Cancer emergencies: the acute abdomen

Surgical Emergencies in Rectal Cancer: A Narrative Review

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed cancer worldwide and the second most common cause of cancer death. About 20% of patients diagnosed with rectal cancer present with emergency symptoms. Typical symptoms include acute bleeding, obstruction, and perforation. These emergency situations can be life-threatening and may lead to decreased life expectancy and quality of life. Bowel perforation is the most common cause of emergency presentation, followed by obstruction and acute bleeding. This narrative review analyzes the existing literature regarding the acute presentation of rectal cancer, producing three flow charts for the management of the main rectal emergencies. The treatment of acute bleeding differs based on the hemodynamic status. Treatment for bowel perforation or occlusion differs depending on whether the lesion is intraperitoneal or extraperitoneal. Emergency presentations seem to be strongly associated with several poor prognostic factors, including lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and high-grade or poorly differentiated tumors. An association between emergency presentation and larger tumor size, advanced tumor stage, node-positive disease, and metastatic disease is reported in the literature. The difference between colon and rectal cancer, both in terms of treatment and prognosis, has been widely acknowledged. Thus, comprehensive studies and dedicated guidelines are needed, considering the lack of literature published about rectal cancer in an emergency setting.

Variation in acute cholecystitis outcomes and processes of care in patients with cancer

BACKGROUND

Patients undergoing active cancer therapy or with metastatic cancer are at increased risk for acute cholecystitis and often present to general surgeons for evaluation and management. There is a paucity of data regarding the treatment processes used in these patients and the clinical outcomes achieved. Optimal management of acute cholecystitis in patients with cancer requires understanding their unique risk profile and options for treatment.

METHODS

Emergency general surgery data were collected at 10 hospitals from July 1, 2019, to February 29, 2024. Patients presenting with acute cholecystitis were selected for analysis. Propensity score matching was used to create matched cohorts of patients by the presence or absence of an active malignancy. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included complications, length of stay, readmission, and discharge disposition. Processes investigated include treatment modality, time to operation, and surgical technique.

RESULTS

The analysis included 8,673 patients. Mean age was 53.2 ± 19 years, 61.4% were female, and 17.8% were non-White. In total, 3.3% of patients had an active malignancy. Risk-adjusted 30-day mortality was higher in the cancer cohort (odds ratio: 5.85, 95% confidence interval: 2.38-14.4, P < .001). Patients with cancer also had higher rates of infectious complications (odds ratio: 2.55, 95% confidence interval: 1.54-4.2, P < .001), including sepsis (odds ratio: 2.95, 95% confidence interval: 1.61-5.39, P < .001) and pneumonia (odds ratio: 6.67, 95% confidence interval: 1.75-25.3, P < .005). Patients with cancer were more likely to receive nonoperative management (odds ratio: 2.85, 95% confidence interval: 2.11-3.84, P < .001).

CONCLUSION

Patients with cancer presenting with acute cholecystitis experience worse clinical outcomes after controlling for other factors. Furthermore, there is variation in the treatment process with increased rates of nonoperative management. These results have implications for the management of this population, particularly in relation to the impact on concurrent oncologic treatment plans.

Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis Complicated by Loculations Requiring Alteplase

The state of healthcare is consistently being driven towards evidence-based practices to establish both optimal and consistent healthcare for all patients. From this evidence, treatment guidelines arise to meet these goals. As new data, diseases, and treatments develop, these guidelines that influence evidence-based practice are refined and redefined. However, while we have come far to understand the human body, there remain gaps in our knowledge and in the guidelines we rely on to treat our patients. We present a case of a patient with a common presentation but a rare finding where the guidelines have not yet been defined due to a lack of data. We describe a case of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis complicated by loculated ascites leading to hospital readmission. Of the patient's two loculated collections, only one of the two nearly resolved with clearance of loculations. That collection was treated with drain placement and alteplase dwells. There has been no analysis into whether this potential treatment may improve outcomes, but there are limited cases suggesting its possible benefit.

Abdominal Emergencies in Cancer Patients

Abdominal emergencies in cancer patients encompass a wide spectrum of oncologic conditions caused directly by malignancies, paraneoplastic syndromes, reactions to the chemotherapy or often represent the first clinical manifestation of an unknown malignancy. Not rarely, clinical symptoms are the tip of an iceberg. In this scenario, the radiologist is asked to exclude the cause responsible for the patient's symptoms, to suggest the best way to manage and to rule out the underlying malignancy. In this article, we discuss some of the most common abdominal oncological emergencies that may be encountered in an emergency department.

Importance of tumor subtypes in cancer imaging

Cancer therapy has evolved from being broadly directed towards tumor types, to highly specific treatment protocols that target individual molecular subtypes of tumors. With the ever-increasing data on imaging characteristics of tumor subtypes and advancements in imaging techniques, it is now often possible for radiologists to differentiate tumor subtypes on imaging. Armed with this knowledge, radiologists may be able to provide specific information that can obviate the need for invasive methods to identify tumor subtypes. Different tumor subtypes also differ in their patterns of metastatic spread. Awareness of these differences can direct radiologists to relevant anatomical sites to screen for early metastases that may otherwise be difficult to detect during cursory inspection. Likewise, this knowledge will help radiologists to interpret indeterminate findings in a more specific manner.

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Tumor subtypes can be identified based on their different imaging characteristics.

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Awareness of tumor subtype can help radiologists chose the appropriate modality for additional imaging workup.

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Awareness of differences in metastatic pattern between tumor subtypes can be helpful to identify early metastases.

Mortality After General Surgery Among Hospitalized Patients With Hematologic Malignancy

BACKGROUND

Hospitalized patients with hematologic malignancies (HMs) may require abdominal operations for complications of malignancy, treatment sequelae, or unrelated abdominal pathology. We determined predictors of mortality after emergency general surgery for patients with HM using national-level data.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We analyzed the 2010-2014 National Inpatient Sample for International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes for HM and abdominal operations, comparing adult patient encounters with abdominal operations with HM to those without HM. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify predictors of mortality.

RESULTS

Of the 7.9 million adult inpatient encounters where abdominal surgery was performed, 82,187 (1%) had concomitant diagnoses of HM. Mortality among patient encounters with HM was significantly higher than without HM (9.0% versus 2.0%; P < 0.0001). Patient encounters with HM and surgery and a diagnosis of acute abdominal pain had mortality rates as high as 41%. The median standardized risk ratio for death after the top 25 general surgery procedures was 2.9 (interquartile range: 2.2-3.8) among patients with HM. In adjusted analyses, odds of mortality among patients with HM undergoing surgery were increased by concomitant acute abdominal pain diagnosis (odds ratio [OR] = 2.6; P < 0.0001), coagulopathy (OR = 2.0; P < 0.0001), aplastic anemia (OR = 1.7; P < 0.0001), peripheral vascular disease (OR = 1.4; P = 0.001), and weight loss (OR = 1.3; P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Although uncommon, surgery on patients with HM is associated with mortality rates nearly five times higher than the general surgical population. Patients with HM requiring surgical intervention may be at particularly high odds of death and postoperative complications.

Imaging of acute abdomen in cancer patients

The pattern of disease causing acute abdominal pain has changed over last few decades, some of this has been attributed to intraabdominal cancers. The most common acute abdominal complaints in cancer patients are related to the gastrointestinal system. Abdominal emergencies in cancer patients can result from the underlying malignancy itself, cancer therapy and/or result from the standard pathologies causing acute abdomen in otherwise healthy population. Therapy-related or disease-related immunosuppression or high dose analgesics often blunt many of the findings which are usually expected in non-cancer general population. This complicates the clinical picture rendering the clinical exam less reliable in many cancer patients, and resulting in different pathologies which clinicians and the radiologists should remain aware of. This article focuses on imaging illustrations with differential diagnosis for various emergency scenarios related to acute abdomen specifically in oncologic settings.

Colorectal cancer emergencies

INTRODUCTION

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common type of malignancy encountered in the United States. A significant proportion of patients with CRC will seek emergency medical care during the course of their illness and treatment.

BACKGROUND

Emergent presentations can be the result of either local tumor invasion, regional progression, or therapeutic techniques. Specific complications of CRC which present emergently include rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, and bowel obstruction. Less common issues encountered include malignant ascites, neutropenic enterocolitis, and radiation enteropathy.

CONCLUSION

The care of CRC patients in the setting of an acute severe illness typically requires the joint efforts of the emergency medical team in consultation with surgical, medical, and radiation oncology. A high degree of suspicion for the typical and atypical complications of CRC is important for all clinicians who are responsible for the care of these patients.

Abdominal pain in special populations

Evaluation and management of acute abdominal pain in special populations can be challenging for the emergency physician. This article focuses on two specific populations: patients with altered immunologic function and postprocedural patients. Recognition of life-threatening abdominal diseases may be delayed in immunosuppressed patients because of the atypical presentations of these conditions. In postprocedural patients, evaluation of acute abdominal symptoms requires an understanding of the complications of procedures often performed by others. The unique characteristics of abdominal pain in these two populations and, more specifically, which diseases to consider and how to use appropriate testing to detect life-threatening conditions, are discussed.