The Brescia Internationally Validated European Guidelines on Minimally Invasive Pancreatic Surgery (EGUMIPS).

OBJECTIVE: To develop and update evidence-based and consensus-based guidelines on laparoscopic and robotic pancreatic surgery. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Minimally invasive pancreatic surgery (MIPS), including laparoscopic and robotic surgery, is complex and technically demanding. Minimizing the risk for patients requires stringent, evidence-based guidelines. Since the International Miami Guidelines on MIPS in 2019, new developments and key publications have been reported, necessitating an update. METHODS: Evidence-based guidelines on 22 topics in 8 domains were proposed: terminology, indications, patients, procedures, surgical techniques and instrumentation, assessment tools, implementation and training, and artificial intelligence. The Brescia Internationally Validated European Guidelines on Minimally Invasive Pancreatic Surgery (EGUMIPS, September 2022) used the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) methodology to assess the evidence and develop guideline recommendations, the Delphi method to establish consensus on the recommendations among the Expert Committee, and the AGREE II-GRS tool for guideline quality assessment and external validation by a Validation Committee. RESULTS: Overall, 27 European experts, 6 international experts, 22 international Validation Committee members, 11 Jury Committee members, 18 Research Committee members, and 121 registered attendees of the 2-day meeting were involved in the development and validation of the guidelines. In total, 98 recommendations were developed, including 33 on laparoscopic, 34 on robotic, and 31 on general MIPS, covering 22 topics in 8 domains. Out of 98 recommendations, 97 reached at least 80% consensus among the experts and congress attendees, and all recommendations were externally validated by the Validation Committee. CONCLUSIONS: The EGUMIPS evidence-based guidelines on laparoscopic and robotic MIPS can be applied in current clinical practice to provide guidance to patients, surgeons, policy-makers, and medical societies.

Rab11fip5 regulates telencephalon development via ephrinB1 recycling.

Rab11 family-interacting protein 5 (Rab11fip5) is an adaptor protein that binds to the small GTPase Rab11, which has an important function in endosome recycling and trafficking of cellular proteins to the plasma membrane. Rab11fip5 is involved in many cellular processes, such as cytoskeleton rearrangement, iron uptake and exocytosis in neuroendocrine cells, and is also known as a candidate gene for autism-spectrum disorder. However, the role of Rab11fip5 during early embryonic development is not clearly understood. In this study, we identified Rab11fip5 as a protein that interacts with ephrinB1, a transmembrane ligand for Eph receptors. The PDZ binding motif in ephrinB1 and the Rab-binding domain in Rab11fip5 are necessary for their interaction in a complex. EphrinB1 and Rab11fip5 display overlapping expression in the telencephalon of developing amphibian embryos. The loss of Rab11fip5 function causes a reduction in telencephalon size and a decrease in the expression level of ephrinB1. Moreover, morpholino oligonucleotide-mediated knockdown of Rab11fip5 decreases cell proliferation in the telencephalon. The overexpression of ephrinB1 rescues these defects, suggesting that ephrinB1 recycling by the Rab11/Rab11fip5 complex is crucial for proper telencephalon development.

Microscopic tumor mapping of post-neoadjuvant therapy pancreatic cancer specimens to predict post-surgical recurrence: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Although various pathological grading systems are available for evaluating the response of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) to neoadjuvant therapy (NAT), their prognostic value has not been thoroughly validated. This study examined whether microscopic tumor mapping of post-NAT specimens could predict tumor recurrence. METHODS: This prospective study enrolled 52 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy after NAT for PDAC between 2019 and 2021. Microscopic mapping was performed to identify residual tumor loci within the tumor bed using 4 mm2 pixels. Patients were divided into small extent (SE; n = 26) and large extent (LE; n = 26) groups using a cutoff value of 226 mm2. The diagnostic performance for predicting tumor recurrence was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels were normalised after NAT in more patients in the SE group (SE 21 [80.8%] vs. LE 13 [50.0%]; P = 0.041). Tumor size (P < 0.001), T stage (P < 0.001), positive lymph node yield (P = 0.024), and perineural invasion rate (P = 0.018) were significantly greater in the LE group. The 3-year disease-free survival rate was significantly lower in the LE group (SE 83.3% vs. LE 50.0%, P = 0.004). The area under the ROC curve for mapping extent was 0.743, which was greater than that of the other tumor response scoring systems. CONCLUSIONS: Microscopic tumor mapping of the residual tumor in post-NAT specimens is a significant predictor of post-surgical recurrence, and offers better prognostic performance than the current grading systems.

Evolution of laparoscopic liver resection in the last two decades: lessons from 2000 cases at a referral Korean center.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) has evolved to become the standard surgical approach in many referral centers worldwide. The aim of this study was to analyze how LLR evolved at a single high-volume referral center since its introduction, more than two decades ago. METHODS: Data from all consecutive LLR between January 2003 and September 2022 at the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital were analyzed. Perioperative outcomes were compared between three time periods, with major technological innovations considered as landmarks: before introduction of laparoscopic-US and CUSA (2003-2006), before (2006-2015) and after (2015-2022) introduction of high-definition scope. RESULTS: During the analyzed time periods the number of technically challenging procedures increased from 39.2 to 61.1% (p < 0.001). The most recent period showed shorter median operation time (from 267.5' to 175', p < 0.001), lower median estimated blood loss (EBL) (from 500 to 300 ml, p < 0.001), lower intraoperative transfusions (from 33.8 to 9.3%, p < 0.001), shorter median postoperative hospital stay (from 12 to 6 days, p < 0.001). The time period, a technical major resection and an underlying liver cirrhosis were found to be the associated with longer operation time (p < 0.001) in the multivariable linear regression analysis, while tumor size, technically major surgeries and liver cirrhosis were associated with higher EBL (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: During the last two decades, the indications for patients undergoing LLR have expanded significantly, including more and more challenging procedures and frail patients. Despite such challenges, perioperative outcomes improved, although technically major procedures, cirrhotic patients and huge tumors have still to be considered challenging situations.

The usefulness of lactate/albumin ratio, C-reactive protein/albumin ratio, procalcitonin/albumin ratio, SOFA, and qSOFA in predicting the prognosis of patients with sepsis who presented to EDs.

PURPOSE: Early identification of sepsis with a poor prognosis in the emergency department (ED) is crucial for prompt management and improved outcomes. This study aimed to examine the predictive value of sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), quick SOFA (qSOFA), lactate to albumin ratio (LAR), C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR), and procalcitonin to albumin ratio (PAR), obtained in the ED, as predictors for 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis and septic shock. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included 3499 patients (aged ≥19 years) from multicenter registry of the Korean Shock Society between October 2015 and December 2019. The SOFA score, qSOFA score, and lactate level at the time of registry enrollment were used. Albumin, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin levels were obtained from the initial laboratory results measured upon ED arrival. We evaluated the predictive accuracy for 28-day mortality using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve. A multivariable logistic regression analysis of the independent predictors of 28-day mortality was performed. The SOFA score, LAR, CAR, and PAR were converted to categorical variables using Youden's index and analyzed. Adjusting for confounding factors such as age, sex, comorbidities, and infection focus, adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were calculated. RESULTS: Of the 3499 patients, 2707 (77.4%) were survivors, whereas 792 (22.6%) were non-survivors. The median age of the patients was 70 (25th-75th percentiles, 61-78), and 2042 (58.4%) were male. LAR for predicting 28-day mortality had the highest AUROC, followed by the SOFA score (0.715; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-0.74 and 0.669; 95% CI: 0.65-0.69, respectively). The multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the aOR of LAR >1.52 was 3.75 (95% CI: 3.16-4.45), and the aOR, of SOFA score at enrollment >7.5 was 2.67 (95% CI: 2.25-3.17). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that LAR is a relatively strong predictor of sepsis prognosis in the ED setting, indicating its potential as a straightforward and practical prognostic factor. This finding may assist healthcare providers in the ED by providing them with tools to risk-stratify patients and predict their mortality.

Cutoff of the reverse shock index multiplied by the Glasgow coma scale for predicting in-hospital mortality in adult patients with trauma: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Early identification of patients at risk of potential death and timely transfer to appropriate healthcare facilities are critical for reducing the number of preventable trauma deaths. This study aimed to establish a cutoff value to predict in-hospital mortality using the reverse shock index multiplied by the Glasgow Coma Scale (rSIG). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study used data from 23 emergency departments in South Korea between January 2011 and December 2020. The outcome variable was the in-hospital mortality. The relationship between rSIG and in-hospital mortality was plotted using the shape-restricted regression spline method. To set a cutoff for rSIG, we found the point on the curve where mortality started to increase and the point where the slope of the mortality curve changed the most. We also calculated the cutoff value for rSIG using Youden's index. RESULTS: A total of 318,506 adult patients with trauma were included. The shape-restricted regression spline curve showed that in-hospital mortality began to increase when the rSIG value was less than 18.86, and the slope of the graph increased the most at 12.57. The cutoff of 16.5, calculated using Youden's index, was closest to the target under-triage and over-triage rates, as suggested by the American College of Surgeons, when applied to patients with an rSIG of 20 or less. In addition, in patients with traumatic brain injury, when the rSIG value was over 25, in-hospital mortality tended to increase as the rSIG value increased. CONCLUSIONS: We propose an rSIG cutoff value of 16.5 as a predictor of in-hospital mortality in adult patients with trauma. However, in patients with traumatic brain injury, a high rSIG is also associated with in-hospital mortality. Appropriate cutoffs should be established for this group in the future.

A Prospective Analysis of the Effects of a Powder-Type Hemostatic Agent on the Short-Term Outcomes after Liver Resection.

Background and Objectives: Postoperative bleeding is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality following liver resection. Therefore, it is crucial to minimize bleeding during liver resection and effectively manage it when it occurs. Arista® AH (Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) is a microporous polysaccharide hemosphere (MPH), a new plant-derived polysaccharide powder hemostat that can be applied to the entire surgical field. This study prospectively assessed the effectiveness of Arista for bleeding control when applied intraoperatively to the liver resection surface. Materials and Methods: Data were collected at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital for patients who underwent liver resection owing to malignant hepatocellular carcinoma or benign liver diseases. We compared the outcomes between 45 patients managed with Arista® AH (data were prospectively collected between September 2022 and May 2023) and 156 patients managed without the use of Arista® AH (data were retrospectively collected between January 2021 and December 2021). Results: There were no significant differences in patient characteristics between the two groups. The estimated blood loss (EBL) was significantly lower in the Arista® AH group compared with the control group (495.56 ± 672.7 mL vs. 691.9 ± 777.5 mL, p = 0.049). The mean postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter in the Arista® AH group (5.93 ± 1.88 days vs. 6.94 ± 4.17 days, p = 0.024). The time to Jackson-Pratt drain removal was also significantly shorter in the Arista® AH group (4.64 ± 1.31 days vs. 5.30 ± 2.87 days, p = 0.030). The patient subgroup was divided into four categories based on the type of resection and the presence or absence of cirrhosis. Within the subgroup of major resections in non-cirrhotic patients, the Arista® AH group demonstrated significantly better outcomes compared to the control group, showed lower EBL, reduced need for blood transfusions, decreased volume of drain fluid collected within 48 h, earlier removal of drains, and shorter hospital stays. In contrast, for the other subgroups such as minor resection (both non-cirrhotic and cirrhotic) and major resection with cirrhosis, the differences between the Arista® AH and control groups in various parameters like EBL, blood transfusion rates, drain fluid volume, time to drain removal, and duration of hospital stay were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Arista® AH significantly improved intraoperative blood management and postoperative recovery in patients undergoing liver resection, particularly in non-cirrhotic patients who underwent major resection.

Prognostic Effect of Liver Resection in Extended Cholecystectomy for T2 Gallbladder Cancer Revisited: A Retrospective Cohort Study With Propensity Score-matched Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of liver resection on the prognosis of T2 gallbladder cancer (GBC). BACKGROUND: Although extended cholecystectomy [lymph node dissection (LND) + liver resection] is recommended for T2 GBC, recent studies have shown that liver resection does not improve survival outcomes relative to LND alone. METHODS: Patients with pT2 GBC who underwent extended cholecystectomy as an initial procedure and did not reoperation after cholecystectomy at 3 tertiary referral hospitals between January 2010 and December 2020 were analyzed. Extended cholecystectomy was defined as either LND with liver resection (LND+L group) or LND only (LND group). We conducted 2:1 propensity score matching to compare the survival outcomes of the groups. RESULTS: Of the 197 patients enrolled, 100 patients from the LND+L group and 50 from the LND group were successfully matched. The LND+L group experienced greater estimated blood loss ( P <0.001) and a longer postoperative hospital stay ( P =0.047). There was no significant difference in the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) of the 2 groups (82.7% vs 77.9%, respectively, P =0.376). A subgroup analysis showed that the 5-year DFS was similar in the 2 groups in both T substages (T2a: 77.8% vs 81.8%, respectively, P =0.988; T2b: 88.1% vs 71.5%, respectively, P =0.196). In a multivariable analysis, lymph node metastasis [hazard ratio (HR) 4.80, P =0.006] and perineural invasion (HR 2.61, P =0.047) were independent risk factors for DFS; liver resection was not a prognostic factor (HR 0.68, P =0.381). CONCLUSIONS: Extended cholecystectomy including LND without liver resection may be a reasonable treatment option for selected T2 GBC patients.

Surgical Outcomes of Pancreatectomy with Resection of the Portal Vein and/or Superior Mesenteric Vein and Jejunal Vein for Pancreatic Head Cancer: A Multicenter Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and survival benefits of portal vein and/or superior mesenteric vein (PV/SMV) resection with jejunal vein resection (JVR) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Few studies have shown the surgical outcome and survival of pancreatic resection with JVR, and treatment strategies for patients with PDAC suspected of jejunal vein (JV) infiltration remain unclear. METHODS: In total, 1260 patients who underwent pancreatectomy with PV/ SMV resection between 2013 and 2016 at 50 facilities were included; treatment outcomes were compared between the PV/SMV group (PV/ SMV resection without JVR; n = 824), PV/SMV-J1 V group (PV/SMV resection with first jejunal vein resection; n = 394), and PV/SMV-J2,3 V group (PV/SMV resection with second jejunal vein or later branch resection; n = 42). RESULTS: Postoperative complications and mortality did not differ between the three groups. The postoperative complication rate associated with PV/ SMV reconstruction was 11.9% in PV/SMV group, 8.6% in PV/SMV-J1 V group, and 7.1% in PV/SMV-J2,3V group; there were no significant differences among the three groups. Overall survival did not differ between PV/SMV and PV/SMV-J1 V groups (median survival; 29.2 vs 30.9 months, P = 0.60). Although PV/SMV-J2,3 V group had significantly shorter survival than PV/SMV group who underwent upfront surgery ( P = 0.05), no significant differences in overall survival of patients who received preoperative therapy. Multivariate survival analysis revealed that adjuvant therapy and R0 resection were independent prognostic factors in all groups. CONCLUSION: PV/SMV resection with JVR can be safely performed and may provide satisfactory overall survival with the pre-and postoperative adjuvant therapy.

Validation of the Anatomical and Biological Definitions of Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer According to the 2017 International Consensus for Survival and Recurrence in Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Undergoing Upfront Surgery.

BACKGROUND: The International Consensus Criteria (ICC) (2017) redefined patients with borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (BR-PDAC) according to anatomical, biological, and conditional aspects. However, these new criteria have not been validated comprehensively. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to validate the anatomical and biological definitions of BR-PDAC for oncological outcomes in patients with resectable (R) and BR-PDAC undergoing upfront surgery. METHODS: A total of 404 patients who underwent upfront surgery for R- and BR-PDAC from 2004 to 2020 were included. The patients were classified according to the ICC as follows: resectable (R) (n = 259), anatomical borderline (BR-A) (n = 43), biological borderline (BR-B) (n = 81), and anatomical and biologic borderline (BR-AB) (n = 21). RESULTS: Compared with the R and BR-B groups, the BR-A and BR-AB groups had higher postoperative complication rates (16.5% and 27.2% vs 32.5% and 33.4%; P < 0.001) and significantly lower R0 resection rates (85.7% and 80.2% vs 65.1% and 61.9%; P = 0.003). In contrast, compared with the R and BR-A groups, the BR-B (32.1%) and BR-AB (57.1%) groups had higher early recurrence rates (within postoperative 6 months) (16.5% and 25.6% vs 32.1% and 57.1%; P < 0.001) and significantly lower 3-year recurrence-free survival rates (36.1% and 20.7% vs 12.1% and 7.8%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Anatomically defined BR-PDAC was associated with a higher risk of margin-positive resection and postoperative complication rates, while biologically defined BR-PDAC was associated with higher early recurrence rates and lower survival rates. Thus, the anatomical and biological definitions are useful in predicting the prognosis and determining the usefulness of neoadjuvant therapy.

Kernel-attentive weight modulation memory network for optical blur kernel-aware image super-resolution.

Recently, imaging systems have exhibited remarkable image restoration performance through optimized optical systems and deep-learning-based models. Despite advancements in optical systems and models, severe performance degradation occurs when the predefined optical blur kernel differs from the actual kernel while restoring and upscaling the images. This is because super-resolution (SR) models assume that a blur kernel is predefined and known. To address this problem, various lenses could be stacked, and the SR model could be trained with all available optical blur kernels. However, infinite optical blur kernels exist in reality; thus, this task requires the complexity of the lens, substantial model training time, and hardware overhead. To resolve this issue by focusing on the SR models, we propose a kernel-attentive weight modulation memory network by adaptively modulating SR weights according to the shape of the optical blur kernel. The modulation layers are incorporated into the SR architecture and dynamically modulate the weights according to the blur level. Extensive experiments reveal that the proposed method improves peak signal-to-noise ratio performance, with an average gain of 0.83 dB for blurred and downsampled images. An experiment with a real-world blur dataset demonstrates that the proposed method can handle real-world scenarios.

Is surgical resection justified for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with distant abdominal organ metastasis? A position paper by experts in pancreatic surgery at the Joint Meeting of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) & the Japan Pancreas Society (JPS) 2022 in Kyoto.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a typical refractory malignancy, and many patients have distant organ metastases at diagnosis, such as liver metastasis and peritoneal dissemination. The standard treatment for unresectable PDAC with distant organ metastasis (UR-M) is chemotherapy, but the prognosis remained poor. However, with recent dramatic developments in chemotherapy, the prognosis has gradually improved, and some patients have experienced marked shrinkage or disappearance of their metastatic lesions. With this trend, attempts have been made to resect a small number of metastases (so-called oligometastases) in combination with the primary tumor or to resect the primary and metastatic tumor in patients with a favorable response to anti-cancer treatment after a certain period of time (so-called conversion surgery). An international consensus meeting on surgical treatment for UR-M PDAC was held during the Joint Congress of the 26th Meeting of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) and the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Japan Pancreas Society (JPS) in Kyoto in July 2022. The presenters showed their indications for and results of surgical treatment for UR-M PDAC and discussed their advantages and disadvantages with the experts. Although these reports were limited to a small number of patients, findings suggest that these surgical treatments for patients with UR-M PDAC who have had a significant response to chemotherapy may contribute to a prognosis of prolonged survival. We hope that this article summarizing the discussion and agreements at the meeting will serve as the basis for future trials and guidelines.

"Conversion surgery" for locally advanced pancreatic cancer: A position paper by the study group at the joint meeting of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) & Japan Pancreas Society (JPS) 2022.

Locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC), which progresses locally and surrounds major vessels, has historically been deemed unresectable. Surgery alone failed to provide curative resection and improve overall survival. With the advancements in treatment, reports have shown favorable results in LAPC after undergoing successful chemotherapy therapy or chemoradiation therapy followed by surgical resection, so-called "conversion surgery", at experienced high-volume centers. However, recognizing significant regional and institutional disparities in the management of LAPC, an international consensus meeting on conversion surgery for LAPC was held during the Joint Congress of the 26th Meeting of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) and the 53rd Annual Meeting of Japan Pancreas Society (JPS) in Kyoto in July 2022. During the meeting, presenters reported the current best multidisciplinary practices for LAPC, including preoperative modalities, best systemic treatment regimens and durations, procedures of conversion surgery with or without vascular resections, biomarkers, and genetic studies. It was unanimously agreed among the experts in this meeting that "cancer biology is surpassing locoregional anatomical resectability" in the era of effective multiagent treatment. The biology of pancreatic cancer has yet to be further elucidated, and we believe it is essential to improve the treatment outcomes of LAPC patients through continued efforts from each institution and more international collaboration. This article summarizes the agreement during the discussion amongst the experts in the meeting. We hope that this will serve as a foundation for future international collaboration and recommendations for future guidelines.

Different neuroprognostication thresholds of neuron-specific enolase in shockable and non-shockable out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a prospective multicenter observational study in Korea (the KORHN-PRO registry).

BACKGROUND: Serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is the only recommended biomarker for multimodal prognostication in postcardiac arrest patients, but low sensitivity of absolute NSE threshold limits its utility. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic performance of serum NSE for poor neurologic outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors based on their initial rhythm and to determine the NSE cutoff values with false positive rate (FPR) < 1% for each group. METHODS: This study included OHCA survivors who received targeted temperature management (TTM) and had serum NSE levels measured at 48 h after return of spontaneous circulation in the Korean Hypothermia Network, a prospective multicenter registry from 22 university-affiliated teaching hospitals in South Korea between October 2015 and December 2018. The primary outcome was poor outcome at 6 month, defined as a cerebral performance category of 3-5. RESULTS: Of 623 patients who underwent TTM with NSE measured 48 h after the return of spontaneous circulation, 245 had an initial shockable rhythm. Median NSE level was significantly higher in the non-shockable group than in the shockable group (104.6 [40.6-228.4] vs. 25.9 [16.7-53.4] ng/mL, P < 0.001). Prognostic performance of NSE assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve to predict poor outcome was significantly higher in the non-shockable group than in the shockable group (0.92 vs 0.86). NSE cutoff values with an FPR < 1% in the non-shockable and shockable groups were 69.3 (sensitivity of 42.1%) and 102.7 ng/mL (sensitivity of 76%), respectively. CONCLUSION: NSE prognostic performance and its cutoff values with FPR < 1% for predicting poor outcome in OHCA survivors who underwent TTM differed between shockable and non-shockable rhythms, suggesting postcardiac arrest survivor heterogeneity. Trial registration KORHN-PRO, NCT02827422. Registered 11 September 2016-Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02827422.

Validation of original, alternative, and updated alternative fistula risk scores after open and minimally invasive pancreatoduodenectomy in an Asian patient cohort.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to validate and compare the performance of the original fistula risk scores (o-FRS), alternative (a-FRS), and updated alternative FRS (ua-FRS) after open pancreatoduodenectomy (OPD) and laparoscopic pancreatoduodenectomy (LPD) in an Asian patient cohort. METHODS: Data of 597 consecutive patients who underwent PD (305 OPD, 274 LPD) were collected from two tertiary centers. Model performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC). RESULTS: The overall AUC values of o-FRS, a-FRS, and ua-FRS were 0.67, 0.69, and 0.68, respectively, which were lower than those of the Western validation. Three FRS systems had similar AUC values in the overall and OPD groups, whereas ua-FRS had a higher AUC than o-FRS in the LPD group. The accuracy of ua-FRS (47.2%) was higher than that of o-FRS (39.0%) and a-FRS (19.5%) overall, but low specificity and low positive predictive value were observed regardless of the operative type across the three FRS systems. In the multivariate analysis, pathology, estimated blood loss, and body mass index were not independent risk factors for CR-POPF in the OPD and LPD groups. CONCLUSIONS: Current FRS systems have some limitations, including a relatively lower performance in an Asian cohort, low positive predictive values, and inclusion of insignificant risk factors.

Impact of Drain Position on Drain Fluid Amylase, Fluid Collection and Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula after Distal Pancreatectomy.

BACKGROUND: The current definition for postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is based on the drain fluid amylase (DFA), and drains must be positioned adequately. We investigated the impact of DFA level, drain position and fluid collection after distal pancreatectomy (DP). METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 516 patients who underwent DP between June 2004 and December 2018. Patients were excluded if DP was not main procedure, DFA was not measured, postoperative computed tomography (CT) was not performed, or drains were removed before CT. Demographic and perioperative data were analyzed in 422 eligible patients. RESULTS: Of 422 patients, 49(11.6%) had clinically relevant (CR)-POPF and 102(24.2%) had a malpositioned drain. There was no difference in CR-POPF rate between the high and low DFA groups (12.6% vs 10.7%, P = 0.649). Drain malposition was more frequently associated with symptomatic fluid collection and CR-POPF than well-positioned drains. Male sex, high body mass index, transfusion, and drain malposition were CR-POPF risk factors. In subgroup analysis, drain malposition was also an independent risk factor for CR-POPF in the low DFA group. CONCLUSIONS: After DP, the incidence of CR-POPF in the high and low DFA groups was similar and drain malposition increased the risk of CR-POPF. Thus, the ISGPS definition of POPF based on DFA levels is limited in DP, and DFA levels should be interpreted together with the drain position.

Development and Validation of a Prognostic Classification Model Predicting Postoperative Adverse Outcomes in Older Surgical Patients Using a Machine Learning Algorithm: Retrospective Observational Network Study.

BACKGROUND: Older adults are at an increased risk of postoperative morbidity. Numerous risk stratification tools exist, but effort and manpower are required. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop a predictive model of postoperative adverse outcomes in older patients following general surgery with an open-source, patient-level prediction from the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics for internal and external validation. METHODS: We used the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership common data model and machine learning algorithms. The primary outcome was a composite of 90-day postoperative all-cause mortality and emergency department visits. Secondary outcomes were postoperative delirium, prolonged postoperative stay (≥75th percentile), and prolonged hospital stay (≥21 days). An 80% versus 20% split of the data from the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) and Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) common data model was used for model training and testing versus external validation. Model performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with a 95% CI. RESULTS: Data from 27,197 (SNUBH) and 32,857 (SNUH) patients were analyzed. Compared to the random forest, Adaboost, and decision tree models, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression model showed good internal discriminative accuracy (internal AUC 0.723, 95% CI 0.701-0.744) and transportability (external AUC 0.703, 95% CI 0.692-0.714) for the primary outcome. The model also possessed good internal and external AUCs for postoperative delirium (internal AUC 0.754, 95% CI 0.713-0.794; external AUC 0.750, 95% CI 0.727-0.772), prolonged postoperative stay (internal AUC 0.813, 95% CI 0.800-0.825; external AUC 0.747, 95% CI 0.741-0.753), and prolonged hospital stay (internal AUC 0.770, 95% CI 0.749-0.792; external AUC 0.707, 95% CI 0.696-0.718). Compared with age or the Charlson comorbidity index, the model showed better prediction performance. CONCLUSIONS: The derived model shall assist clinicians and patients in understanding the individualized risks and benefits of surgery.

Application of entire dental panorama image data in artificial intelligence model for age estimation.

BACKGROUND: Accurate age estimation is vital for clinical and forensic purposes. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence(AI) technologies, traditional methods relying on tooth development, while reliable, can be enhanced by leveraging deep learning, particularly neural networks. This study evaluated the efficiency of an AI model by applying the entire panoramic image for age estimation. The outcome performances were analyzed through supervised learning (SL) models. METHODS: Total of 27,877 dental panorama images from 5 to 90 years of age were classified by 2 types of grouping. In type 1 they were classified by each age and in type 2, applying heuristic grouping, the age over 20 years were classified by every 5 years. Wide ResNet (WRN) and DenseNet (DN) were used for supervised learning. In addition, the analysis with ± 3 years of deviation in both types were performed. RESULTS: For the DN model, while the type 1 grouping achieved an accuracy of 0.1016 and F1 score of 0.058, the type 2 achieved an accuracy of 0.3146 and F1 score of 0.2027. Incorporating ± 3years of deviation, the accuracy of type 1 and 2 were 0.281, 0.7323 respectively; and the F1 score were 0.1768, 0.6583 respectively. For the WRN model, while the type 1 grouping achieved an accuracy of 0.1041 and F1 score of 0.0599, the type 2 achieved an accuracy of 0.3182 and F1 score of 0.2071. Incorporating ± 3years of deviation, the accuracy of type 1 and 2 were 0.2716, 0.7323 respectively; and the F1 score were 0.1709, 0.6437 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The application of entire panorama image data for supervised with classification by heuristics grouping with ± 3years of deviation for supervised learning models and demonstrated satisfactory outcome for the age estimation.

Comparative Study on Two COVID-19 Outbreaks at a Long-Term Mental Health Facility in Korea in 2020 and 2022.

(1) Background and Objectives: There were two distinct coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks in 2020 and 2022 at a long-term mental health facility (LTMHF) in Gyeonggi Province, Korea. We aimed to compare the two outbreaks and identify differences in epidemiological and clinical outcomes due to changes in epidemic timing and management methods. (2) Materials and Methods: The structural, operational, and case-specific LTMHF data of COVID-19-confirmed patients during these outbreaks in 2020 and 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. (3) Results: Forty individuals (37 residents) in 2020 and thirty-nine (32 residents) in 2022 were confirmed to have COVID-19, and ten were infected twice. Facility isolation was implemented as an infection control measure, and one COVID-19-related death occurred in 2020. All residents and staff were vaccinated at least twice in 2022; moreover, in 2022, 38 patients (97.4%) received a third vaccination less than months before infection. The average Ct value of the cases in 2022 was significantly higher than that in 2020; however, vaccine-breakthrough (V-BT) and reinfection after vaccination rates were similar. (4) Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination could help lower the viral load of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was inversely correlated with Ct values, and ventilation system improvements in health facilities might reduce transmissibility.

Comparison of Open versus Laparoscopic Approaches in Salvage Hepatectomy for Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Radiofrequency Ablation.

Background and Objectives: Although radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is widely used as an effective local treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), evidence on salvage hepatectomy for local recurrence after RFA is limited. This study aims to compare open and laparoscopic approaches in salvage hepatectomy for recurrent HCC after RFA. Materials and Methods: Among patients who underwent hepatectomy between January 2004 and August 2022 at a single tertiary referral center, 55 patients who underwent salvage hepatectomy for marginal recurrence after RFA were selected. An open approach was used in 23 (41.8%) patients, while 32 (58.2%) patients underwent laparoscopic surgery. Short-term and long-term outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: Major hepatectomy was more often performed in the open group (9 [39.1%] vs. 4 [12.5%], p = 0.022). Intraoperative blood loss was also greater in the open group (450 (325-750) vs. 300 (200-600), p = 0.034). Operation time (p = 0.144) and postoperative morbidity rates (p = 0.639) were similar, and there was no postoperative mortality in either group. Postoperative hospital stay was significantly longer in the open group compared to the laparoscopy group (8 (6-11) days vs. 5 (4-7) days, p = 0.028). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival rates showed no difference between the two groups (44.6% vs. 62.5%, 16.5% vs. 13.5%, and 8.3% vs. 13.5%, respectively; p = 0.154). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates between the two groups were also similar (85.7% vs. 96.8%, 79.6% vs. 86.0%, and 79.6% vs. 79.4%, respectively; p = 0.480). Conclusions: Laparoscopic salvage hepatectomy shows oncologic outcomes comparable to the open approach with faster postoperative recovery rates. Considering that recurrence rates are high after RFA, the laparoscopic approach should be considered as a first-line option in selected patients.