National trends and outcomes of total proctocolectomy and completion proctectomy ileal pouch-anal anastomosis procedures for ulcerative colitis.

AIM: The purpose of this study is to assess US operative trends and outcomes of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients undergoing total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (TPC-IPAA) or completion proctectomy with IPAA (CP-IPAA). METHODS: Adult UC patients who underwent TPC-IPAA or CP-IPAA were analysed retrospectively using the 2016-2020 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Factors associated with 30-day overall and serious morbidity were identified using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 1696 patients were identified, with 958 patients (56.5%) undergoing TPC-IPAA and 738 (43.5%) undergoing CP-IPAA. A greater proportion of TPC-IPAAs were performed each year (except in 2019) compared to CP-IPAAs over the study period (P trend <0.001). Unadjusted analysis showed comparable rates of overall (20.8% vs. 24.4%, P = 0.076) and serious morbidity (14.3% vs. 12.7%, P = 0.352) between TPC-IPAA and CP-IPAA patients. Robotic TPC-IPAA had no differences in complications compared to laparoscopic and open approaches. Robotic CP-IPAA had higher anastomotic leak rates and longer hospital length of stay compared to laparoscopic and open approaches. Obesity was associated with increased odds of overall and serious morbidity for patients who underwent TPC-IPAA. Steroid/immunosuppressive therapy was associated with increased odds of overall and serious morbidity for patients who underwent CP-IPAA. CONCLUSIONS: Obese patients should be informed of their increased morbidity risk and offered counselling on weight loss prior to surgery when feasible. Patients on steroid/immunosuppressive therapy within 30 days preoperatively should not undergo CP-IPAA or should delay surgery until they can be safely off those medications.

Brief Report: Changing Characteristics Among In-Hospital HIV Deaths: An 11-Year Retrospective Review of a Regional Hospital in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Elevated HIV-associated mortality persists, despite a notable decline with the expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART). In South Africa, the relative majority of deaths occur in health facilities, providing an opportunity to track decedent characteristics. SETTING: We analyzed data from 14,870 adult patients who died between 2008 and 2018 at Klerksdorp/Tshepong Hospital Complex in South Africa. METHODS: Recorded data included demographics, causes of death, HIV status, ART, and tuberculosis (TB) history. We present summary statistics and results from linear, log-binomial, and multinomial regressions to quantify changes over time. RESULTS: Over the study period, the median age of decedents with HIV in the hospital increased from 39.3 to 43.4 years, and there was a switch to male predominance (46%-54%). Those who died at a younger age (<40 years) remained more likely to be HIV-positive than the older age group, despite the overall proportion of HIV-positivity decreasing over time. The proportion of decedents with HIV ever started on ART increased from 21% to 67%. The proportion of HIV patients dying from TB and AIDS-defining illnesses decreased from 31% to 22%. CONCLUSIONS: We noted a shift in deaths over time to more men and older individuals, whereas the burden of HIV was heaviest on the younger age groups. Advanced HIV disease remained an important cause of mortality. We also observed an increase in less-traditional opportunistic illnesses among those with HIV, including malignancy, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease. The high proportion of patients on ART who died prematurely requires further research and interventions.

The Impact of Surgical Delays on Short- and Long-Term Survival Among Colon Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of surgical delays on short- and long-term survival among colon cancer patients. METHODS: Adult patients undergoing surgery for stage I, II, or III colon cancer were identified from the National Cancer Database (2010-2016). After categorization by wait times from diagnosis to surgery (<1 week, 1-3 weeks, 3-6 weeks, 6-9 weeks, 9-12 weeks, and >12 weeks), 30-day mortality, 90-day mortality, and 5-year overall survival were compared between patients both overall and after stratification by pathological disease stage. RESULTS: Among 187 394 colon cancer patients, 24.2% waited <1 week, 30.5% waited 1-3 weeks, 29.0% waited 3-6 weeks, 9.7% waited 6-9 weeks, 3.3% waited 9-12 weeks, and 3.3% waited >12 weeks for surgery. Patients undergoing surgery 3-6 weeks after colon cancer diagnosis exhibited the best 30-day mortality (1.3%), 90-day mortality (2.3%), and 5-year overall survival (71.8%) (P < .001 for all). After risk-adjusting for confounders, all wait times beyond 6 weeks were associated with worse 5-year overall survival (6-9 weeks: HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.06-1.15; 9-12 weeks: HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.18-1.33; >12 weeks: HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.35-1.52; P < .001 for all). Subgroup analysis after stratification by disease stage demonstrated that patients with stage III colon cancer were able to wait up to 9 weeks before exhibiting worse 5-year overall survival, compared to 6 weeks for patients with stage I or II disease. CONCLUSIONS: Colon cancer patients should undergo surgery 3-6 weeks after diagnosis, as all surgical delays beyond 6 weeks were associated with worse 30-day mortality, 90-day mortality, and 5-year overall survival.

Management of syringomyelia associated with tuberculous meningitis: A case report and systematic review of the literature.

Determinants of tuberculosis (TB) syringomyelia, its management options and outcomes are still under investigation. The aim of this study is to present a case of TB syringomyelia with markedly improved symptoms status-post surgery and to understand the clinical characteristics and outcomes of 33 TB syringomyelia cases reported in the literature. Specifically, we examined the differences between patients who were managed medically and those who underwent surgical intervention. Inclusion criteria for the cases were (1) syringomyelia caused by TB infection rather than co-occurrence of these conditions, (2) management protocol described, and (3) post-treatment outcome described. The median age was 30 years (interquartile range (IQR): 23-40) with 55% males. The median time between TB onset to syringomyelia diagnosis was 2 years. Nineteen patients were surgically treated, 11 were medically treated, and 3 received no treatment. Twenty-one patients showed improvement in at least one prior symptom, but no patient experienced a full recovery. Those that underwent surgical intervention were more likely to have TB meningitis (95% vs. 64%, p < 0.05) upon initial TB presentation and have a greater interval between TB onset and syringomyelia presentation (median of 2.6 vs. 0.33 years, ns). A greater proportion of the surgically managed patients experienced improvement in any symptom (74% vs. 45%, ns). Future case-controlled studies with larger sample sizes are required to validate and further understand the outcomes of surgically-managed TB syringomyelia.

Trends in female surgeon authorship - The role of the middle author.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to compare middle authorships between male and female general surgeons in the United States. METHODS: A stratified random sample of American College of Surgeons general surgery fellows was identified. Relevant author demographic, affiliation, and publication metrics were collected and compared across cohorts to determine which demographics were prognostic for each outcome variable. The primary endpoint was the number of middle author papers between genders. RESULTS: Males were more likely to enter into practice earlier (p<0.001), be fellowship-trained (p<0.001), obtain higher academic rank (p<0.001), and practice at more highly ranked academic institutions (p=0.019). Females had fewer middle author publications (p=0.044) and higher annual rates of first author publications (p=0.020) despite similar rates of total publications. CONCLUSIONS: Female surgeons hold the middle author position less frequently than males despite similar total publication numbers. Reasons for this finding should be the target of future study.

Microwave Thermal Ablation in an Unusual Case of Malignant and Locally Advanced Rare Tumor of Pancreas in ASA IV Old Male Patient and Literature Review.

Pancreatic intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasm is a rare primary neoplasm of unknown pathogenesis. This kind of tumor represents 0.2-2.7% of all pancreatic cancers and they may proceed to malignant lesions. In this study, we describe a case of pancreatic intraductal papillary-mucinous tumor (4.3 cm) with normal tumoral markers and nuclear atypia. We perform also a systematic review of the literature on MEDLINE and find only one relevant study that used microwave ablation for the palliative treatment of pancreatic tumor. We describe the case of a 70-year-old Caucasian male who was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor with biliary tree dilatation. The patient underwent computed tomography (CT), percutaneous biopsy, and an endoscopic positioning of prosthesis in the biliary tree. Due to the worsening of jaundice and cholestasis, and considering the severe systemic disease status, palliative surgery with microwave thermoablation in the head of pancreas was performed. No complications were observed. The hospitalization lasted for 11 days after surgery, with normal liver and pancreatic lab tests at discharge. The patient followed a line of chemotherapy for 6 months with a complete response for 8 months. One month after the treatment, a staging CT scan was performed showing the size of the cephalopancreatic lesion had decreased from 43 to 35 mm with signs of complete ablation. The patient had a total response at the imaging of 10 months. One year later, a CT scan follow-up showed progression of the pancreatic disease. The disease remained stable for 18 months. The patient died due to cardiovascular complications with an overall survival of 30 months. Microwave ablation in our case report has been demonstrated to be feasible and safe without complications. It can be used as a phase of multimodality treatment in patients with severe systemic disease status and advanced intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasm.

Extraordinary disease-free survival in a rare malignant extrarenal rhabdoid tumor: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Malignant extrarenal rhabdoid tumor of the gastrointestinal tract is rarely reported in the literature. It is characterized by poor prognosis and aggressive metastatic features. A literature review evidenced only 19 cases, with poor outcome. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a colonic "pure" malignant extrarenal rhabdoid tumor with metastatic nodes in a 65-year-old Caucasian man. He was treated surgically with no recurrence, no adjuvant chemotherapy, and with 4-year survival without disease at the time of the submission of this article. CONCLUSIONS: We present an extraordinary case of long-term survival due to the extended surgical treatment. We believe that the absence of organ metastasis at presentation is a positive prognostic factor, although pathology confirmed node involvement (13/38 positive) on microscopy.