Recommendations for eligibility criteria concerning bariatric and metabolic surgical and endoscopic procedures for obese Hong Kong adults 2024: Hong Kong Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Position Statement.

The surgical management of obesity in Hong Kong has rapidly evolved over the past 20 years. Despite increasing public awareness and demand concerning bariatric and metabolic surgery, service models generally are not standardised across bariatric practitioners. Therefore, a working group was commissioned by the Hong Kong Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery to review relevant literature and provide recommendations concerning eligibility criteria for bariatric and metabolic interventions within the local population in Hong Kong. The current position statement aims to provide updated guidance regarding the indications and contraindications for bariatric surgery, metabolic surgery, and bariatric endoscopic procedures.

Long-term survival outcomes after definitive chemoradiation versus surgery in patients with resectable squamous carcinoma of the esophagus: results from a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to report on the 5-year survival outcomes of patients with resectable esophageal carcinoma who were treated by definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or standard esophagectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between July 2000 and December 2004, 81 patients with resectable squamous cell carcinoma of the mid- or lower thoracic esophagus were randomized to receive esophagectomy or definitive CRT. The primary outcome was the overall survival and secondary outcomes included disease-free survival, morbidities and mortalities. RESULTS: Forty-five patients received esophagectomy and 36 patients were treated by definitive CRT. The overall 5-year survival favors CRT but the difference did not reach statistical significance (surgery 29.4% and CRT 50%, P=0.147). A trend to improved 5-year survival was observed for patients suffering from node-positive disease (P=0.061). The 5-year disease-free survival also showed a trend to significance favoring CRT (P=0.068), particularly for patients suffering from node-positive disease (P=0.017). Both the stage of the disease and albumin level were significant predictors to mortality and disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: Definitive CRT for squamous esophageal carcinoma resulted in comparable long-term survival to surgery. Further large-scale studies would be required to further investigate the role of CRT in node-positive patients. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01032967.

Nurse-administered propofol-alfentanil sedation using a patient-controlled analgesia pump compared with opioid-benzodiazepine sedation for outpatient colonoscopy.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: Nurse-administered propofol sedation (NAPS) and patient-controlled sedation using patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps are gaining increasing popularity for gastrointestinal endoscopy. We compared the safety and efficacy of NAPS using PCA pumps with diazemuls-pethidine sedation (DPS) for outpatient colonoscopy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a prospective randomized controlled trial patients underwent outpatient colonoscopy with sedation by either NAPS or DPS. For NAPS, following intravenous loading of 0.8 mg/kg propofol, mixtures of 14.3 mg propofol and 35 microgram alfentanil were titrated by nurses using a PCA pump. For DPS, 0.1 mg/kg diazemuls and 0.5 mg/kg pethidine were given as intravenous bolus; further titration was administered as half doses at the endoscopist's discretion. Adequacy of sedation was measured by the Observer's Scale for Sedation and Alertness (OSSA) score (range 1-5). RESULTS: Between July 2005 and June 2006, 88 patients were randomly allocated to NAPS and 90 to DPS. The groups were comparable for baseline characteristics and procedure time. With NAPS, levels of sedation both during colonoscopic intubation and at reaching the cecum were significantly deeper than with DPS (OSSA 3 vs. 5, P < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in cardiopulmonary complication rates, pain scores, satisfaction scores, and patients' willingness to repeat colonoscopy with the same sedation. Drugs cost for NAPS was higher than for DPS (Hong Kong dollars [HKD] 98.34 vs. 5.01). CONCLUSION: Despite higher costs, nurse-administered propofol-alfentanil sedation using a PCA pump can provide deeper conscious sedation, comparable satisfaction, and similar complication risks compared with conventional opioid-benzodiazepine sedation.