Development and internal validation of a clinical prediction model for serious complications after emergency laparotomy.

PURPOSE: Emergency laparotomy (EL) is a common operation with high risk for postoperative complications, thereby requiring accurate risk stratification to manage vulnerable patients optimally. We developed and internally validated a predictive model of serious complications after EL. METHODS: Data for eleven carefully selected candidate predictors of 30-day postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade > = 3) were extracted from the HELAS cohort of EL patients in 11 centres in Greece and Cyprus. Logistic regression with Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) was applied for model development. Discrimination and calibration measures were estimated and clinical utility was explored with decision curve analysis (DCA). Reproducibility and heterogeneity were examined with Bootstrap-based internal validation and Internal-External Cross-Validation. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program's (ACS-NSQIP) model was applied to the same cohort to establish a benchmark for the new model. RESULTS: From data on 633 eligible patients (175 complication events), the SErious complications After Laparotomy (SEAL) model was developed with 6 predictors (preoperative albumin, blood urea nitrogen, American Society of Anaesthesiology score, sepsis or septic shock, dependent functional status, and ascites). SEAL had good discriminative ability (optimism-corrected c-statistic: 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.79-0.81), calibration (optimism-corrected calibration slope: 1.01, 95% CI 0.99-1.03) and overall fit (scaled Brier score: 25.1%, 95% CI 24.1-26.1%). SEAL compared favourably with ACS-NSQIP in all metrics, including DCA across multiple risk thresholds. CONCLUSION: SEAL is a simple and promising model for individualized risk predictions of serious complications after EL. Future external validations should appraise SEAL's transportability across diverse settings.

Gallbladder Clear Cell Carcinoma: Report of a Rare Case and Literature Review.

Carcinoma of the gallbladder is the most common biliary tract cancer. The majority of gallbladder cancers are adenocarcinomas, whereas clear-cell carcinoma of the gallbladder (CCG) is a rarely recorded variant. Usually, diagnosis is established incidentally after cholecystectomy, performed for another reason. Clinically, the different histological types of carcinomas are impossible to be recognized preoperatively, since they present with a wide and common range of symptoms. We present a male patient who underwent an emergency cholecystectomy due to suspected perforation. After an uneventful postoperative period, the histopathological report led to the diagnosis of CCG, but the surgical margins were infiltrated by the tumor. The patient decided not to proceed with any additional treatment and passed away 8 months after the operation. In conclusion, it is of great necessity to record such unusual cases and enriches global knowledge with information clinically and educationally noteworthy.

The Hellenic Emergency Laparotomy Study (HELAS): A Prospective Multicentre Study on the Outcomes of Emergency Laparotomy in Greece.

BACKGROUND: Emergency laparotomy (EL) is accompanied by high post-operative morbidity and mortality which varies significantly between countries and populations. The aim of this study is to report outcomes of emergency laparotomy in Greece and to compare them with the results of the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA). METHODS: This is a multicentre prospective cohort study undertaken between 01.2019 and 05.2020 including consecutive patients subjected to EL in 11 Greek hospitals. EL was defined according to NELA criteria. Demographics, clinical variables, and post-operative outcomes were prospectively registered in an online database. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of post-operative mortality. RESULTS: There were 633 patients, 53.9% males, ASA class III/IV 43.6%, older than 65 years 58.6%. The most common operations were small bowel resection (20.5%), peptic ulcer repair (12.0%), adhesiolysis (11.8%) and Hartmann's procedure (11.5%). 30-day post-operative mortality reached 16.3% and serious complications occurred in 10.9%. Factors associated with post-operative mortality were increasing age and ASA class, dependent functional status, ascites, severe sepsis, septic shock, and diabetes. HELAS cohort showed similarities with NELA patients in terms of demographics and preoperative risk. Post-operative utilisation of ICU was significantly lower in the Greek cohort (25.8% vs 56.8%) whereas 30-day post-operative mortality was significantly higher (16.3% vs 8.7%). CONCLUSION: In this study, Greek patients experienced markedly worse mortality after emergency laparotomy compared with their British counterparts. This can be at least partly explained by underutilisation of critical care by surgical patients who are at high risk for death.

Sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation of the spleen: a case report.

Sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation (SANT) of the spleen is an uncommon primary benign condition with specific histopathological characteristics. The majority of the patients are usually asymptomatic and present for treatment after an incidental finding on a routine abdominal imaging. The differential diagnosis includes other benign tumours, as well as primary malignancy or metastases of unknown origin. We report a 55-year-old woman who was presented to the surgical team of our hospital for splenectomy after the investigation of an incidental splenic lesion led to the diagnosis of SANT. The pathology report of the specimen repeated the initial diagnosis. The patient has not yet presented any complication or recurrence of the disease 8 months after the operation. From such infrequent cases, the most valuable conclusion which can be yielded is that the more the number of patients reported, the more the knowledge about the disease is broadened.