Role of post-operative serum C-reactive protein levels as a predictor of complications in upper gastrointestinal surgery

Impact of antibiotic prophylaxis and conditioning modalities in per-oral endoscopic myotomy for esophageal motor disorders

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

No recommendation regarding antibiotic prophylaxis and preparation modalities are available for patients with esophageal motor disorders who benefit from Per-Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM). The aim of our study was to evaluate their impact on the POEM's safety.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This study was a comparative and multicentric retrospective analysis of a database prospectively collected. Patients over 18 years old with esophageal motor disorders confirmed by prior manometry, who underwent POEM were included. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of adverse events, as classified by Cotton, based on whether or not antibiotic prophylaxis was administered.

RESULTS

A total of 226 patients (median age 52.9 ± 19.12 years [18-105], 116 women [51.3%]) were included. The indication for POEM was mainly type 2 achalasia (n = 135, 60.3%). Antibiotic prophylaxis was administered to 170 patients (75.2%) during 3.93 ± 3.46 days [1-21]. The overall adverse events rate was 9.3% (n = 21). Antibiotic prophylaxis was associated with the occurrence of adverse events (p = .003), but had no impact on their severity (p = .238). Antibiotic prophylaxis didn't influence the effectiveness of POEM (1 [0-4] vs 1 [0-9], p = .231). The use of a liquid diet in the 48 h prior to the procedure was significantly associated with a lower adverse events rate (3.1% vs 6.19%, p = .0002).

CONCLUSION

The antibiotic prophylaxis during POEM does not prevent adverse events, had no impact on their severity and the efficacy of the procedure. A liquid diet before the procedure should be systematically proposed.

Perioperative steroid administration reduces overall complications in patients undergoing liver resection: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Hepatic resection (HR) results in an inflammatory response that can be modified by perioperative steroid administration. However, it remains to be determined if this response's attenuation translates to a reduction in complications.

AIM

To evaluate if perioperative administration of steroids reduces complications following HR.

METHODS

A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to evaluate the effect of perioperative steroid (compared to placebo or no intervention) use in patients undergoing HR. Clinical outcomes were extracted, and meta-analysis was performed.

RESULTS

8 RCTs including 590 patients were included. Perioperative steroid administration was associated with significant reduction in postoperative complications [odds ratios: 0.58; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.35-0.97, P = 0.04]. There was also improvement in biochemical and inflammatory markers, including serum bilirubin on postoperative day 1 [MD: -0.27; 95%CI: (-0.47, -0.06), P = 0.01], C-reactive protein on postoperative day 3 [MD: -4.89; 95%CI: (-5.83, -3.95), P < 0.001], and interleukin-6 on postoperative day 1 [MD: -54.84; 95%CI: (-63.91, -45.76), P < 0.001].

CONCLUSION

Perioperative steroids administration in HR may reduce overall complications, postoperative bilirubin, and inflammation. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal dose and duration and patient selection.

Laparoscopic hepatectomy is superior to open procedures for hepatic hemangioma

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) has become increasingly popular for liver neoplasms, but its safety and effectiveness remain controversial. Hepatic hemangiomas are the most common benign liver neoplasm; the main approaches to hepatic hemangiomas include open hepatectomy (OH) and LH. In this study, we compared early outcomes between patients undergoing OH and those with LH.

METHODS

Patients underwent OH or LH in our hospital for hepatic hemangiomas between December 2013 and December 2017 were enrolled. All patients underwent comprehensive preoperative evaluations. The clinicopathological index and risk factors of hemangioma resection were assessed.

RESULTS

In total, 41 patients underwent OH while 53 underwent LH. There was no significant difference in any preoperative clinical variables, including liver function, prothrombin time, or platelet count. Hepatic portal occlusion time and operative time were 39.74 vs. 38.35 minutes (P = 0.717) and 197.20 vs. 203.68 minutes (P = 0.652) in the OH and LH groups, respectively. No mortality nor significant perioperative complications were observed between the two groups. In LH group, two cases were converted to OH, one for an oversized tumor and the other for hemorrhage. Compared with OH patients, those with LH had less blood loss (361.69 vs. 437.81 mL, P = 0.024), shorter postoperative hospital stay (7.98 vs. 11.07 days, P = 0.001), and lower postoperative C-reactive protein (43.63 vs. 58.21 mg/L, P = 0.026).

CONCLUSIONS

LH is superior to OH in terms of postoperative recovery and blood loss for selected patients with hepatic hemangioma.

The Addition of ω-3 Fish Oil Fat Emulsion to Parenteral Nutrition Reduces Short-Term Complications after Laparoscopic Surgery for Gastric Cancer

The incidence of short-term complications after laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer is higher. Whether ω-3 fish oil fat emulsion can reduce short-term complications of gastric cancer after laparoscopic surgery is controversial. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of ω-3 fish oil fat emulsion on postoperative recovery of patients with gastric cancer after laparoscopic surgery. A total of 111 patients were included in this study. These patients were given parenteral nutrition for 5 day or more after surgery. We used univariate analysis and multivariate analysis to determine whether ω-3 fish oil fat emulsion could affect the incidence of short-term complications after gastric cancer laparoscopic surgery. The incidence of postoperative short-term complications in patients with parenteral nutrition supplemented with ω-3 fish oil fat emulsion was significantly lower than that in patients without ω-3 fish oil fat emulsion (12/51 VS 26/60, P = 0.027). ω-3 fish oil fat emulsion is an independent risk factor for short-term postoperative complications in patients with gastric cancer (OR = 0.393, CI:0.155-0.996, P = 0.049). In conclusion, the addition of ω-3 fish oil fat emulsion to parenteral nutrition after operation can effectively reduce the incidence of short-term complications in patients with gastric cancer after laparoscopic surgery.

Effect of Biologic Material Reinforcement on Surgical Anastomosis After Gastrectomy-A Pilot Study

Background: Acellular dermal matrix is a biologic material derived from the skin of human cadaveric donors. It has been used successfully in the past to reduce complications in breast surgery and hernia repair. This investigation was aimed at assessing the feasibility of using acellular dermal matrix to support the anastomosis after gastrectomy with the aim of reducing anastomotic site leakage complications. Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to standard anastomotic reconstruction (control arm) or anastomotic reconstruction with acellular dermal matrix reinforcement (intervention arm). Surgical outcomes related to anastomotic complications were collected. Because actual anastomotic leaks found on imaging studies are infrequent and thus require a very high number of patient recruitment to detect statistically significant difference between the two groups, in this pilot investigation other clinical and laboratory measures that have been shown to correlate to or predict anastomotic leaks were also collected. Each surgical outcome was compared. Results: A total of 94 patients (intervention arm: 50, control arm: 44), were included in the analysis. Two patients in the control arm (4.55%) and one patient in the intervention arm (2.00%) experienced anastomotic leakage (p = 0.598), a difference without statistical significance. However, average postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and NUn scores, both of which have been shown to reflect likelihood of progressing to anastomotic leakage, were significantly lower for the intervention arm. The control arm showed an average CRP level of 128.77 mg/dL (SD: 97.08) while the intervention arm showed 77.38 mg/dL (SD: 49.08, p = 0.049). Conclusions: Leakage rate reduction with acellular dermal matrix reinforcement of anastomotic site was not detected in this investigation. However, postoperative inflammation levels and numerical predictors of anastomotic leakage development were significantly lower with acellular dermal matrix reinforcement of surgical anastomosis. This finding is worthy of further investigation, as reduction of inflammation with anastomotic site reinforcement is a novel finding, and more in-depth research may lead to discoveries on the physiologic role of the surgical anastomosis in post-gastrectomy patients. In addition, lower CRP and NUn scores for the intervention arm suggest potential for larger studies to detect reduction in clinical leak rates after acellular dermal matrix reinforcement.