胰腺肿瘤缺血再灌注加微球栓塞后血清细胞因子的变化

目的探讨胰腺缺血再灌注加微球栓塞对鼠胰腺癌血清肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）-α、白细胞介素-1（IL-1）和λ-干扰素（IFN-λ）含量及肿瘤生长的影响。方法大鼠胰腺尾部胰腺肿瘤形成后,阻断及开放胰腺尾部主要供血血管脾下动脉各30min,并经脾下动脉注入微球栓塞微血管,然后结扎脾下动脉。分别于术前及术后14d采用酶联免疫吸附法测定血清TNF-α、IL-2和IFN-λ的含量及观察胰腺肿瘤体积的变化。结果胰腺肿瘤缺血再灌注加微球栓塞组（E组）术前血清TNF-α、IFN-λ和IL-2的含量和胰腺肿瘤体积与阳性对照组（B组）和胰腺肿瘤缺血组（C组）及胰腺肿瘤缺血再灌注组（D组）之间比较差异均无显著性（P>0.05）。术后14dE组血清TNF-α、IFN-λ和IL-2的含量〔（79.5±8.7)ng/L、(106.0±10.8)ng/L、(346.1±13.1)ng/L〕明显高于B组〔（30.5±3.5)ng/L、（76.7±5.8）ng/L、（137.5±8.1）ng/L〕、C组〔（53.6±6.3）ng/L、（91.4±7.3）ng/L、（203.4±7.9）ng/L〕和D组（P<0.01）;且D、E组肿胰腺瘤体积也明显小于B、C组。结论胰腺肿瘤缺血再灌注加微球栓塞可导致鼠胰腺肿瘤血清TNF-α、IFN-λ和IL-2含量明显升高,并可使胰腺肿瘤体积明显缩小,其效果明显优于单纯的胰腺肿瘤缺血或胰腺肿瘤缺血再灌注。     

Kidney transplant from sickle cell trait donor to sickle cell trait recipient

There have been concerns about using kidneys from potential donors with sickle cell trait because kidneys from these donors may not concentrate urine properly. We report a case of living-related renal transplant, in which both the recipient and the donor had sickle cell trait, and the postoperative course for both was uneventful.     

Endotracheal intubation: the role of sterility

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data regarding whether sterile handling of endotracheal tubes (ETTs) impacts the incidence and prevalence of pneumonia in the emergency, urgent, or elective clinical scenarios. Intensive care units employ infection control and reduction schemes to reduce pneumonia rates. METHODS: A MEDLINE search of the English-language literature for the last 30 years was performed using the keywords "endotracheal intubation," "intubation," "pneumonia," "sinusitis," "tracheobronchitis," "nosocomial infection," and "infection." Data were limited to those papers addressing the role of sterile handling or passage of ETTs, infection with antibiotic-resistant micro-organisms, antibiotic prophylaxis, and the role of virulence determinants in supporting invasive infection. Also, a convenience sample of a single author's patients requiring tracheal intubation was undertaken. Data were acquired on tube handling, success of insertion, and subsequent occurrence of pneumonia. RESULTS: Virtually no data exist on the impact of sterile ETT handling, but unsterile manipulation of the ETT prior to insertion is common (112 of 154 intubation events). Within the limited patient sample, no conclusions may be drawn regarding the impact of unsterile handling on pneumonia rates, although sinusitis after nasotracheal intubation clearly increases the incidence of pneumonia. Biofilm generation as a facilitator of bacterial colonization of artificial airway surfaces is a ubiquitous virulence determinant that is not ameliorated by antibiotic administration. CONCLUSIONS: Unsterile ETT handling and insertion techniques are not clearly associated with pneumonia induction, but physiologically sound approaches that retard biofilm production may decrease pneumonia rates.     

Use of octreotide for the prevention of pancreatic fistula after elective pancreatic surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective

To assess the effectiveness of octreotide in preventing postoperative pancreatic fistula. Pancreatic fistula is one of the most common complications after elective pancreatic surgery. Several clinical trials have evaluated the use of octreotide to prevent the development of pancreatic fistula after pancreatic surgery with conflicting recommendations.

Methods

We undertook a meta-analysis of 7 identified randomized controlled trials, reporting comparisons between octreotide and a control. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative pancreatic fistula, and the secondary outcome was the postoperative mortality.

Results

Seven studies, involving 1359 patients, met the inclusion criteria for this review. In these studies, sample sizes ranged from 75 to 252 patients. In total, 679 patients were given octreotide and 680 patients formed the control group. Perioperative octreotide is associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of pancreatic fistula after elective pancreatic surgery, with a relative risk of 0.59 (95% confidence interval 0.41–0.85, p = 0.004). However, this risk reduction was not associated with a significant difference in postoperative mortality (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

The review revealed that perioperative octreotide is associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of pancreatic fistula after elective pancreatic surgery. However, this risk reduction was not associated with a significant difference in postoperative mortality; further studies are warranted to confirm the results of this metaanalysis and to define which patient subgroups might benefit the most from prophylactic octreotide administration.     

New wound protection for rabbits

Rabbits are the experimental animals of choice in many studies including flaps, wounds, and topical trials for new pharmacological agents. Because the topical drugs and other materials used for dressing are irritating to the animal, they tend to remove dressings, bandages, drapes, insensate flaps, and also topical drugs by scratching, licking, and biting if they are within the reach of the animal. In this study, we report an easy to prepare, user-friendly, comfortable, and cheap dressing protector called a dressing shield to prevent these problems.     

Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma with Direct Tumour Extension into the Great Cervical Veins and Right Atrium: Is Transcervical Thrombectomy a Safe Option?

Direct tumour extension into the internal jugular veins (IJV) and right atrium in thyroid cancer is extremely uncommon. We report three cases of advanced thyroid cancer invading into the IJV and right atrium. All three patients had well-differentiated thyroid cancer and presented with typical clinical picture of the superior cava syndrome coupled with significant compressive symptoms. Two patients had obvious tumour thrombus extending to the superior vena cava (SVC) and right atrium, whilst in one patient, the thrombus extended to the SVC close to the edge of the right atrium. In all three patients, the intraluminal tumour thrombus was clinically palpable. Involvement of the IJV, SVC and right atrium was confirmed with computed tomography (CT) scan and echocardiography. The decision to extract the thrombus transcervically was made on the basis of the positive "ring sign", which is a thin rim of contrast surrounding the tumour thrombus documented on CT. All three patients underwent total thyroidectomy with segmental resection and ligation of the IJV. The tumour thrombus was successfully extracted transcervically. The histopathology report confirmed follicular carcinoma in all three patients. Two patients had radioiodine ablation therapy postoperatively, and were well 18 months after operation. One patient who had lung metastases documented on chest CT succumbed to the disease due to massive haemoptysis 3 weeks after operation.     

Aspiration of breast abscess under ultrasound guidance: outcome obtained and factors affecting success

OBJECTIVE: To assess ultrasonographically (US) guided needle aspiration of breast abscesses as an alternative to surgical incision and drainage. METHODS: In our prospective study, 30 patients with 31 breast abscesses (one patient had bilateral breast abscess) underwent percutaneous breast abscess drainage under US guidance with local anaesthesia and oral antibiotics between 1 January 2004 and 31 March 2005. These patients consisted of 16 (53.3%) non-lactating and 14 (46.7%) lactating women, with ages ranging from 18 to 68 years (median, 28 years). The racial distribution comprised 26 (86.7%) Malays, three (10%) Chinese and one (3.3%) Indian. All patients had the chief complaint of breast swelling and 25 (83.3%) had breast pain. Clinically, 28 (93.3%) were found to have a palpable mass. Nine (30%) lesions were in the upper outer quadrant of the left breast. US diameters ranged from 1 to 15 cm (median, 4 cm). The pus volumes varied from 1 to 200 mL (median, 14 mL). RESULTS: Fifteen (50%) patients required only a single aspiration, 10 required multiple aspirations and five required incision and drainage. Those patients in whom needle aspiration failed had multiloculated lesions irrespective of abscess volume and size. CONCLUSION: Needle aspiration with ultrasound guidance is an effective treatment for breast abscess irrespective of abscess volume and size.     

Thoracoscopic sympathectomy: endobronchial anesthesia vs endotracheal anesthesia with intrathoracic CO2 insufflation

Purpose. To compare clinical advantages and hemodynamic and respiratory changes during one lung-collapsed ventilation (OLCV) using a double-lumen tube (DLT) or a single-lumen tube (SLT) with intrathoracic CO₂ insufflation, in patients undergoing thoracic sympathectomy (TS) under general anesthesia. Methods. One hundred and twenty-five patients (94 men and 31 women) undergoing TS for the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis (PH) were randomly allocated to two groups: group A (68 patients; age, 29 ± 6 years) in whom DLT was used, and group B (57 patients; age, 32 ± 3 years) in whom SLT with intrathoracic CO₂ insufflation at a rate of 0.5–1 l·min⁻¹ and sustained intrathoracic pressure at 6 mmHg insufflation were used. Anesthesia was maintained with 1 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) isoflurane in 50% nitrous oxide in oxygen with incremental doses of sufentanil and atracurium when required. Arterial blood gases were measured in 10 patients in group B. Hemodynamic and respiratory parameters were obtained perioperatively. Results. There were no significant differences in hemodynamic and respiratory parameters between the two groups during the study phases, except for the arterial oxygen saturation (SpO₂). The times required for anesthesia and surgery were significantly shorter in the SLT group than in the DLT group. SpO₂ during OLCV was 95 ± 1% with DLT and 98 ± 1% with SLT, with a significant difference. Three patients had an SpO₂ of less than 90% in the recovery room, where the chest tube position was readjusted, with no further sequelae. Conclusion. General anesthesia with SLT and intrathoracic CO₂ insufflation provides optimal operating conditions, adequate oxygenation, and perfect hemodynamic stability during TS. Received: November 28, 2000 / Accepted: August 8, 2001     

No effect of transfusion transmitted virus viremia on the distribution and activation of peripheral lymphocytes in hemodialyzed patients

AIM: We aimed to examine the distribution and activation of peripheral T cells in TTV positive (n = 32) and negative (n = 17) hemodialyzed patients. The control group (n = 20) consisted of healthy blood donors. METHOD: TTV-DNA was detected by seminested PCR. CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD56, CD3/HLA-DR, CD3/CD69 and the Th1/Th2 ratio of T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Circulating IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta levels were measured by ELISA in the sera. RESULTS: There was no difference between the CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD19 values of HD subjects. In addition, the expression of both activation markers, HLA-DR and CD69, was significantly elevated in the TTV-positive and -negative HD groups compared to the controls, but not showing any difference from each other. The measurements of intracellular cytokines showed the enhanced occurrence of INF-gamma + CD4 T cells, and decreased appearance of IL-4 + CD4 lymphocytes in the HD groups without any significant difference between the TTV virus positive and negative patients. In addition, HD also elevated the expression of IL-10 in CD4 and CD8 (Th2) cells. There were only two significant changes in the levels of circulating cytokines: (a) IL-2 increased; (b) IL-13 decreased in both groups of HD patients compared to the controls, independently of TTV positivity or negativity. CONCLUSIONS: We assume that transfusion-transmitted virus does not cause any specific change in the distribution and activation of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of hemodialyzed patients. Hemodialysis itself, however, results in a significant activation of peripheral T cells with the domination of increased production of Th1 type cytokines, IFN-gamma, IL-2, in contrast to the decreased synthesis of Th2 type cytokines, IL-4 and IL-13. Furthermore, the increased expression of IL-10 in the CD4 and CD8 cells of HD patients can be the sign of a contraregulatory Th2 activation as an answer on the Th1 effect.     

Selective transperineal prostate biopsy for fluoroquinolone-resistance patients reduces sepsis and cost

Background:Urosepsis is a recognized complication of transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (TRUS-Bx). Pre-biopsy rectal swabs have been used to identify patients with microorganisms in the rectal flora resistant to the conventionally used empirical prophylaxis. The transperineal route of biopsy (TP-Bx) has a lower complication risk but comes at an increased cost.Materials and methods:Retrospective cohort study including patients undergoing prostate biopsies between October/2015 and April/2018. The intervention cohort, a rectal swab was performed, the result of which dictated the biopsy route; TRUS-Bx against TP-Bx. TP-Bx for patients with fluoroquinolone resistance or extended-spectrum β-lactamase. The control cohort underwent TRUS without a rectal swab receiving empirical antibiotics—oral ciprofloxacin and intravenous gentamicin.Results:Total 1000 patients were included in which 500 underwent a swab, 14 (2.8%) developed post-TRUS biopsy infective complications with 3 having positive bacteremia (0.6%); 500 had no swab, 47 (9.4%) developed post-TRUS biopsy infective complications with 22 (4.4%, p < 0.05) having positive bacteremia. Three patients (0.6%) of patients who underwent swab developed urinary tract infection symptoms whilst 12 (2.4%) had urinary tract infection in the control group. In those patients that underwent a swab, 14 required hospitalization with mean length of stay of 2.5 days versus 43 patients of the control with 3.6 days. Cost analysis concluded savings of this strategy was £18,711.Conclusions:We have demonstrated a protocol that reserves template biopsies for higher risk patients and can significantly reduce sepsis and other infectious complication rates whilst also proving to be a cost-efficient strategy. We recommend that units not utilizing rectal swabs to uncover the fluoroquinolone resistance rate by introducing them. We advocate units that already utilize rectal swabs, to introduce transperineal biopsy for their higher risk patients.