Complicated pancreatic inflammatory disease: diagnostic and therapeutic role of interventional radiology

Diagnostic and therapeutic interventional radiology techniques in 41 patients with complications of pancreatic inflammatory disease (noninfected pseudocyst, infected pseudocyst, phlegmon, abscess, hemorrhagic pancreatitis) are described. Computed tomography or ultrasound-guided aspiration or percutaneous pancreatic ductography enabled specific diagnoses in 43 of 45 patients (96%). In almost half the patients, diagnostic aspiration with 22-gauge needles was unsuccessful due to viscous contents or firm cavity walls. Single-step needle aspiration of noninfected pseudocysts was successful in only three of ten patients (30%). Catheter drainage cured six of seven noninfected pseudocysts (85.7%) and seven of nine infected pseudocysts (77.7%). Pancreatic phlegmons were aspirated in five patients to exclude secondary infection and help determine the need for surgery. Pancreatic abscesses were drained successfully in nine of 13 patients (69.2%); temporizing benefit was achieved in the other four who eventually underwent surgery in improved condition. Early diagnosis of the complications of pancreatitis may be established almost uniformly, and at least 70% of patients with infected or noninfected pseudocysts and pancreatic abscesses may be cured by nonoperative drainage.     

Ultrasound-guided interventional procedures in splenic abscesses

The results of ultrasound (US)-guided interventional procedures over a period of 12 years in 21 consecutive patients with splenic abscess were reviewed. The interventional procedures were done with 21- or 18-gauge needles for aspiration of relatively small abscesses (<3.5 cm) in eight patients and with an 8.3–9.0 French pigtail catheter for continuous drainage in 13 patients with larger abscesses (≥3.5 cm). In some patients, multiple abscesses were treated separately according to their various sizes. More than one catheterization were done in three patients because of detached catheter or recurrent abscesses. The interventional procedures were followed by at least eight weeks of appropriate antibiotic therapy. Only one patient had the complication of minimal subcapsular hematoma which needed no further treatment. All the patients had uneventful clinical courses. US-guided interventional procedure proved to be a treatment-of-choice for splenic abscess, and may avoid splenectomy by conserving the spleen.     

胰腺疾病外科术后大出血的急症介入治疗

目的 评价介入技术治疗胰腺疾病外科术后大出血的安全性和疗效.方法 对13例外科术后大出血患者进行介入治疗,应用单纯血管内栓塞术11例.联合内支架置入术1例.联合肠系膜上动脉局部灌注1例.栓塞材料用微型弹簧圈7例,普通弹簧圈2例,同时用聚乙烯醇微球6例,同时用明胶海绵4例.结果 栓塞前选择性血管造影显示,单纯假性动脉瘤形成6例,合并对比剂外溢3例,单纯对比剂外溢3例,血管造影阴性1例.介入治疗止血成功率92.3%(12/13).13例中1例再通栓塞后次日因应激性溃疡大出血死亡.再出血率16.7%(2/12).12例介入治疗成功者,术后经输血、补液等对症处理后,生命体征平稳,引流管及胃管引流液血性液体消失.随访中,原有合并胰瘘、腹腔脓肿者2例大出血、失血性休克而死亡,其余10例随访2周～24个月,未再出现大出血.4例行肝固有动脉栓塞者出现ALT-过性升高,其他患者未出现肠坏死、胰腺坏死、脾脓肿等表现.结论 血管内介入治疗是治疗胰腺疾病外科术后大出血的安全有效的方法.     

Computed tomography of pancreatic abscesses

Computed tomography (CT) was used as the primary diagnostic tool in 10 cases of pancreatic abscess and seven cases of infected pseudocyst. Pancreatic gas collections were the only definitive feature of infection and were seen in five cases (29%). An equally common finding was poorly defined nonencapsulated peripancreatic fluid collections or mottled mass density. It was not possible to distinguish infected from noninfected pseudocysts or peripancreatic fluid collections by other CT criteria. Diagnostic percutaneous needle aspiration is indicated in patients with pancreatic pseudocyst or fluid collections with persistent fever or leukocytosis. CT is also useful in the preoperative evaluation of multiple abscesses and of recurrent abscesses after surgery.     

Loculated abscesses: management by percutaneous fracture of septations

Large, multiloculated abscesses can be difficult to drain percutaneously. The authors describe a technique for disrupting septations within an abscess cavity to provide more complete and effective drainage. It has been successfully performed in four patients.     

介入手术围手术期疼痛管理

介入手术相关疼痛可能发生在术中和术后,其程度主要取决于手术类型和复杂程度。开展介入手术围手术期疼痛管理的目的是达到标准化治疗,促进镇静和疼痛管理的安全性和有效性。规范的疼痛管理可以提高患者术中配合程度及术后生活质量,避免治疗不足,降低不良结果出现的可能性。目前专门针对介入手术围手术期疼痛管理的文献极少。尽管已有不同的介入术中镇静镇痛和围手术期镇痛方案,但尚缺乏有力的文献支持和评估。本文就介入手术相关疼痛及围手术期镇静镇痛管理作一综述。     

Diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology of amebic liver abscesses. Personal experience

PURPOSE: The diagnostic imaging findings in hepatic amebiasis and the capabilities of percutaneous drainage have already been described but some debate is open on both diagnosis and treatment. We report our experience with ultrasound (US) and Computed Tomography (CT) studies of the hepatic amebic abscess and its management. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During the last 4 years we examined 14 patients with liver abscess: 11 men and 2 women; 13 were Italian and 1 African (25-61 years old, mean 36). All subjects underwent US and contrast-enhanced CT (with a conventional scanner in 12 and a helical unit in 2). The first 4 cases were also submitted to US-guided diagnostic aspiration. Six patients were treated with percutaneous drainage under US guidance using an 8-10 F pig-tail catheter which was removed 4-18 days later (mean 6). RESULTS: The abscesses were always single and uniloculated, in most cases located peripherally in the right lobe. They were large (2-11 cm, mean 7) and had round, oval, or irregular shape in 9, 3, and 2 cases respectively. US generally showed the abscess as an inhomogeneously hypoechoic mass with ill-defined walls. CT demonstrated a homogeneously hypodense collection with a thick peripheral hypodense halo; after contrast agent administration wall attenuation was increased between the edematous halo and the cavity, and an incomplete idosense ring appeared. Biphasic helical acquisitions allowed demonstration of some difference between the two vascular phases and yielded other interesting findings. Drug treatment provided complete abscess resolution in 8 patients, though in 2 it was badly tolerated. In one case no improvement was found and the patient was submitted to percutaneous drainage, which was the treatment of choice in the remaining 5 patients. The treatment was successful in all cases, but 1 patient who discontinued the combined medical therapy developed a heterotopic lesion. CONCLUSION: US and CT findings, though variable and partially different from those previously reported, may be considered sufficient for diagnostic assessment, especially if in the proper clinical and biohumoral setting. Both drug treatment and percutaneous drainage (to be considered for selected cases) are effective in the treatment of this type of abscess.     

Upper extremity deep venous thrombosis: interventional management

Upper extremity deep venous thrombosis, previously thought to be a relatively innocuous disorder in comparison to lower extremity deep venous thrombosis, has recently begun to receive the attention it merits. Its optimal management remains controversial despite the development of several new techniques and devices which allow more rapid removal of thrombus and treatment of underlying venous stenotic disease. The following article provides a framework to discuss its treatment, with the emphasis on endovascular management.     

Abdominal abscesses associated with enteric fistulas: percutaneous management.

For many years, surgical dictum stated abdominal fistulas should be treated by means of surgical excision. Recent advances in percutaneous techniques have altered this. The authors reviewed 150 consecutive abdominal abscesses drained percutaneously over a 36-month period. Among these, 24 patients were found to have 26 fistulous communications to bowel, the pancreatic duct, or the biliary system. Initial drainage of their abscesses was performed in the hospital, but 17 of 24 patients were discharged with a tube in place and were followed up as outpatients. The duration of drainage ranged from 4 days to 3 months. Fistulas healed in 21 of 24 patients (88%) without surgical intervention. Complications were few and included inadvertent dislodgment requiring tube replacement (two patients) and inadvertent puncture of the transverse colon (one patient). Treatment of abdominal abscesses with fistulas by means of percutaneous methods is reliable and safe. Hospital stay may be minimized with outpatient management after drainage.     

Oriental cholangiohepatitis: diagnostic imaging and interventional management

Diagnostic and therapeutic radiologic experience with six patients who had oriental cholangiohepatitis is described. These patients combined had 10 prior operations. Postoperatively each had recurrent cholangitis, numerous stones, concretions, and/or bile duct strictures. Diagnostically, sonography was valuable in the detection of intra- and extrahepatic stones and extrahepatic dilatation of ducts. An important pitfall in sonography was poor visualization of intrahepatic ductal dilatation (due to echogenic sludge filling the ducts) in most patients. CT was helpful diagnostically in all respects. Interventional procedures used postoperatively included percutaneous transhepatic intrahepatic stones, and flushing techniques. Most patients were treated during multiple sessions as outpatients. Cholangitis was the only complication from the procedures. Sectional imaging and interventional radiology perform valuable diagnostic and therapeutic roles in the pre- and postoperative management of patients with oriental cholangiohepatitis.     

Amebic liver abscess: Clinico-radiological findings and interventional management

In its classic form, amebic liver abscess (ALA) is a mild disease, which responds dramatically to antibiotics and rarely requires drainage. However, the two other forms of the disease, i.e., acute aggressive and chronic indolent usually require drainage. These forms of ALA are frequently reported in endemic areas. The acute aggressive disease is particularly associated with serious complications, such as ruptures, secondary infections, and biliary communications. Laboratory parameters are deranged, with signs of organ failure often present. This form of disease is also associated with a high mortality rate, and early drainage is often required to control the disease severity. In the chronic form, the disease is characterized by low-grade symptoms, mainly pain in the right upper quadrant. Ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) play an important role not only in the diagnosis but also in the assessment of disease severity and identification of the associated complications. Recently, it has been shown that CT imaging morphology can be classified into three patterns, which seem to correlate with the clinical subtypes. Each pattern depicts its own set of distinctive imaging features. In this review, we briefly outline the clinical and imaging features of the three distinct forms of ALA, and discuss the role of percutaneous drainage in the management of ALA.     

Perirenal pancreatic pseudocysts: diagnostic management

Three cases of pancreatic pseudocysts involving the kidney are presented in which clinical findings or diagnostic imaging favored intrinsic renal disease. Correct diagnosis was established in all cases by sonographically guided cyst aspiration with amylase determinations on the cyst fluid. In addition, laboratory studies ruled out infection, a well known complication of pancreatic pseudocysts. The findings were instrumental in guiding clinical management and insuring correctly timed and properly guided surgical intervention. It is concluded that any patient with a fluid collection in the kidney region may have a pancreatic pseudocyst even without a clear-cut history of pancreatitis or trauma. Fine-needle aspiration is safe and efficacious, and laboratory analysis of cyst fluid should always include amylase determination, in addition to bacteriologic and cytologic evaluation, even if serum amylase is normal.