Peritoneal adhesions are an independent risk factor for peri- and post-partum infectious morbidity

Can we predict peritoneal adhesions formation after cesarean delivery?

OBJECTIVE

To examine demographic and obstetrical factors that are associated with adhesion formation following cesarean delivery.

METHODS

We conducted a population-based study that included all women over 18 years og age who underwent two cesarean deliveries between the years 1988 and 2016 in a large tertiary medical center. We excluded women with adhesions already diagnosed during the first cesarean delivery, history of other abdominal or pelvic surgery, history of pelvic infection or pelvic inflammatory disease, history of endometriosis and history of uterine Müllerian anomalies. In addition, women with a classical or T-shaped uterine incision, non-singleton pregnancies, and fetal chromosomal or structural abnormalities were excluded.

RESULTS

During the study period, 32.6% (n = 2283) of women were diagnosed with peritoneal adhesions during the second cesarean delivery. Factors found to be significantly associated with peritoneal adhesions were maternal age 35 years or older at the first cesarean delivery, Bedouin Arab ethnicity, composite of intrapartum and postpartum infectious morbidity, and cesarean deliveries that were performed after the onset of labor. In contrast, having a previous vaginal birth was found to be protective.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that a woman's characteristics at her first cesarean delivery and her obstetrical history may be predictive of the likelihood of adhesion formation.

The impact of a previous cesarean section on the risk of perioperative and postoperative complications during vaginal hysterectomy

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether a previous cesarean section increases the risk of perioperative and postoperative complications during vaginal hysterectomy.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study of women who had undergone a vaginal hysterectomy for benign indications between 2014 and 2019 was conducted, comparing patients with or without a previous cesarean section. Perioperative and postoperative complications during vaginal hysterectomy were assessed according to the Clavien-Dindo classification system within 30 days of surgery. Duration of surgery, estimated blood loss, and postoperative hospitalization days were also recorded. A two-sided P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

A total of 185 women were included, 25 (13.5%) patients had undergone a previous cesarean section (study group) and 160 (86.5%) had no history of cesarean section (comparison group). We found no significant differences in demographic and clinical characteristics as well as postoperative complications and interventions, duration of surgery, estimated blood loss, and postoperative hospitalization days (P > 0.05). However, patients who underwent two or more cesarean sections had a significantly (P = 0.01) higher rate and grade of complications during vaginal hysterectomy, compared with women with only one previous cesarean section. All women who underwent two or more cesarean sections had mild complications during vaginal hysterectomy (40% grade I and 60% grade II, P = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Vaginal hysterectomy is a safe procedure with few severe complications, regardless of a previous cesarean section. More than one previous cesarean section may increase the risk of minor complications during a vaginal hysterectomy. Patients who underwent a previous cesarean section could be reassured that they do not face an increased risk of complications during a vaginal hysterectomy.

Maternal hepatitis B surface antigen Carrier Status and Pregnancy Outcome: A Retrospective Cohort Study

To investigate the effect of maternal hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carrier status during pregnancy on pregnancy outcomes in a population of patients in Hangzhou, China. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyse data from 20 753 pregnant women who delivered at Hangzhou Women's Hospital between January 2015 and March 2020. Of these, 18 693 were normal pregnant women (the non-exposed group) and 735 were HBsAg carriers (the exposed group). We then analysed by binary multivariate logistic regression to determine the association between maternal HBsAg-positive and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The prevalence of HBsAg carriers was 3.78% and the odds ratio (OR) for maternal age in the exposed group was 1.081. Pregnant women who are HBsAg-positive in Hangzhou, China, are at higher risk of a range of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) (adjusted OR (aOR) 3.169), low birth weight (aOR 2.337), thrombocytopenia (aOR 2.226), fallopian cysts (aOR 1.610), caesarean scar pregnancy (aOR 1.283), foetal distress (aOR 1.414). Therefore, the obstetricians should pay particular attention to ICP, low birth weight, thrombocytopenia, fallopian cysts, caesarean scar, foetal distress in HBsAg-positive pregnant women.

Infección temprana de la malla quirúrgica en herniorrafia incisional. Incidencia, factores de riesgo y desenlaces en más de 60.000 pacientes

Introducción. La infección de la malla en cirugía de reparación de hernias de pared abdominal es un desenlace pobre, asociado a un incremento en el riesgo de complicaciones. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar la incidencia, los factores asociados y desenlaces en pacientes llevados a herniorrafia incisional con malla con posterior diagnóstico de infección temprana. Métodos. Estudio de cohorte retrospectiva. Se utilizaron los datos de egresos hospitalarios de la National Inpatient Sample (NIS) de los Estados Unidos de América para identificar a todos los pacientes adultos llevados a herniorrafia incisional durante los años 2010 a 2015. Se utilizaron modelos de regresión logística bivariada y multivariada para evaluar los factores de riesgo en infección temprana de la malla, y finalmente, modelos de regresión logística y lineal, según el tipo de variable dependiente, de tipo stepwise forward para evaluar la asociación entre el diagnóstico de infección de malla y los desenlaces adversos. Resultados. En total se incluyeron 63.925 pacientes. La incidencia de infección temprana de la malla fue de 0,59 %, encontrando como factores asociados: comorbilidades (obesidad, desnutrición proteico calórica, anemia carencial y depresión), factores clínico-quirúrgicos (adherencias peritoneales, resección intestinal, cirugía laparoscópica y complicaciones no infecciosas de la herida) y administrativos o asistenciales. Conclusiones. La infección temprana, aunque infrecuente, se asocia con un aumento significativo en el riesgo de complicaciones. La optimización prequirúrgica con base en los factores de riesgo para este desenlace nefasto es un elemento clave para la reducción de la incidencia y mitigación del impacto de la infección en los pacientes con herniorrafía incisional con malla.

One-stitch method vs. traditional method of protective loop ileostomy for rectal cancer: the impact of BMI obesity

PURPOSE

Protective loop ileostomy is an effective diversion measure often used to reduce the risk of anastomotic leakage. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the surgical outcomes of the one-stitch method (OM) of protective loop ileostomy in laparoscopic low anterior resection for BMI obesity patients with rectal cancer compared with the traditional method (TM).

METHODS

The patients diagnosed as rectal adenocarcinoma cases by preoperative pathology were included in this retrospective study. The subjects underwent protective loop ileostomy in laparoscopic low anterior resection from January 2016 to June 2019 in the Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University. The data of loop ileostomy and stoma closure operation were retrieved from the medical cases system of the hospital.

RESULTS

242 patients were included in the present study. In the BMI obese cohort, the OM group showed a shorter operative time both in the loop ileostomy (232.5 vs. 250.0 min, p = 0.04) and stoma closure operation (102.5 vs. 115.0 min, p = 0.001) and a lower peristomal adhesion extent (p = 0.02) and a shorter median postoperative stay (6 vs. 7 days, p = 0.03) during stoma closure operation than that of the TM group. In the TM group, obese cases showed a higher operative time of stoma closure operation (115.0 vs. 95.0, p < 0.001), a higher parastomal hernia rate (p = 0.04), a higher peristomal adhesion extent (p = 0.005) and a longer postoperative stay of stoma closure operation (p = 0.02) compared with the non-obese cases, while in the OM group, no significant differences were observed between the obese and non-obese cases in terms of the above-mentioned factors.

CONCLUSIONS

The OM exhibited more advantages than TM, notably in BMI obesity patients.

Peritoneal adhesions do not increase intra-operative organ injury or adverse neonatal outcomes during a repeated cesarean delivery

PURPOSE

To examine whether the presence of peritoneal adhesions at the second cesarean delivery (CD), attributable to the first CD, are associated with maternal intra-operative organ injury and adverse neonatal outcomes.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted, comparing severe maternal intra-operative organ injury and adverse neonatal outcomes, between women with and without peritoneal adhesions. All women with two CDs during the follow-up period were included. Women with adhesions diagnosed during the first CD, history of other abdominal or pelvic surgery, pelvic infection or pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, uterine Mullerian anomalies and newborns with known chromosomal or structural abnormalities were excluded, resulting in 7925 women. Intra-operative peritoneal organ injury was defined as a composite of bladder injury, ureteral injury, small bowel injury or hysterectomy. The examined adverse neonatal outcomes were low 1 and 5 min Apgar scores, intrapartum death (IPD) and postpartum death (PPD). Multivariate logistic regression was performed.

RESULTS

Peritoneal adhesions at the second CD, attributable to the first CD were diagnosed in 32.6% of patients (n = 2581). The presence of peritoneal adhesions was not found to be independently associated with intra-operative organ injury nor with 5 min Apgar scores, IPD and PPD. Second CDs complicated with adhesions were found to be associated with low (< 7) 1 min Apgar scores (adjusted OR 1.38, CI 1.20-1.58, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Adhesions attributable to a previous CD do not seem to increase the risk for intra-operative organ injury and adverse neonatal outcomes. These findings may assist in reassuring patients who are facing a second CD.