Nationwide Outcome of Tailored Surgery for Symptomatic Chronic Pancreatitis based on Pancreatic Morphology: Validation of the International guidelines

OBJECTIVE

To determine the nationwide use and outcome of tailored surgical treatment for symptomatic chronic pancreatitis (CP) as advised by recent guidelines.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA

Randomized trials have shown that surgery is superior to endoscopy in patients with symptomatic CP, although endoscopy remains popular Recent guidelines advice to "tailor surgery" based on pancreatic morphology meaning that the least extensive procedure should be selected based on pancreatic morphology. However, nationwide, and multicenter studies On tailored surgery for symptomatic CP are lacking.

METHODS

Nationwide multicenter retrospective analysis of consecutive patients undergoing surgical treatment for symptomatic CP in all seven Dutch university medical centers (2010-2020). Outcomes included volume trend, major complications, 90-day mortality, postoperative opioid use and clinically relevant pain relief. Surgical treatment was tailored based on the size of the main pancreatic duct and pancreatic head (e.g. surgical drainage for a dilated pancreatic duct, and normal size pancreatic head).

RESULTS

Overall, 381 patients underwent surgery for CP: 127 surgical drainage procedures ( 33%; mostly extended lateral pancreaticojejunostomy), 129 duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resections (DPPHR, 34%, mostly Frey), and 125 formal pancreatic resections (33%, mostly distal pancreatectomy). The annual surgical volume increased slightly (Pearson r=0.744). Mortality (90-day) occurred in 6 patients (2%), and was non-significantly lower after surgical drainage (0%, 3%, 2%; P =0.139). Major complications (12%, 24%, 26%; P =0.012), postoperative pancreatic fistula grade B/C (0%, 3%, 22%; P =0.038), surgical reintervention (4%, 16%, 12%; P =0.006), and endocrine insufficiency ( 14%, 21%, 43%; P <0.001) occurred less often after surgical drainage. After a median follow-up of 11 months [IQR 3-23] good rates of clinically relevant pain relief ( 83%, 69%, 80%; P =0.082) were observed and 81% of opioid users had stopped using (83%, 78%, 84%, P =0.496).

CONCLUSION

The use of surgery for symptomatic CP increased over the study period. Drainage procedures were associated with the best safety profile and excellent functional outcome, highlighting the importance of tailoring surgery based on pancreatic morphology.

Antibiotic Therapy of 3 Days May Be Sufficient After Biliary Drainage for Acute Cholangitis: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

The optimal antibiotic therapy duration for cholangitis is unclear. Guideline recommendations vary between 4 and 14 days after biliary drainage. Clinical observations and some evidence however suggest that shorter antibiotic therapy may be sufficient.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the effectiveness and safety of short-course therapy of ≤ 3 days with long-course therapy of ≥ 4 days after biliary drainage in cholangitis patients.

METHODS

We searched the databases PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and trial registers for literature up to August 5, 2020. RCTs and observational studies including case series reporting on antibiotic therapy duration for acute cholangitis were eligible for inclusion. Two reviewers independently evaluated study eligibility, extracted data, assessed risk of bias and quality of evidence. A meta-analysis was planned if the included studies were comparable with regard to important study characteristics. Primary outcomes included recurrent cholangitis, subsequent other infection, and mortality.

RESULTS

We included eight studies with 938 cholangitis patients. Four observational studies enrolled patients treated for ≤ 3 days. Recurrent cholangitis occurred in 0-26.8% of patients treated with short-course therapy, which did not differ from long-course therapy (range 0-21.1%). Subsequent other infection and mortality rates were also comparable. Quality of available evidence was very low.

CONCLUSION

There is no high-quality evidence available to draw a strong conclusion, but heterogeneous observational studies suggest that antibiotic therapy of ≤ 3 days is sufficient in cholangitis patients with common bile duct stones.