Laparoscopic Diagnosis of Peritoneal Tuberculosis

Peritoneal tuberculosis is a rare form of tuberculosis, which involves parietal and visceral peritoneum, omentum, and intestinal mesentery. Its incidence is increasing in developed countries due to HIV infection and immigration. We present a case of peritoneal tuberculosis in a twenty two-year-old patient misdiagnosed with appendicitis. A laparoscopic surgery was performed showing multiple implants on serosal surfaces and adhesions. Laparoscopic appendectomy and peritoneal biopsies were performed. As peritoneal tuberculosis was suspected, an early antituberculous treatment was initiated. A pathological examination of the samples revealed epithelioid granulomas with a centrale caseous necrosis and acid-fast bacilli. Peritoneal tuberculosis is a challenging diagnosis that can mimic other pathologies and should be kept in mind to establish an early antituberculosis treatment avoiding the high morbidity and mortality associated with a late treatment initiation. In case of suspicion of peritoneal tuberculosis, laparoscopy with guided biopsies is useful for the establishment of a correct diagnosis.

Predictive Power of the "Trigger Tool" for the detection of adverse events in general surgery: a multicenter observational validation study

Background

In spite of the global implementation of standardized surgical safety checklists and evidence-based practices, general surgery remains associated with a high residual risk of preventable perioperative complications and adverse events. This study was designed to validate the hypothesis that a new “Trigger Tool” represents a sensitive predictor of adverse events in general surgery.

Methods

An observational multicenter validation study was performed among 31 hospitals in Spain. The previously described “Trigger Tool” based on 40 specific triggers was applied to validate the predictive power of predicting adverse events in the perioperative care of surgical patients. A prediction model was used by means of a binary logistic regression analysis.

Results

The prevalence of adverse events among a total of 1,132 surgical cases included in this study was 31.53%. The “Trigger Tool” had a sensitivity and specificity of 86.27% and 79.55% respectively for predicting these adverse events. A total of 12 selected triggers of overall 40 triggers were identified for optimizing the predictive power of the “Trigger Tool”.

Conclusions

The “Trigger Tool” has a high predictive capacity for predicting adverse events in surgical procedures. We recommend a revision of the original 40 triggers to 12 selected triggers to optimize the predictive power of this tool, which will have to be validated in future studies.

Results of a survey on peri-operative nutritional support in pancreatic and biliary surgery in Spain

Introduction: a survey on peri-operative nutritional support in pancreatic and biliary surgery among Spanish hospitals in 2007 showed that few surgical groups followed the 2006 ESPEN guidelines. Ten years later we sent a questionnaire to check the current situation. Methods: a questionnaire with 21 items sent to 38 centers, related to fasting time before and after surgery, nutritional screening use and type, time and type of peri-operative nutritional support, and number of procedures. Results: thirty-four institutions responded. The median number of pancreatic resections (head/total) was 29.5 (95% CI: 23.0-35; range, 5-68) (total, 1002); of surgeries for biliary malignancies (non-pancreatic), 9.8 (95% CI: 7.3-12.4; range, 2-30); and of main biliary resections for benign conditions, 10.4 (95% CI: 7.6-13.3; range, 2-33). Before surgery, only 41.2% of the sites used nutritional support (< 50% used any nutritional screening procedure). The mean duration of preoperative fasting for solid foods was 9.3 h (range, 6-24 h); it was 6.6 h for liquids (range, 2-12). Following pancreatic surgery, 29.4% tried to use early oral feeding, but 88.2% of the surveyed teams used some nutritional support; 26.5% of respondents used TPN in 100% of cases. Different percentages of TPN and EN were used in the other centers. In malignant biliary surgery, 22.6% used TPN always, and EN in 19.3% of cases. Conclusions: TPN is the commonest nutrition approach after pancreatic head surgery. Only 29.4% of the units used early oral feeding, and 32.3% used EN; 22.6% used TPN regularly after surgery for malignant biliary tumours. The 2006 ESPEN guideline recommendations are not regularly followed 12 years after their publication in our country.

Cystic duct cyst lesions (type VI)

Todani proposed the most accepted classification for cystic lesions of the bile duct, including 5 types. Serena described another one, type VI, which includes cystic lesions of the isolated cystic duct, of which there are less than twenty reported cases. They differ from type II in terms of the distal cystic caliber, which is normal in type VI, and in the diagnosis which is performed intra-operatively in most of the cases. Neoplastic degeneration has an incidence of 10 to 30% in all these lesions, which is the reason why the most widely accepted treatment is cholecystectomy with resection of the cystic duct cyst dilatation and preservation of the main bile duct by a laparoscopic approach.

Hartmann's procedure for obstructive carcinoma of the left colon and rectum: a comparative study with one-stage surgery

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Despite the criticisms from prestigious expert committees, a high percentage of surgeons continue to use, as the technique-of-choice, Hartmann's procedure for acute malignant intestinal obstruction of the distal colon and rectum, without faecal peritonitis. We have reviewed our results with this technique and compared them with other series of patients in the literature undergoing one-stage surgery (resection with primary anastomosis or sub-total colectomy).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A retrospective and descriptive study using clinical histories and, from which, the variables studied were: median hospitalisation stay, morbido-mortality and reconstruction index.

RESULTS

Included in the analysis were 44 patients (24 male; 20 female) with an age range between 37 and 87 years (median age: 67.04 years). The median hospitalisation stay was 15.59 days (range: 8-39). In the 10 patients undergoing reconstruction this was 12.8 days (range: 10-17). The overall stay, therefore, was 28.39 days. The median stay in the series of patients having one-stage surgery was 13.9 days. The morbidity using Hartmann's procedure was 43.18% (19/44) and, in the patients with reconstruction, 40% (4/10). The morbidity in the literature series with one-stage surgery was 22.53%. Mortality in our study was 0%. The mortality in the 16 cases from the literature was close to 5%, although in 3 of the studies this was also 0%. The percentage undergoing reconstruction was 22.72% (10 cases). The median age in the non-reconstructed patients was 71.42 years (range: 46-87) compared to a median age of 52.6 (range 37-67) in the group with reconstruction (p < 0.001). The percentages undergoing reconstruction, according to tumour stage, were Dukes B: 36.84%; Dukes C: 23.07%; Dukes D: 0% (p < 0.001). The median waiting-time for a reconstruction was 15.73 months (range: 8-33).

CONCLUSIONS

Comparisons of our results with the outcomes in the series of patients in the literature with one-stage surgery indicate that "one-stage surgery" is the more suitable but, however, with two conditions: a sufficient command of the technique so as to minimise complications and a strict patient selection, with the Hartmann's procedure being retained for patients with high anaesthesia risk.