Which patients benefit from preoperative biliary drainage in resectable pancreatic cancer?

Recent studies have indicated that preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) should not be routinely performed in all patients suffering from obstructive jaundice before pancreatic surgery. The severity of jaundice that mandates PBD has yet to be defined. The evaluated paper examines the impact of PBD on intra-operative, and post-operative outcomes in patients initially presenting with severe obstructive jaundice (bilirubin ≥250 µmol/L). In this key paper evaluation, the impact of PBD versus a direct surgery (DS) approach is discussed. The arguments for and against each approach are considered with regards to drainage associated morbidity and mortality, resection rates, survival and the impact of chemotherapy and malnutrition. Concentrating on resectable head of pancreas tumors, this mini-review aims to scrutinize the authors' recommendations, alongside those of prominent papers in the field.

Herbal medicine in pregnancy.

The objective of the study was to assess the frequency of alternative medical usage in an antenatal population. A survey of alternative medicine usage was carried out among 305 consecutive patients over 2 months at their registration in mid-pregnancy at an Australian Antenatal Clinic. The study showed that something like 40% of patients used alternative medical therapy, including 12% herbal therapy. No specific study of pregnancy outcome was carried out, but it is of concern that some herbs taken had the potential to adversely affect pregnancy outcome. The herbal therapies commonly used in pregnancy are reviewed with their potential complications; examples of toxicity are also discussed. It is important to obtain a herbal medicine history at any time but particularly in pregnancy. Herbs may have unrecognised effects on pregnancy or labour, have interactions with prescribed medications and have potentially serious complications for the foetus.