Safety and effectiveness of single- versus double-anastomosis duodenal switch at a single institution

Background

Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (DS) is known to be superior in weight loss to other bariatric procedures, but with the disadvantage of increased complication rates. Single-anastomosis duodenal-ileal bypass (SADI-S) is reported to have similar weight loss with lower complication rates compared with traditional DS.

Is surgical PD catheter insertion safe for urgent‐start peritoneal dialysis?

Urgent‐start peritoneal dialysis (USPD) is increasingly seen as a viable alternative to hemodialysis through a central venous catheter for late‐presenting end‐stage renal disease patients. However, concerns remain about starting dialysis early following the surgical implantation of the peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter; urgent PD is often thought to be a safe option only after minimally invasive percutaneous catheter insertions. Analysis of the cumulative data from published literature presented in this review appears to negate this general perception and shows that compared to the percutaneous catheter insertions, starting PD urgently following surgically placed catheter is not associated with more catheter leaks, dysfunctions, or other complications. The outcome of USPD is independent of the mode of catheter insertion. Instead, measures to minimize intra‐peritoneal pressure including using the low initial dwell volume based on patient's weight and body habitus and keeping patients in strict supine posture during exchanges in the first 2 weeks of treatment are the two most important factors ensuring a minimization of the risk of catheter‐related complications.     

Severe Bleeding from Herpes Esophagitis

We describe a patient with the unusual complication of massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding secondary to herpetic esophagitis, whose bleeding persisted despite a vigorous antireflux regimen but who responded dramatically to intravenous acyclovir. The patient is reported to underscore the importance of considering herpetic infection of the esophagus as a cause of severe gastrointestinal bleeding so that appropriate therapy may be instituted.     

Pretreatment with β‐adrenergic receptor agonists facilitates induction of LTP and sharp wave ripple complexes in rodent hippocampus

Norepinephrine, is involved in the enhancement of learning and memory formation by regulating synaptic mechanisms through its ability to activate pre‐ and post‐synaptic adrenergic receptors. Here we show that β‐agonists of norepinephrine facilitate the induction of both associational LTP and sharp wave ripples (SPW‐Rs) in acute slices of rat hippocampus in area CA3. Surprisingly, this facilitating effect persists when slices are only pretreated with β‐receptor agonists followed by wash out and application of the unspecific β‐adrenoreceptor (βAR) antagonist propranolol. During application of βAR agonists repeated stimulation resulted in facilitated induction of SPW‐Rs. Since SPW‐Rs are thought to be involved in memory replay we studied the effects of βAR‐agonists on spontaneous SPW‐Rs in murine hippocampus and found that amplitude and incidence of SPW‐Rs increased. These effects involve cyclic‐AMP and the activation of protein kinase A and suggest a supportive role in memory consolidation. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

DNA Damage in Major Psychiatric Diseases

Human cells are exposed to exogenous insults and continuous production of different metabolites. These insults and unwanted metabolic products might interfere with the stability of genomic DNA. Recently, many studies have demonstrated that different psychiatric disorders show substantially high levels of oxidative DNA damage in the brain accompanied with morphological and functional alterations. It reveals that damaged genomic DNA may contribute to the pathophysiology of these mental illnesses. In this article, we review the roles of oxidative damage and reduced antioxidant ability in some vastly studied psychiatric disorders and emphasize the inclusion of treatment options involving DNA repair. In addition, while most currently used antidepressants are based on the manipulation of the neurotransmitter regulation in managing different mental abnormalities, they are able to prevent or reverse neurotoxin-induced DNA damage. Therefore, it may be plausible to target on genomic DNA alterations for psychiatric therapies, which is of pivotal importance for future antipsychiatric drug development.     

Sigmoid volvulus in pregnancy and puerperium: a surgical and obstetric catastrophe. Report of a case and review of the world literature

ABSTRACT: Sigmoid volvulus is a rare surgical complication occurring in pregnancy and puerperium. Only 84 cases of sigmoid volvulus in pregnancy have been reported in the English literature so far. We have reviewed the available literature on this subject and present another case recently managed at our institution. The available literature suggests that over the years, there has been an improvement in the maternal and fetal outcome for this critical condition, but delay in presentation and a further delay in diagnosis remain a challenge for the treating physicians. Our patient was a 30-week pregnant lady, who presented late with 6?days history of abdominal pain, distension and absolute constipation. She had evidence of multi-organ dysfunction at presentation due to complicated sigmoid volvulus. She was resuscitated and surgical exploration revealed gangrenous large bowel. Bowel resection with diverting ileostomy was performed, but she succumbed to the septic shock due to late presentation. Acute surgical pathology may be overlooked in pregnant patients due to reluctance in radiological workup and a high index of suspicion is essential for enhanced outcome. There is a need to increase the awareness amongst the obstetricians and general practitioners. Early diagnosis and referral and timely surgical intervention could significantly improve the outcome of this surgical and obstetric catastrophe.     

Surgical management of contiguous multilevel thoracolumbar tuberculous spondylitis

Introduction

Tuberculous spondylitis (TBS) is the most common form of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. The mainstay of TBS management is anti-tuberculous chemotherapy. Most of the patients with TBS are treated conservatively; however in some patients surgery is indicated. Most common indications for surgery include neurological deficit, deformity, instability, large abscesses and necrotic tissue mass or inadequate response to anti-tuberculous chemotherapy. The most common form of TBS involves a single motion segment of spine (two adjoining vertebrae and their intervening disc). Sometimes TBS involves more than two adjoining vertebrae, when it is called multilevel TBS. Indications for correct surgical management of multilevel TBS is not clear from literature.

Materials and methods

We have retrospectively reviewed 87 patients operated in 10 years for multilevel TBS involving the thoracolumbar spine at our spine unit. Two types of surgeries were performed on these patients. In 57 patients, modified Hong Kong operation was performed with radical debridement, strut grafting and anterior instrumentation. In 30 patients this operation was combined with pedicle screw fixation with or without correction of kyphosis by osteotomy. Patients were followed up for correction of kyphosis, improvement in neurological deficit, pain and function. Complications were noted. On long-term follow-up (average 64 months), there was 9.34 % improvement in kyphosis angle in the modified Hong Kong group and 47.58 % improvement in the group with pedicle screw fixation and osteotomy in addition to anterior surgery (p < 0.001). Seven patients had implant failures and revision surgeries in the modified Hong Kong group. Neurological improvement, pain relief and functional outcome were the same in both groups.

Conclusion

We conclude that pedicle screw fixation with or without a correcting osteotomy should be added in all patients with multilevel thoracolumbar tuberculous spondylitis undergoing radical debridement and anterior column reconstruction.

     

Pain management after traumatic spinal cord injury

Pain is experienced by people suffering from spinal cord injury leading to disability and affecting the person's functional ability, independence, psychological well - being, ability to return to work and quality of life. Pain management in these patients is notoriously difficult due to multiple factors and varied mechanism leading to pain. Only few treatments have been assessed in randomized, controlled trials and management is based on different case reports. We are reporting our experience of managing 2 patients with neuropathic pain following traumatic spinal cord injury. Both the patients were refractory to conventional pain medications but there was significant reduction in pain following lignocaine infusion in the first patient and with ketamine in the second patient.