When to operate after SARS-CoV-2 infection? A review on the recent consensus recommendation of the DGC/BDC and the DGAI/BDA.

Since the eruption of the worldwide SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in late 2019/early 2020, multiple elective surgical interventions were postponed. Through pandemic measures, elective operation capacities were reduced in favour of intensive care treatment for critically ill SARS-CoV-2 patients. Although intermittent low-incidence infection rates allowed an increase in elective surgery, surgeons have to include long-term pulmonary and extrapulmonary complications of SARS-CoV-2 infections (especially "Long Covid") in their perioperative management considerations and risk assessment procedures. This review summarizes recent consensus statements and recommendations regarding the timepoint for surgical intervention after SARS-CoV-2 infection released by respective German societies and professional representatives including DGC/BDC (Germany Society of Surgery/Professional Association of German Surgeons e.V.) and DGAI/BDA (Germany Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine/Professional Association of German Anesthesiologists e.V.) within the scope of the recent literature. The current literature reveals that patients with pre- and perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection have a dramatically deteriorated postoperative outcome. Thereby, perioperative mortality is mainly caused by pulmonary and thromboembolic complications. Notably, perioperative mortality decreases to normal values over time depending on the duration of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Intra-abdominal sepsis: new definitions and current clinical standards.

PURPOSE: The abdomen is the second most common source of sepsis and is associated with unacceptably high morbidity and mortality. Recently, the essential definitions of sepsis and septic shock were updated (Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock, Sepsis-3) and modified. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the changes introduced by Sepsis-3 and the current state of the art regarding the treatment of abdominal sepsis. RESULTS: While Sepsis-1/2 focused on detecting systemic inflammation as a response to infection, Sepsis-3 defines sepsis as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) guideline, which was updated in 2016, recommends rapid diagnosis and initiating standardized therapy. New diagnostic tools, the establishment of antibiotic stewardship programs, and a host of new-generation antibiotics are new landmark changes in the sepsis literature of the last few years. Although the "old" surgical source control consisting of debridement, removal of infected devices, drainage of purulent cavities, and decompression of the abdominal cavity is the gold standard of surgical care, the timing of gastrointestinal reconstruction and closure of the abdominal cavity ("damage control surgery") are discussed intensively in the literature. The SSC guidelines provide evidence-based sepsis therapy. Nevertheless, treating critically ill intensive care patients requires individualized, continuous daily re-evaluation and flexible therapeutic strategies, which can be best discussed in the interdisciplinary rounds of experienced surgeons and intensive care medicals.

Acute abdominal compartment syndrome: current diagnostic and therapeutic options.

BACKGROUND: If untreated, the abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) has a mortality of nearly 100 %. Thus, its early recognition is of major importance for daily rounds on surgical intensive care units. Intraabdominal hypertension (IAH) is a poorly recognized entity, which occurs if intraabdominal pressure arises >12 mmHg. Measurement of the intravesical pressure is the gold standard to diagnose IAH, which can be detected in about one fourth of surgical intensive care patients. PURPOSE: The aim of this manuscript is to outline the current diagnostic and therapeutic options for IAH and ACS. While diagnosis of IAH and ACS strongly depends on clinical experience, new diagnostic markers could play an important role in the future. Therapy of IAH/ACS consists of five treatment "columns": intraluminal evacuation, intraabdominal evacuation, improvement of abdominal wall compliance, fluid management, and improved organ perfusion. If conservative therapy fails, emergency laparotomy is the most effective therapeutic approach to achieve abdominal decompression. Thereafter, patients with an open abdomen require intensive care and are permanently threatened by the quadrangle of fluid loss, muscle proteolysis, heat loss, and an impaired immune function. As a consequence, complication rate dramatically increases after 8 days of open abdomen therapy. CONCLUSION: Despite many efforts, the mortality of patients with ACS remains unacceptably high. Permanent clinical education and surgical trials will be necessary to improve the outcome of our critically ill surgical patients.

[New WSES-AAST guidelines on trauma of the urogenital tract-Summary and comments]. / Neue WSES-AAST-Leitlinie zum Trauma des Urogenitaltraktes ­ Zusammenfassung und Kommentar.

Different perspectives exist among the various specialist disciplines on the treatment of trauma patients with injuries of the urogenital tract. The multidisciplinary consensus guidelines of the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST), which appeared in autumn 2019, are summarized in this article. They should constitute an aid to making decisions on the optimal treatment of trauma patients with urogenital injuries.

[A new treatment method in severe fecal incontinence in children]. / Eine neue Behandlungmethode bei schwerer Stuhlinkontinenz im Kindesalter.

We report a case of successful operative therapy of a 12-year-old child with fecal incontinence (Kelly-Holschneider score: 2 points). In the german-speaking area it was the first implantation of an artificial bowel sphincter in a child. The operative procedure, clinical results and anorectal measurements are described.