Liver Manipulation Causes Hepatocyte Injury and Precedes Systemic Inflammation in Patients Undergoing Liver Resection

Background Liver failure following liver surgery is caused by an insufficient functioning remnant cell mass. This can be due to insufficient liver volume and can be aggravated by additional cell death during or after surgery. The aim of this study was to elucidate the causes of hepatocellular injury in patients undergoing liver resection. Methods Markers of hepatocyte injury (AST, GSTα, and L-FABP) and inflammation (IL-6) were measured in plasma of patients undergoing liver resection with and without intermittent inflow occlusion. To study the separate involvement of the intestines and the liver in systemic L-FABP release, arteriovenous concentration differences for L-FABP were measured. Results During liver manipulation, liver injury markers increased significantly. Arterial plasma levels and transhepatic and transintestinal concentration gradients of L-FABP indicated that this increase was exclusively due to hepatic and not due to intestinal release. Intermittent hepatic inflow occlusion, anesthesia, and liver transection did not further enhance arterial L-FABP and GSTα levels. Hepatocyte injury was followed by an inflammatory response. Conclusions This study shows that liver manipulation is a leading cause of hepatocyte injury during liver surgery. A potential causal relation between liver manipulation and systemic inflammation remains to be established; but since the inflammatory response is apparently initiated early during major abdominal surgery, interventions aimed at reducing postoperative inflammation and related complications should be started early during surgery or beforehand. Marcel C. G. van de Poll, Joep P. M. Derikx contributed equally to this work.     

Detection of sickle alpha- or beta0-thalassemia by studies of globin biosynthesis

Globin synthesis studies are useful in the analysis of thalassemia syndromes. We have applied globin synthesis and free alpha-chain pool studies of peripheral blood to characterize hematologic disorders where alpha- or beta-thalassemia was present in combination with HbS or HbC. In 60 non-thalassemic controls, the beta/alpha specific activity ratio was 1.01 +/- 0.06 (SD). In three patients with HbS-beta0-thalassemia, the (betas + gamma)/alpha ratios were 0.48-.067. In four patients with HbSS-alpha-thalassemia, the (BETAS/ALPHA RATIO was 1.26 +/- 0.18 (1.13- 1.53). The radioactive free alpha-chain pool in three patients with HbS- beta0-thalassemia was elevated (35.1%-53.0%), while three patients with HbSS-alpha-thalassemia had decreased free radioactive alpha-chain pools (3.2%-6.4%); both were significantly different from the mean (15.1% +/- 2.6%) of the 17 iron-sufficient controls. Simultaneous studies of the fraction of newly synthesized alpha chain contained in the free alpha- chain pool in peripheral blood and bone marrow demonstrated that this fraction was larger in peripheral blood than in marrow, and that the differences between thalassemia patients and controls previously found in bone marrow using these methods were also present in peripheral blood. The results indicate that even when family studies are not possible, patients with HbS in combination with alpha- or beta0- thalassemia can be differentiated from those with homozygous sickle cell disease by globin synthesis and free alpha-chain pool studies using peripheral blood.     

Management of minor acute cutaneous wounds: importance of wound healing in a moist environment

Moist wound care has been established as standard therapy for chronic wounds with impaired healing. Healing in acute wounds, in particular in minor superficial acute wounds – which indeed are much more numerous than chronic wounds – is often taken for granted because it is assumed that in those wounds normal phases of wound healing should run per se without any problems. But minor wounds such as small cuts, scraps or abrasions also need proper care to prevent complications, in particular infections. Local wound care with minor wounds consists of thorough cleansing with potable tap water or normal saline followed by the application of an appropriate dressing corresponding to the principles of moist wound treatment. In the treatment of smaller superficial wounds, it appears advisable to limit the choice of dressing to just a few products that fulfil the principles of moist wound management and are easy to use. Hydroactive colloid gels combining the attributes of hydrocolloids and hydrogels thus being appropriate for dry and exuding wounds appear especially suitable for this purpose – although there is still a lack of data from systematic studies on the effectiveness of these preparations.