Preoperative biliary drainage in hilar cholangiocarcinoma: when and how?

Myocardial injury is a risk factor for 6-week mortality in liver cirrhosis associated esophagogastric variceal bleeding

This study sought to investigate risk factors for 6-week mortality of patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis associated esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EGVB) and clinical characteristics of myocardial injury in cirrhotic patients with EGVB. This retrospective cohort study included 249 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis associated EGVB in the Department of Emergency. Patients were divided into two groups including liver cirrhosis associated EGVB without myocardial injury and liver cirrhosis associated EGVB with myocardial injury. Myocardial injury, recurrent bleeding, total bilirubin (TBIL) level and dyslipidemia are independent risk factors for 6-week mortality in liver cirrhosis associated EGVB. Among all patients with liver cirrhosis associated EGVB, 90 (36.2%) had myocardial injury and 159 individuals (63.8%) not. The 6-week mortality in the group with myocardial injury was 21%, which was significantly higher than that of 7% in the group without myocardial injury. More patients in the myocardial injury group smoked, had moderate to severe esophageal varices, liver failure, and Child-Pugh C liver function compared to the non-myocardial injury group. Myocardial injury, recurrent bleeding, TBIL level and dyslipidemia are independent risk factors for death within 6 weeks in liver cirrhosis associated EGVB. The 6-week mortality is considerably higher in patients with myocardial injury in liver cirrhosis associated EGVB than those without myocardial injury.

Preoperative prognostic nutritional index predicts short-term complications after radical resection of distal cholangiocarcinoma

Background

The occurrence of postoperative complications of distal cholangiocarcinoma (dCCA) is an indicator of poor patient prognosis. This study aimed to determine the immune-nutritional indexes (INIs) that can predict short-term postoperative complications.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of 148 patients with dCCA who were operated radical pancreaticoduodenectomy at the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from December 2015 to March 2022 was conducted to assess the predictive value of preoperative INIs and preoperative laboratory tests for short-term postoperative complications, and a decision tree model was developed using classification and regression tree (CART) analysis to identify subgroups at risk for overall complications.

Results

In this study, 83 patients (56.08%) experienced overall complications. Clavien-Dindo grade III-V complications occurred in 20 patients (13.51%), and 2 patients died. The areas under curves (AUCs) of the preoperative prognostic nutritional index (PNI), controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were compared; the PNI provided the maximum discrimination for complications (AUC = 0.685, 95% CI = 0.600-0.770), with an optimal cutoff value of 46.9, and the PNI ≤ 46.9 group had higher incidences of overall complications (70.67% vs. 40.00%, P < 0.001) and infectious complications (28.77% vs. 13.33%, P = 0.035). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified PNI (OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.80-0.94) and total bilirubin (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.01) were independent risk factors for overall complications (P < 0.05). According to CART analysis, PNI was the most important parameter, followed by the total bilirubin (TBIL) level. Patients with a PNI lower than the critical value and TBIL higher than the critical value had the highest overall complication rate (90.24%); the risk prediction model had an AUC of 0.714 (95% CI, 0.640-0.789) and could be used to stratify the risk of overall complications and predict grade I-II complications (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The preoperative PNI is a good predictor for short-term complications after the radical resection of dCCA. The decision tree model makes PNI and TBIL easier to use in clinical practice.

Infectious complications after surgery for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma: A single Western center experience

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to analyze the risk factors for surgical infectious complications and the outcomes of patients undergoing surgery for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma according to the microbiological examinations.

METHODS

Patients who underwent surgery for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma in the last decade were enrolled, and all clinical and microbiological data were collected from a retrospective monocentric database. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed distinguishing patients who developed at least 1 surgical infectious complication (surgical site infections, acute bacterial cholangitis, bacteremia).

RESULTS

A total of 98 patients were included. Among patients who developed surgical infectious complications (51%), many preoperative characteristics were significantly more frequent: American Society of Anesthesiologists score ≥3 (P = .026), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ≥3.4 (P = .001), endoscopic sphincterotomy (P = .032), ≥2 biliary drainage procedures (P = .013), acute cholangitis (P = .012), multidrug resistant (P = .009), and ≥3 microorganisms' detection (P = .042); whereas during the postoperative period, surgical infectious complications were associated to increased incidence of intensive care unit readmission (P = .031), major complications (P < .001), posthepatectomy liver failure (P = .005), ascites (P = .008), biliary leakage (P = .008), 90-day readmission (P = .003), and prolonged length of hospital stay (P < .001). At the multivariate analysis 3 independent preoperative risk factors for surgical infectious complications were identified: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ≥3.4 (P = .004), endoscopic sphincterotomy (P = .009), and acute cholangitis (P = .013). The presence of multidrug-resistance in the perioperative biliary cultures was related to postoperative multidrug-resistant species from all cultures (P < .001) and organ/space and incisional-surgical site infections (P ≤ .044).

CONCLUSION

Infective complications after surgery for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma worsen the short-term outcomes. A careful microbiological surveillance should be carried out in all cases to prevent and promptly treat surgical infectious complications.

Perioperative screening and management in elective complex hepatobiliary surgery

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Preoperative optimization and structured evidence-based perioperative care of a patient undergoing complex hepatobiliary (HPB) surgery are essential components in their management. Apart from advances in surgical technique, these perioperative measures have resulted in substantial reductions in morbidity and mortality. There hence, remains a continued need to have evidence-based updation in their management algorithm to ensure optimal outcomes.

RECENT FINDINGS

We present an evidence-based overview of the preoperative screening, optimization and perioperative management of patients undergoing complex HPB surgery.

SUMMARY

Perioperative care of these fragile patients is an evidence-based dynamic process. Optimal patient management undergoing HPB surgery requires risk assessment and stratification, and meticulous attention to the correction of underlying conditions. Despite this, postoperative morbidity remains relatively high and requires a cohesive multidisciplinary approach to minimize complications.

The impact of preoperative biliary drainage on postoperative outcomes in patients with malignant obstructive jaundice: a retrospective analysis of 290 consecutive cases at a single medical center

Background

The efficacy of preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) has been debated for several decades, and yet indications for PBD remain controversial. The aim of this study was to compare the postoperative morbidity and mortality in patients with malignant obstructive jaundice undergoing direct surgery versus surgery with PBD.

Methods

All consecutive patients with malignant obstructive jaundice who underwent radical resection between June 2017 and December 2019 at Zhongshan Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The study population was divided into two groups: PBD group (PG) and direct surgery group (DG). The subgroups were chosen based on the site of obstruction. Perioperative indicators and postoperative complications were compared and analyzed.

Results

A total of 290 patients were analyzed. Postoperative complications occurred in 134 patients (46.4%). Patients in the PG group had a lower overall rate of postoperative complications compared with the DG group, with perioperative total bilirubin (TB) identified as an independent risk factor in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio = 1.004; 95% confidence interval 1.001–1.007; P = 0.017). Subgroup analysis showed that PBD reduced the complication rate in patients with proximal obstruction. In the proximal-obstruction subgroup, a preoperative TB level > 162 μmol/L predicted postoperative complications.

Conclusions

PBD may reduce the overall rate of postoperative complications among patients with proximal malignant obstructive jaundice.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, 2018ZSLC 24. Registered May 17, 2018, https://clinicaltrials.gov/.

Cholangiocarcinoma as an Indication for Liver Transplantation in the Era of Transplant Oncology

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) arises from the biliary tract epithelium and accounts for 10-15% of all hepatobiliary malignancies. Depending on anatomic location, CCA is classified as intrahepatic (iCCA), perihilar (pCCA) and distal (dCCA). The best treatment option for pCCA is liver resection and when a radical oncological surgery is obtained, 5-year survival rate are around 20-40%. In unresectable patients, following a specific protocol, liver transplantation (LT) for pCCA showed excellent long-term disease-free survival rates. Fewer data are available for iCCA in LT setting. Nevertheless, patients with very early unresectable iCCA appear to achieve excellent outcomes after LT. This review aims to evaluate existing evidence to define the current role of LT in the management of patients with CCA.