Abdominal access techniques

This article discusses the variety of techniques available to gain safe exposure to intra-abdominal organs. In recent years there have been significant advances in these techniques with a move towards minimally invasive strategies as the gold standard of care. This article will discuss the various options available, including laparoscopy and traditional open access, as well as the use of robotics within abdominal surgery.     

花宝金教授基于调气解毒法论治癌性疼痛

癌性疼痛是癌症患者的常见症状之一,其严重地摧残着患者的身心健康，影响着生命质量。中医药能够减轻疼痛，减少止痛药物的用量及减少不良反应，能够明显改善生命质量。花宝金教授指出正气不足为癌痛发作的内因，正气不足，脏腑功能失调，气血阴阳虚损，病邪乘虚而入，经脉不荣可发为疼痛。此外各种因素导致的气滞为癌痛发生的诱发因素，可导致形成血瘀、痰湿、热毒等积滞搏结发为癌肿，闭阻脉络，瘀塞不通，而致疼痛。病程日久所形成的癌毒为夙根，是癌痛反复发作的根本原因。“调气解毒法”是花宝金教授治疗癌性疼痛的主要方法之一，通过辨癌毒，从病机、治法、方药等方面论述调气解毒法在癌性疼痛中的应用。     

Abdominal tumors in patients with neurofibromatosis type I: Genotype-phenotype relationships

BackgroundGastrointestinal stromal tumors have been detected in 25% of the necropsies performed on NF1 patients, but have been reported only in 7% of NF1 patients in the largest series. Such data imply an important gap between the true presence of tumors and those diagnosed. Few genotype-phenotype relationships have been described but to date none referring to abdominal tumors.ObjectivesEvaluate retrospectively the efficacy of a regular and proactive follow-up of NF1 patients to early diagnose abdominal tumors and report their mutations.MethodsCohort study performed between 2010 and 2020, with 43 NF1 adult patients followed at our Dermatology department.ResultsEight abdominal tumors were diagnosed in six patients, meaning that 14% of the followed patients developed an abdominal tumor. Five patients (83%) were asymptomatic. Five (83.3%) had a family history of NF1 with abdominal tumors (patients 1,2 and 3,4,5 were relatives).ConclusionsAlthough currently gastrointestinal routine screening investigations for asymptomatic patients are not recommended in the guidelines, the family aggregation in our series suggests it should be considered a close follow-up of the relatives of a patient with an NF1-related abdominal tumor. Also, for the first time, two mutations [c.2041C > T (p.Arg681Ter) and c.4537C > T (p.Arg1513*)] have been associated with family aggregation of abdominal tumors in NF1 patients.     

Peri-Procedural Aggressive Hydration for Post Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) Pancreatitis Prophylaxsis: Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

BackgroundPeriprocedural intravenous hydration is suggested to decrease the risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). However, quality of evidence supporting this suggestion remains poor. Here we hypothesized that aggressive hydration(AH) could be an effective preventive measure.MethodsPubmed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Google Scholar, Clinical Trials. gov, Clinical Key, International Standard Randomized Trial Number registry as well as secondary sources were searched through January 2019 to identify randomized controlled studies comparing AH to standard hydration (SH) for prevention of PEP. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the random-effects model. RevMan 5.3 was used for analysis.ResultsA total of 9 RCTs, with 2094 patients, were included in the meta-analysis. AH reduced incidence of PEP by 56% compared to SH (OR = 0.44, CI:0.28–0.69; p = 0.0004). The incidence of post-ERCP hyperamylasemia also decreased with AH compared to SH (OR = 0.51; p = 0.001). Length of stay decreased by 1 day with AH (Mean Difference (MD): −0.89 d; p = 0.00002). There was no significant difference in adverse events related to fluid overload between two groups (OR:1.29; p = 0.81) and post-ERCP abdominal pain (OR:0.35; p = 0.17). Numbers of patient to be treated with AH to prevent one episode of PEP was 17. Final results of the meta-analysis were not affected by alternative effect measures or statistical models of heterogeneity.ConclusionAggressive hydration is associated with a significantly lower incidence of PEP and it appears to be an effective and safe strategy for the prevention of Post ERCP pancreatitis.     

Assessment of proadrenomedullin as diagnostic or prognostic biomarker of acute appendicitis in children with acute abdominal pain

BackgroundAcute appendicitis (AA) is one of the most frequent surgical pathologies in pediatrics.ObjectivesTo investigate the utility of proadrenomedullin (pro-ADM) for the diagnosis of AA.MethodsProspective, analytical, observational, and multicenter study conducted in 6 pediatric emergency departments. Children up to 18 years of age with suspected AA were included. Clinical, epidemiological, and analytical data were collected.ResultsWe studied 285 children with an average age of 9.5 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.1–9.9). AA was diagnosed in 103 children (36.1%), with complications in 10 of them (9.7%). The mean concentration of pro-ADM (nmol/L) was higher in children with AA (0.51 nmol/L, SD 0.16) than in children with acute abdominal pain (AAP) of another etiology (0.44 nmol/L, SD 0.14; p < 0.001). This difference was greater in complicated cases compared with uncomplicated AA (0.64 nmol/L, SD 0.17 and 0.50 nmol/L, SD 0.15, respectively; p = 0.005). The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves were 0.66 (95% CI, 0.59–0.72) for pro-ADM, 0.70 (95% CI, 0.63–0.76) for C-reactive protein (CRP), 0.84 (95% CI, 0.79–0.89) for neutrophils, and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.79–0.89) for total leukocytes. The most reliable combination to rule out AA was CRP ≤1.25 mg/dL and pro-ADM ≤0.35 nmol/L with a sensitivity of 96% and a negative predictive value of 93%.ConclusionChildren with AA presented higher pro-ADM values than children with AAP of other etiologies, especially in cases of complicated AA. The combination of low values of pro-ADM and CRP can help to select children with low risk of AA.     

Ectópico abdominal complicado con hemoperitoneo

Abdominal ectopic pregnancy is an extremely rare type of extratubal ectopic (EE) pregnancy, with very few cases documented in the literature. Maternal mortality is higher than in tubal EE because of the delay in diagnosis and complications. The case is presented of a patient with an abdominal EE that was complicated by the appearance of severe haemoperitoneum in the first trimester of pregnancy. In this case, two emergency laparoscopies were needed in less than 24 hours, until the definitive diagnosis could be found. This demonstrates how difficult it can be to identify this pathology in its early stages.