The pricing of European airbnb listings during the pandemic: A difference-in-differences approach employing COVID-19 response strategies as a continuous treatment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major shock to the global tourism industry. Given its peculiarity, this paper analyzes one of the most intriguing questions in the Airbnb literature - the pricing of Airbnb listings - by taking advantage of a difference-in-differences methodology that largely draws on variations in country-level policy responses to the pandemic. Relying on a dataset containing weekly information from 130,999 continuously active listings across 27 European countries from 2019 to 2020, this study first investigates the exogenous impact of response policies (proxied by the COVID-19 Stringency Index) on demand. Secondly, accounting for the endogeneity of both demand and prices, this research analyzes pricing responses to demand variations. Results show that: i) increases in the COVID-19 Stringency Index cause significant declines in Airbnb demand; ii) increases in demand cause, on average, increases in Airbnb prices; and iii) pricing strategies between commercial and private hosts differ substantially.

A big data analysis of COVID-19 impacts on Airbnbs' bookings behavior applying construal level and signaling theories.

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer booking behavior in the peer-to-peer accommodation sector. This study used a dataset composed of 2041,966 raws containing 69,727 properties located in all 21 Italian regions in the pre- and post-COVID-19. Results show that in the pre-COVID-19 period, consumers preferred P2P accommodations with price premiums and located in rural (versus urban) areas. Although the findings reveal a preference for entire apartments over shared accommodation (i.e., room, apartment), this preference did not change significantly after COVID-19 lockdowns. The contribution of this study lies in combining psychological distance theory and signaling theory to assess P2P performance in the pre- and post-COVID-19 periods.

Barbed suture in gastro-intestinal surgery: A review with a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The laparoscopic approach is a very popular technique for many gastrointestinal operations and barbed sutures may improve the difficulties of intracorporeal anastomosis by eliminating the need for knot tying. The aim of this systematic review with a meta-analysis is to explore literature to establish the security profile of barbed suture compared with conventional laparoscopic sutures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic search was performed in all electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE) and 12 studies were included in the analysis, involving 27,133 patients, whereof 3372 cases (patients undergone barbed suture usage) and 23,761 controls (patients undergone conventional suture usage). We found 3 studies discussing differences between barbed and conventional sutures in colorectal surgery and 8 studies presenting results in bariatric surgery, both in Roux-en-y gastric bypass and Mini Gastric/One Anastomosis Gastric Bypass. RESULTS: We found comparable rate of leaks, bleedings and stenosis. The meta-regression analysis demonstrated that, both in case of bariatric and colorectal surgery, the demographic characteristic of patients and the oncological features of neoplasms did not impact of these findings. As expected, operative time is significantly shorter when barbed suture is used. CONCLUSION: Our analysis on current literature define an acceptable security profile for barbed suture with effective results particularly in terms of shorter operative time.

Incidence and risk factors of portomesenteric venous thrombosis after colorectal surgery for cancer in the elderly population.

BACKGROUND: Although it is known that portomesenteric venous thrombosis (PMVT) is associated with total colectomy and proctocolectomy in young patients with inflammatory bowel disease, little is known about incidence and risk factors of PMVT among the elderly population undergoing colorectal surgery for cancer. METHODS: Data of elderly patients (> 70 years) undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer were retrospectively registered. The occurrence of PMVT was correlated with the patients' characteristics and operative variables. Data collected included age, sex, obesity, ASA score, tumor degree, type of surgical resection, surgical approach (laparoscopic or open), and duration of surgery (from skin incision to the application of dressings). RESULTS: A total of 137 patients > 70 years who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer and developed an acute intraabdominal process with suggestive symptoms, needing a CT scan, were included. Three of these patients (2.1%) had portomesenteric venous thrombosis during the study period, which was proved with CT scan. There were no significant patients' characteristics or operative variables between patients with or without the occurrence of PMVT after surgery. Of interest, only operative time was significantly higher in patients with PMVT after surgery (256 ± 40 vs 140 ± 41, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: PMVT as a cause of abdominal pain after colorectal surgery for cancer in the elderly population is uncommon. An index of suspicion for PMVT in an elderly postoperative colorectal cancer patient with sudden onset of abdominal pain must be maintained.

Recovery after intracorporeal anastomosis in laparoscopic right hemicolectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Although intracorporeal anastomosis (IA) appears to guarantee a faster recovery compared to extracorporeal anastomosis (EA), the data are still unclear. Thus, we performed a systematic review of the literature with meta-analysis to evaluate the recovery benefits of intracorporeal anastomosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic search was performed in electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE) using the following search terms in all possible combinations: "laparoscopic," "right hemicolectomy," "right colectomy," "intracorporeal," "extracorporeal," and "anastomosis." According to the pre-specified protocol, all studies evaluating the impact of choice of intra- or extracorporeal anastomosis after right hemicolectomy on time to first flatus and stools, hospital stay, and postoperative complications according to Clavien-Dindo classification were included. RESULTS: Sixteen articles were included in the final analysis, including 1862 patients who had undergone right hemicolectomy: 950 cases (IA) and 912 controls (EA). Patients who underwent IA reported a significantly shorter time to first flatus (MD = - 0.445, p = 0.013, Z = - 2.494, 95% CI - 0.795, 0.095), to first stools (MD = - 0.684, p < 0.001, Z = - 4.597, 95% CI - 0.976, 0.392), and a shorter hospital stay (MD = - 0.782, p < 0.001, Z = -3.867, 95% CI - 1.178, - 0.385) than those who underwent EA. No statistically significant differences in complications between the IA and EA patients were observed in the Clavien-Dindo I-II group (RD = - 0.014, p = 0.797, Z = - 0.257, 95% CI - 0.117, 0.090, number needed to treat (NNT) 74) or in the Clavien-Dindo IV-V (RD = - 0.005, p = 0.361, Z = - 0.933, 95% CI - 0.017, 0.006, NNT 184). The IA procedure led to fewer complications in the Clavien-Dindo III group (RD = - 0.041, p = 0.006, Z = - 2.731, 95% CI - 0.070, 0.012, NNT 24). CONCLUSIONS: Although intracorporeal anastomosis appears to be safe in terms of postoperative complications and is potentially more effective in terms of recovery after surgery, further ad hoc randomized clinical trials are needed, given the heterogeneity of the data available in the current literature.

Correction to: Acute acalculous cholecystitis determining Mirizzi syndrome: case report and literature review.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported that one of the authors' names is spelled incorrectly.

Segmental left colectomy: a modified caudal-to-cranial approach.

BACKGROUND: We have designed a modified caudal-to-cranial approach to perform laparoscopic left colectomy preserving the inferior mesenteric artery for benign colorectal diseases. METHODS: IRB approval and informed consent have been obtained. A dissection is conducted to separate the descending mesocolon of the Gerota's plan from the medial aspect to the peritoneal lining to the left parietal gutter. The peritoneal layer is incised parallel to the vessel and close to the colonic wall. The dissection is continued anteriorly up to reach the resected parietal gutter. A passage into the mesentery of the upper rectum is created for the allocation of the stapler and the dissection of the rectum. These maneuvers permit to straighten the mesentery simplifying the identification and cutting of the sigmoid arteries. A caudal-to-cranial dissection of the mesentery is performed from the sectioned rectum to the proximal descending colon by a sealed envelope device. It can be very useful to mobilize the colon in any direction: laterally, medially, or upward. The dissection is performed along the course of the vessel up to the proximal colon, with progressive sectioning of the sigmoid arterial branches. The specimen is extracted by a pfannenstiel incision. The anastomosis is performed transanally with a circular stapler according to Knight-Griffin technique. RESULTS: We performed a laparoscopic segmental colectomy using this approach for 21 patients with benign sigmoid lesions: 13 diverticulitis, 3 flat polypoid lesions (no lift-up sign), and 5 bowel endometriosis. The mean operative time and blood loss were 161.4 ± 15.7 min and 50 ± 40 ml, respectively. There were not a single conversion to open surgery and no any leakage or stricture. Only 2 cases of intraluminal bleeding and 1 case of wound infection (treated conservatively) were observed. CONCLUSION: We consider this approach to be safe and useful for segmental colectomy to be performed sectioning the sigmoid artery close to the colonic wall.

UbcH10 expression can predict prognosis and sensitivity to the antineoplastic treatment for colorectal cancer patients.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent and deadly malignancies worldwide. Despite the progresses made in diagnosis and treatment, the identification of tumor markers is still a strong clinical need, because current treatments are efficacious only in a subgroup of patients. UbcH10 represents a potential candidate biomarker, whose expression levels could be employed to predict response or resistance to chemotherapy or targeted agents. UbcH10 mRNA and protein expression levels have been evaluated in a large group of CRC patients and correlated with clinico-pathological characteristics, including KRAS mutations. Moreover, the endogenous levels of UbcH10 and its role on cell growth have been evaluated in CRC cells. Finally, to investigate the impact of UbcH10 protein expression on the response to irinotecan, its active metabolite SN-38 and cetuximab treatment, UbcH10 silencing experiments were carried-out on two colon carcinoma cell lines, Caco-2, and DLD1. Overexpression of UbcH10 mRNA and protein was observed in the vast majority of patients analyzed. UbcH10 suppression decreased CRC cell growth rate (at least in part through deregulation of Cyclin B and ERK1) and sensitized them to pharmacological treatments with irinotecan, SN-38 and cetuximab (at least in part through a down-regulation of AKT). Taken together, these findings indicate that UbcH10 expression regulates CRC growth and could play an important role in the personalization of the therapy of CRC patients.

Pilonidal sinus surgery: could we predict postoperative complications?

Pilonidal sinus surgery could, as of now, be considered a surgery tailored more to the surgeon than to the patient. In an attempt to give to surgeons an objective instrument of decision, we have evaluated which variables could be considered predictive of postoperative complications after pilonidal sinus surgery. A prospective electronic database of all patients treated for sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease was analysed. Sex, age, obesity, smoking, recurrent disease, the presence of multiple orifices and the distance between the most lateral orifice and midline were recorded and correlated with the occurrence of postoperative complications (infection and recurrence); 1006 patients were evaluated. Excision with primary mid-line closure was performed on all the patients. Mean follow-up was 7·3 ± 3·6 years. A total of 158 patients with postoperative complications (infection and/or recurrence) were recorded during this period. A multivariate analysis showed that, after adjusting for major clinical and demographic characteristics, only a recurrent disease [odds ratio (OR): 3·41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1·89-6·15, P < 0·001] and the distance of lateral orifice from midline (OR: 26·3, 95% CI: 12·2-56·7, P < 0·001) were independent predictors of overall postoperative complications. Focussing on the distance from midline, the receiver operative characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the distance of lateral orifice from midline predicted 79·2% of complications and the Youden's test identified the best cut-off as 2·0 cm for this variable. An evidence-based tool for deciding on the type of surgical intervention could be developed and validated by further ad hoc prospective studies evaluating our results in comparison to other different types of surgical techniques. Our results support the use of these variables as an effective way to tailor pilonidal sinus surgery to the patient, so as to obtain the best results in patient care.

Intracorporeal versus extracorporeal anastomosis. Results from a multicentre comparative study on 512 right-sided colorectal cancers.

BACKGROUND: Although nowadays considered as feasible and effective surgery in terms of short- and long-term results and oncological radicality, laparoscopic right colectomy is performed by a small number of surgeons, and in the vast majority of cases, this technique was performed with an extracorporeal anastomosis. Current literature failed to solve the controversies between intracorporeal and extracorporeal anastomosis after laparoscopic right colectomy. METHODS: A multicenter case-controlled study has been designed, including 286 patients who underwent laparoscopic right hemicolectomy with intracorporeal anastomosis (IA) compared with 226 matched patients who underwent laparoscopic right hemicolectomy with extracorporeal anastomosis (EA). RESULTS: There was no significant difference in terms of age, sex, BMI, and ASA score between the two groups. Surgical post history, tumor localization, and stage of disease according to AJCC/UICC TNM were similar too. Although similar oncologic radicality in term of number of lymph nodes harvested (25.7 ± 10.7 of IA group vs. 24.8 ± 8.7 of EA group; p = 0.3), as well as similar operative time (166 ± 43.7 min. in IA group vs. 157.5 ± 67.2 min in EA group) have been registered, time to flatus was statistically lower after intracorporeal anastomosis (40.8 ± 24.3 h in TLRC group vs. 55.2 ± 19.2 h in LARC group; p < 0.001) Laparoscopic colectomy with intracorporeal anastomosis was associated with a lower rate of post-operative complications (OR 0.65, 95 % CI 0.44, 0.95, p = 0.027). However, when stratifying according to clavien classification, the difference was consistently confirmed for less severe (class I and II) complications (OR 0.63, 95 % CI 0.42, 0.94, p = 0.025), but not for class III, IV, and V complications (OR 1.015, 95 % CI 0.64, 1.6, p = 0.95). CONCLUSION: Our results are encouraging to consider the intracorporeally approach the better way to fashion the anastomosis after laparoscopic right colectomy. This study clearly provides the rationale for a randomized clinical trial, which would be useful to give definitive conclusion.

Intradermal absorbable sutures to close pilonidal sinus wounds: a safe closure method?

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the safety of using intradermal absorbable sutures for pilonidal sinus skin closure. METHODS: The study was prospectively carried out in 203 patients randomized into two groups of patients. In the first group (103 patients), interrupted sutures were used; in the second group (100 patients), a continuous intradermal suture was used. We have analyzed the time off work, time to walk without pain, time to sit on the toilet without pain, wound infections, satisfaction rate and esthetic results. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the groups with regard to the time off work, time to walk without pain and time to sit on a toilet without pain. There was also no significant difference between the groups with regard to the wound infection rates (p = 0.64). The study suggested that the patients' satisfaction was higher when an intradermal suture was used (p = 0.001). Similarly, a better cosmetic appearance of the scar was obtained with an intradermal suture (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that using intradermal sutures after excision and primary closure of the pilonidal sinus is safe and has advantages in terms of the cosmetic results and patient satisfaction.

Acute acalculous cholecystitis determining Mirizzi syndrome: case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Although Mirizzi syndrome is widely reported in literature, little is known about acute acalcholous cholecystitis determinig the findings of a Mirizzi syndrome. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of MRCP-confirmed Mirizzi syndrome in acute acalculous cholecystitis resolved by surgery. CONCLUSION: Acute acalcholosus cholecystitis determinig a Mirizzi Syndrome should be included in the Mirizzi classification as a type 1. Thus it could be useful to divide the type 1 in two entity (compression by stone and compression by enlarged gallbladder). Magnetic Resonance should be considered the preferred diagnostic tool in any case of Mirizzi syndrome suspicious.

Wernicke encephalopathy in subjects undergoing restrictive weight loss surgery: a systematic review of literature data.

The use of weight loss surgery is progressively increasing, and in recent years, restrictive bariatric surgery procedures have been more often used. Although thought to be associated with a lower incidence of post-operative side effects than malabsorpitive surgery, some cases of micronutrients deficiency have been reported because of an acquired thiamine deficiency; in this clinical setting, some cases of Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) have been described. Major determinants and predictors of this major neurological complication are currently unknown. The aim of this systematic review was to analyse literature data in order to address this issue. The main result of our systematic review was that persistent vomiting is the major determinant of WE in patients undergoing restrictive weight loss surgery. In addition, early thiamine supplementation can rapidly improve the clinical conditions, avoiding permanent deficiencies. On the other hand, given the wide variability of clinical and demographic characteristics, definite prognostic factors of WE occurrence and of clinical outcome cannot be identified. In conclusion, although our results are suggestive, further ad hoc prospective studies evaluating changes in micronutrients levels according to different types of surgery are needed.

Relaparoscopy in the management of post-operative complications after minimally invasive gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

Laparoscopy has already been validated for treatment of early gastric cancer. Despite that, no data have been published about the possibility of a minimally invasive approach to surgical complications after primary laparoscopic surgery. In this multicentre study, we describe our experience in the management of complications following laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer. A chart review has been performed over data from 781 patients who underwent elective gastrectomy for gastric cancer between January 1996 and July 2020 in two high referral department of gastric surgery. A fully descriptive analysis was performed, considering all the demographic characteristics of patients, the type of primary procedure and the type of complication which required reoperation. Moreover, a logistic regression was designed to investigate if either the patients or the primary surgery characteristics could affect conversion rate during relaparoscopy. Fifty-one patients underwent reintervention after elective laparoscopic gastric surgery. Among patients who received a laparoscopic reintervention, 11 patients (34.3%) required a conversion to open surgery. Recovery outcomes were significantly better in patients who completed the reoperation through laparoscopy. Relaparoscopy is safe and effective for management of complications following laparoscopic gastric surgery and represent a useful tool both for re-exploration and treatment, in expert and skilled hands.

Effectiveness of a drain in surgical treatment of sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease. Results of a randomized and controlled clinical trial on 803 consecutive patients.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of cavity drainage in the surgical treatment of sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinuses. METHODS: The study was prospectively carried out in 803 patients randomized into two groups of respectively 401 and 402 patients. In the first group, primary excision and closure were associated with drainage of the wound; in the second group, the wound was not drained. We have analyzed time off work, time to walk without pain, time to sitting on the toilet without pain, recurrences, and wound infections. We have also evaluated the satisfaction rate and esthetic results. RESULTS: On comparing time off work, time to walk without pain, and time to sitting on toilet without pain postoperatively, there were no significant differences between the two groups. A significant difference between the two groups with regard to wound infection rates (p = 0.5) and recurrence rates (p = 0.6) was not observed. In order to prevent prolonged inpatient stay and social intolerance, this study suggests that the post-operative period is tolerated by a few when a drain was used. The visual analog scale (VAS) in the drained group was 3.2 ± 0.9, and VAS in the non-drained group was 3.5 ± 0.9 with a significant statistical difference (p = 0.0001). As regards the cosmetic appearance of the scar after surgery, we achieved a high satisfaction rate among patients in either group with 82.9% good cosmetic results. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a drain, in our experience, appears to be useless in achieving a quick healing of the sacral wound; in addition, it has a low satisfaction rate.

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Do we need to oversew the staple line?

AIM: The aim of this study is to compare the material effectiveness of oversewing the staple line following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. MATERIAL OF STUDY: A prospective randomized trial has been performed on 100 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Just before the intervention patients were randomized to receive (Group A) or not receive (Group B) a polypropylene 3-0 running oversewing suture of the staple line. RESULTS: By evaluating preoperative general demographics features and co-morbidities between group A and group B no statistical difference was observed. Main complications evaluated were fistol, bleeding and stenosis and there were no significant difference in fistulas occurrence (p = 0.55) and bleeding (p = 0,65) while on the other hand it has to be remarked how sleeve stenosis has been significantly higher when oversew is performed (p = 0.04). DISCUSSION: Staple line leakage is a worrisome complication of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Despite some reports describe oversewing of the staple line as the solution to prevent such problem; other authors have demonstrated the incidence of leaks being the same in oversewed and not oversewed patients. CONCLUSION: This randomized trial has so far shown oversew of LSG to be significantly useless to prevent fistulas formation in patients selected according to our study design.

The real effectiveness of ultrasound guidance in subclavian venous access.

AIM: The technique of ultrasound-guided subclavian cannulation was evaluated in our experience assessing the real effectiveness of such procedure. METHODS: We have evaluated 297 subclavian cannulation, performed for the placement of central venous catheter both with landmark method (176 patients) and ultrasound guided technique (121 patients) to assess the real effectiveness of the ultrasound-guided technique to reduce the mechanical complication of the subclavian vein puncture. RESULTS: A total of 23 mechanical complications were identified. Of these, 8 were pneumothorax and 15 arterial puncture. Such cases were identified from the pool of patients who had undergone subclavian venous cannulation with landmark method. However these complications occurred only in difficult venous access and teaching procedure performed with landmark method. DISCUSSION: An ultrasound-guided recent technique for the placement of central venous access should be adopted since such technique seems to reduce the incidence of failure and mechanical complications. However it is worth notice that the clinical effect of using ultrasound guidance technique seems to be more significant when the internal jugular vein rather than the subclavian vein is cannulated. CONCLUSION: Our experience demonstrate that, both in no difficult cases and in no teaching procedures, central venous catheterization using landmark technique seems to be acceptable on both clinical and medico-legal grounds. However the ultrasound guided technique is necessarily required to achieve the reduction of complications in difficult venous access.