Pancreatic fistulae after a pancreatico-duodenectomy: are pancreatico-gastrostomies safer than pancreatico-jejunostomies? An expertise-based trial and propensity-score adjusted analysis

The postsurgical pancreas

BACKGROUND

 Partial pancreatic resections are among the most complex surgical procedures in visceral tumor medicine and are associated with a high postoperative morbidity with a complication rate of 40-50 % of patients even in specialized centers.

METHODS

 Description of typical surgical resection procedures and the resulting postoperative anatomy, typical normal postoperative findings, common postoperative complications, and radiological findings.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

 CT is the most appropriate imaging technique for rapid and standardized visualization of postoperative anatomy and detection of clinically suspected complications after partial pancreatic resections. The most common complications are delayed gastric emptying, pancreatic fistula, acute pancreatitis, bile leakage, abscess, and hemorrhage. Radiologists must identify the typical surgical procedures, the postoperative anatomy, and normal postoperative findings as well as possible postoperative complications and know interventional treatment methods for common complications.

KEY POINTS

  · Morbidity after pancreatic surgery remains high.. · CT is the best method for visualizing postoperative anatomy and is used for early detection of complications.. · Pancreatic fistula is the most common relevant complication after pancreatic resection.. · The ability of a center to manage complications is crucial to ensure the success of therapy..

CITATION FORMAT

· Fischbach R, Peller M, Perez D et al. The postsurgical pancreas. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2024; 196: 1037 - 1045.

A single-center prospective analysis of the impact of glucose metabolism on pancreatic fistula onset after pancreaticoduodenectomy for periampullary tumors

BACKGROUND

Glucose impairment notably affects the postoperative course of gastrointestinal surgeries. However, evidence on its impact on clinically relevant pancreatic fistulas(CR-POPFs) after pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD) is lacking. This study evaluates if and how preoperative glucose metabolism affects the development of CR-POPF after PD.

METHODS

One hundred and ten consecutive PDs were included. Patients underwent preoperative metabolic profiling using the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test(OGTT) and the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp procedure. Accordingly, patients were categorized as normal glucose tolerant (NGT), impaired glucose tolerant (IGT), diabetic (DM), and longstanding-DM. Receiver operating characteristics(ROC) analyses were performed to determine the values of metabolic features in prediction of CR-POPF.

RESULTS

The CR-POPF rate was 36.3 ​%(40 patients). NGT patients had a higher CR-POPF rate (51.7 ​%) compared to IGT(45.2 ​%), DM (15.8 ​%), and longstanding-DM (25.8 ​%) (p ​= ​0.03). CR-POPF patients had lower median fasting glucose levels (p ​= ​0.01) and higher c-peptide values at all OGTT time points (p ​< ​0.05). Fasting glucose and c-peptide levels had high diagnostic accuracy for CR-POPF (AUC>0.8) and were independent risk factors for CR-POPF (OR: 24.7[95%CI: 3.7-165.3] for fasting glucose; OR: 19.9[95%CI: 3.2-125.3] for c-peptide).

CONCLUSION

Normoglycemia and normal beta cell function may be risk factors for CR-POPF after PD. Fasting glucose and c-peptide levels effectively predicted CR-POPF development following PD.

CLINICALTRIALS GOV IDENTIFIER

NCT02175459.

Early enteral vs. oral nutrition after Whipple procedure: Study protocol for a multicentric randomized controlled trial (NUTRIWHI trial)

Background

Malnutrition has been shown to be a risk factor for postoperative complications after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). In addition, patients needing a PD, such as patients with pancreatic cancer or chronic pancreatitis, often are malnourished. The best route of postoperative nutrition after PD remains unknown. The aim of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate if early postoperative enteral nutrition can decrease complications after PD compared to oral nutrition.

Methods

This multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial will include 128 patients undergoing PD with a nutritional risk screening ≥3. Patients will be randomized 1:1 using variable block randomization stratified by center to receive either early enteral nutrition (intervention group) or oral nutrition (control group) after PD. Patients in the intervention group will receive enteral nutrition since the first night of the operation (250 ml/12 h), and enteral nutrition will be increased daily if tolerated until 1000 ml/12 h. The primary outcome will be the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI) at 90 days after PD.

Discussion

This study with its multicentric and randomized design will permit to establish if early postoperative enteral nutrition after PD improves postoperative outcomes compared to oral nutrition in malnourished patients.

Clinical trial registration

https://clinicaltrials.gov/(NCT05042882) Registration date: September 2021.

Pancreatogastrostomy versus Pancreatojejunostomy: An Up-to-Date Meta-Analysis of RCTs

Background

A meta-analysis was conducted in order to provide an up-to-date comparison of pancreatogastrostomy (PG) and pancreatojejunostomy (PJ), after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD), in terms of clinically significant postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) and other postoperative complications.

Methods

This meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. A systematic literature search in MEDLINE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials was performed. Fixed Effects or Random Effects model was used, based on the Cochran Q test.

Results

In total, 10 studies (1629 patients) were included. There was no statistical significance between PG and PJ regarding the rate of clinically significant POPF (OR: 0.70, 95%CI: 0.46–1.06). PG was associated with a higher rate of postpancreatoduodenectomy haemorrhage (PPH) (OR: 1.52, 95%CI: 1.08–2.14). There was no difference between the two techniques in terms of clinically significant PPH (OR: 1.35, 95%CI: 0.95–1.93) and clinically significant postoperative delayed gastric emptying (DGE) (OR: 0.98, 95%CI: 0.59–1.63).

Discussion

There is no difference between the two anastomotic techniques regarding the rate of clinically significant POPF. Given several limitations, more large scale high quality RCTs are required.

Standardizing terminology for minimally invasive pancreatic resection

BACKGROUND

There is a growing body of literature pertaining to minimally invasive pancreatic resection (MIPR). Heterogeneity in MIPR terminology, leads to confusion and inconsistency. The Organizing Committee of the State of the Art Conference on MIPR collaborated to standardize MIPR terminology.

METHODS

After formal literature review for "minimally invasive pancreatic surgery" term, key terminology elements were identified. A questionnaire was created assessing the type of resection, the approach, completion, and conversion. Delphi process was used to identify the level of agreement among the experts.

RESULTS

A systematic terminology template was developed based on combining the approach and resection taking into account the completion. For a solitary approach the term should combine "approach + resection" (e.g. "laparoscopic pancreatoduodenectomy); for combined approaches the term must combine "first approach + resection" with "second approach + reconstruction" (e.g. "laparoscopic central pancreatectomy" with "open pancreaticojejunostomy") and where conversion has resulted the recommended term is "first approach" + "converted to" + "second approach" + "resection" (e.g. "robot-assisted" "converted to open" "pancreatoduodenectomy") CONCLUSIONS: The guidelines presented are geared towards standardizing terminology for MIPR, establishing a basis for comparative analyses and registries and allow incorporating future surgical and technological advances in MIPR.