reduced in patients with corticosteroid usage. Certain factors showed no significant differences between the treated and control groups, including IL-8 on POD 1, IL-6 prior to surgery and on POD 5, PaO₂/FiO₂ following surgery, mortality, anastomotic leakage, severe infection and renal and hepatic failure. Prophylactic administration of methylprednisolone during the perioperative period may reduce the incidence of specific types of postoperative complications and inhibit the postoperative inflammatory reaction. Additional randomized controlled trials must be performed.