Surgical treatment of complicated diverticular disease of the colon

The present study analyzes the results obtained by the AA with the different types of surgery adopted in the treatment of the complicated diverticulosis of the colon, highlighting, on the basis of data available in literature, the possible treatments in the different clinical settings. A retrospective study analyzing type of complication, the surgical technique adopted, Hinchey stage, mortality and morbidity rates and average hospital stay correlated with the kind of intervention has been carried out on 83 surgical interventions performed between 1984 and 1988. The results show that 43 R.A.P. (R.A.P. = primitive anastomosis resection) (32 cases at the I-II stage and 11 cases at the III-IV stage), 27 Hartmann (11 at the I-II and 16 at the III-IV), 9 colostomies (2 at the I-II and 7 at the III-IV), 2 esteriorizations and 2 simple drains have been carried out on a total of 44 intestinal perforations, 16 recurrent diverticulitis, 13 intestinal occlusions, 2 fistulae, 5 abscesses and 3 hemorrhages. The total mortality rate amounts to 10.6%; the morbidity rate of the R.A.P. interventions to 14.4 (I-II stage-related morbidity = 15.6%, III-IV stage = 63.6%), Hartmann's to 9.6% and that of the colostomies to 3.6%. Furthermore, in this work, we have considered the cases of riconversation after Hartmann interventions (9 cases): in the second operations the mortality and morbility rate amounts to 0 and the hospital stay to 9 days. The AA analyze on the surgical technique adopted in the different cases and the of choice criteria. According to the data obtained and to current literature, it results that the primitive anastomosis resection represents the first choice intervention at the I-II stage, although, in selected cases, it can be carried out also at the III-IV stage. Hartmann surgery confirms its effectiveness while simple colostomy is no longer accepted in literature.     

Surgical treatment of perforated diverticular sigmoiditis. A retrospective study apropos of 45 cases

The authors report their experience with 45 cases of perforated diverticular sigmoiditis (10 cases of mesocolic abscesses, 13 cases of localised peritonitis and 22 cases of generalised peritonitis). The mean age of the patients was 69 years and a previous history of diverticulosis was found in 26.6% of patients. 18% were taking steroids or anti-inflammatories. The often atypical symptomatology only suggested sigmoid perforation in 50% of cases. Surgical procedures consisted of 33 immediate resections (group 1) and 12 conservative procedures (group 2). Overall mortality was 17.8%, and was 13% at the abscess and localised peritonitis stage, and 22.7% at the generalised peritonitis stage (difference not significant). 12% of patients died after resection in comparison with 33.3% after conservative surgery (difference not significant). Mortality was significantly higher when there was evidence of shock, pre-operative leucopenia and pyostercoral peritonitis. In group 1, the surgical morbidity was 24% with 9% reinterventions, while in group 2, there was a 50% complication rate and 25% reintervention rate. Intestinal continuity was reestablished in 67.5% of surviving patients with zero mortality. In view of the results obtained and after review of the literature, immediate resection would appear to give better results than conservative treatment.     

Leg pain: an uncommon presentation of perforated diverticular disease

Five cases of perforated diverticular disease are described in which pain in the thigh or leg was the predominant symptom. In four patients pyrexia or leucocytosis were present and three patients ultimately developed surgical emphysema in the left thigh. In retroperitoneal perforation of the colon, the symptoms in the leg may overshadow those in the abdomen and lead to delay in diagnosis.     

Surgical management of colonic diverticular disease

Diverticulosis is a common condition and affects one third of patients older than age 45. The treatment of the diverticular disease and of its complications, especially the acute inflammatory ones, is both medical and surgical. It is essential to correlate the two therapeutic means and to set an adequate time for the operation. The present study evaluates in a retrospective manner a number of 231 cases, 49% of which represent complicated forms. Fifty-eight patients underwent a surgical operation, 25 of which needed an emergency intervention. The results of the study show the increase of 1-stage procedures for the complicated forms and recommend laparoscopy as an alternative to open surgery. Recent studies have challenged the prophylactic nature of surgical operations after diverticulitis indicating a need for further evaluation.     

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and perforated diverticular disease: a case-control study

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have a wide range of side-effects in the gastrointestinal tract and the large intestine. This study examines the hypothesis that the use of NSAIDs is associated with colonic perforation in diverticular disease. Histological evidence was used to confirm perforation. A retrospective review of case records and pathology reports identified 20 patients admitted over 3 consecutive years. A total of 125 age- and sex-matched patients diagnosed with diverticular disease not complicated by perforation formed the control group. The incidences of NSAID use in the two groups were compared. A second control group consisted of 600 age- and sex-matched randomly selected patients with no known diverticular disease admitted as emergencies in the same period. Of the 20 patients with perforation, 9 were taking NSAIDs for 4 weeks or longer, compared with 19 (15%) of the 125 patients who did not have perforation (relative risk 2.961, 95% confidence interval 1.507-5.348, P < 0.01). 19% of all patients with diverticular disease were taking NSAIDs compared with 10% of the second control group (relative risk 1.869, 95% confidence interval 1.237-2.781, P < 0.01). The findings indicate a strong association between the use of NSAIDs and the perforation of colonic diverticula. The majority of the indications for the use of NSAIDs were cardiovascular and musculoskeletal conditions. Prescribing NSAIDs to patients with diverticular disease carries an increased risk of colonic perforation.     

≥65岁老年人心脏瓣膜病的外科治疗

目的总结老年人瓣膜病的手术效果。方法 1993年至2004年252例≥65岁老年瓣膜病病人接受瓣膜手术,占同期瓣膜手术5．5％(252／4546例),其中男147例,女105例;平均年龄(67．9± 2．9)岁。风湿性瓣膜病201例(79.8％),非风湿性瓣膜病51例(20．2％)。术前心功能Ⅲ-Ⅳ级141例 (56．0％)。主动脉瓣置换63例,二尖瓣置换93例,二尖瓣成形42例,主动脉瓣置换+二尖瓣置换或成形47例,三尖瓣置换或成形7例。同期行冠状动脉旁路移植术34例。结果手术死亡23例(9．1％), 逐年病死率有下降趋势。与同期瓣膜手术16-64岁组相比,术后ICU时间显著延长[(60．1±101．2)h对 (43．0±70．6)h,P=0．00],术后带气管插管时间明显延长[(30．6±42.8)h对(24．1±45．0)h,P=0．02], 术后并发症发生率明显高(10．6％对6．4％,P=0．01),住院时间明显延长[(25．7±41．3)d和(19．6± 14．4)d,P=0．00]。手术死亡病人术前心功能级别明显高于生存者[(2．8±1．0)级对(2.4±1．0)级,P< 0．05];术前射血分数差异无统计学意义(55．8％对59．5％)。结论老年人瓣膜病手术总体手术病死率可以接受,近2年手术病死率已接近5％。多元回归分析显示,并行冠状动脉旁路移植术、主动脉瓣和二尖瓣双瓣手术、术后急性肾衰需要透析、体外循环时间长、主动脉阻断时间长是住院病死率的独立预测因子。     

Surgical therapy of complicated diverticular disease]

From 1975-1989 55 patients were operated on for complicated diverticular disease at our unit. Intraoperative we found the following complications: 21 walled of perforations, 22 stenosis of the sigmoid colon combined with obstruction of the small and/or large bowel, 8 free perforations with generalized, faecal peritonitis, 7 diverticular fistulae (5 colovesical, 1 colojejunal and 1 colocutaneous fistula) and diverticular bleedings. In 33 cases we performed a resection with primary anastomosis (8 times with protecting stoma). 17 times the Hartmann's procedure was carried out and 5 times a transverse colostomy and drainage was elected. Lethality was 20% and morbidity came to 25%. We consider the primary resection with primary anastomosis to be the procedure of choice for complicated diverticulitis except for free perforation with generalized and faecal peritonitis where we prefer the Hartmann's procedure.     

Anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics and the risk of perforated colonic diverticular disease

BACKGROUND: Acute perforated colonic diverticular disease has a mortality rate of up to 30 per cent, but little is known about its aetiology. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that three classes of drugs, namely non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioid analgesics and corticosteroids, are risk factors for perforated diverticular disease. METHODS: All patients with confirmed perforated colonic diverticular disease were identified over a 5-year period in two hospitals in Norfolk, UK. Two control groups were selected and matched for age, sex and hospital of admission. Data on medication use were obtained from hospital records. Odds ratios for each drug were calculated using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Opioid analgesics, NSAIDs and corticosteroids were all positively associated with perforated colonic diverticular disease. The odds ratio for opioid analgesics was 1.8 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 1.1 to 3.0) in the analysis with ophthalmology controls and 3.1 (95 per cent c.i. 1.8 to 5.5) in that with dermatology controls. Respective odds ratios for NSAIDs were 4.0 (95 per cent c.i. 2.1 to 7.6) and 3.7 (95 per cent c.i. 2.0 to 6.8), and those for corticosteroids were 5.7 (95 per cent c.i. 2.2 to 14.4) and 7.8 (95 per cent c.i. 2.6 to 23.3). CONCLUSION: Opioid analgesics, NSAIDs and corticosteroids are all positively associated with perforated colonic diverticular disease. The consistency of these associations, together with plausible biological mechanisms, suggests that these drugs may have a causative role in this condition.     

Surgical management of perforated Crohn's disease

The records of 102 patients operated on by one of the authors for Crohn's disease during the past 15 years were reviewed. Twenty-seven patients with confined (abscess present) or free perforation were evaluated. The average age was 31 years and the mean duration of disease was four years. Only two of the 27 patients had had previous surgery. All patients presented with a combination of pain, weight loss, and diarrhea. Twenty-three patients were afebrile, 17 had abdominal tenderness, and 6 had an abdominal mass. The average serum albumin was 3.7, the average hematocrit was 35 per cent and the average WBC was 13,000. Radiologic tests were abnormal in 23 of the 27 patients. All patients had been on medical treatment for Crohn's disease, and 19 of 27 were on high-dose steroids at the time of surgery. Ten of the 27 had a bowel prep before surgery and all had preoperative and postoperative antibiotics. All patients were surgically managed by resection and primary anastomosis without proximal diversion or delayed reconstruction. Drains were used in one third of the patients. Intraoperative cultures revealed gram-negative rods with Escherichia coli, enterococcus, and Enterobacter the most common. One enterocutaneous fistula, two superficial wound infections, and one death were recorded. Based on these results, the authors believe that an aggressive one-stage surgical approach for these complicated problems can be recommended. The low morbidity and mortality justifies this approach that results in considerable improvement in lost work time, length of hospital stay, number of readmissions, and significant cost control.     

Prognostic factors of perforated sigmoid diverticulitis in the elderly

BACKGROUND: The Finnish population is aging fast and the prevalence of perforated sigmoid diverticulitis is simultaneously increasing in northern Finland. The fact that an increasing number of elderly patients, with their age-specific problems, are subjected to emergency surgery for acute diverticulitis underlines the importance of risk stratification. METHODS: One hundred and seventy-two patients admitted to Oulu University Hospital because of diverticular perforation from 1983 to 2002 were identified from the computer database. The clinical variables were evaluated as prognostic indicators of postoperative complications, mortality and time of hospitalization. RESULTS: The resection rate was 91%; 64 primary anastomoses, 93 Hartmann's procedures and two covering colostomies were performed. The overall complication rate was 33%. In patients under 70 years, a stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that the Mannheim Peritonitis Index (MPI) score and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score were independent prognostic factors. None of factors predicted morbidity in patients over 70 years. Overall mortality rate was 8%, without any significant difference between the procedures. Of the clinical variables, MPI score, ASA score, Hinchey classes and malnutrition correlated with mortality. All patients who died presented with ASA scores of III-IV, and 12 out of 14 patients had an MPI score of II. In a stepwise logistic regression analysis, only the MPI score seemed to be an independent predictor of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality is related to age but age alone is not an independent predictor of mortality. The MPI score is useful in predicting the risk of death in patients with perforated diverticulitis.     

Surgical treatment of perforated gastroduodenal ulcers

Experience in surgically treating 820 patients aged 15 to 83 years who had perforated gastroduodenal ulcers is summarized. In 576 (70.2%) patients the perforated hole was sutured. Thirty-four (4.2%) patients underwent gastrectomy and 210 (25.6%) had vagotomy with drainage operation on the stomach. After surgery 39 (5.6%) patients died. Mortality rates after ulcer suturing, gastrectomy, and vagotomy with gastric drainage were 6.2, 2.7, and 0.9%, respectively. Recurrent ulcer occurred in 57.3% after ulcer suturing, in 2.9% after gastrectomy, and in 9% after gastric drainage vagotomy. By taking into consideration the high rate of recurrent ulcers following palliative interventions, the author proposes to expand indications for radical surgery in patients with serous and serofibrinous forms of general peritonitis in the reactive phase.     

Surgical management of the septic complications of diverticular disease.

This retrospective study has reviewed the surgical management of the septic complications of diverticular disease involving the left colon in 77 patients who presented between 1980 and 1992. Over this period, Hartmann's resection continued to be the predominant surgical procedure. The overall mortality and morbidity rates in the study period were 10% and 31%, respectively. However, a marked improvement in survival was recorded in the latter half of the study (17% vs 6%). The mortality from Hartmann's resection was also reduced substantially in the second half of the study (24% vs 7.5%). These improvements occurred despite having a higher number of poor-risk patients (APACHE II score) with more severe pathology (generalised peritonitis, 35% vs 50%; faecal peritonitis, 9% vs 25%) in the latter half. There was a significantly worse survival in patients who were over 70 years of age (P < 0.03), those who had a severe concomitant medical illness (P < 0.02), those who had a generalised peritonitis (P < 0.02), and in those patients who had an APACHE II score of over 11 (P < 0.05) (Fisher's exact test). There was no difference in outcome (morbidity, mortality) between the various grades of surgeon involved in performing the emergency surgical procedures.     

Surgical treatment of biliary tract disease in elderly patients

A retrospective study 94 cases of elderly patients with biliary tract disease. The overall postoperative mortality rate was 6.4%. Among the 94 cases there were 50 cases of acute cholecystitis, of which 15 cases were complicated by acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis, and 44 cases of chronic cholecystitis. 80 cases had gallstones (85.1%). Associated diseases were found in 56 cases (59.6%) before operation, most of them were cardiovascular diseases (53.2%). During operation 23 cases were monitored by ECG, and abnormal ECG developed in 6 cases although the operations were all carried out uneventfully. It is suggested that after adequate preoperative preparation, aggressive surgical intervention should be considered for acute biliary tract disease in elderly patients.