Influence of perioperative probiotics supplement on short-term clinical outcomes in gastric cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical gastrectomy: a prospective study / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the influence of perioperative probiotics supplement on short-term clinical outcomes in gastric cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical gastrectomy.Methods:The prospective randomized controlled study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 80 patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical gastrectomy in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from July 2020 to September 2021 were selected. Based on random number table, patients were allocated into two groups. Patients undergoing perioperative probiotics supplement were allocated into the experiment group, and patients undergoing perioperative conventional treatment were allocated into the control group, respectively. Observation indicators: (1) grouping situations of the enrolled patients; (2) intraoperative situations; (3) follow-up and postoperative situations; (4) inflammation related hematological indexes. Follow-up was conducted using telephone interview and outpatient examina-tion to detect postoperative complications and startup of adjuvant chemotherapy up to October 31,2021. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the independent sample t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was performed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Comparison of ordinal data was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Repeated measurement data were analyzed by the repeated ANOVA or generalized estimating equation. Results:(1) Grouping situations of the enrolled patients. A total of 80 patients were selected for eligibility. There were 51 males and 29 females, aged 64(42-80)years. Of the 80 patients, there were 40 patients in the experiment group and 40 patients in the control group, respectively. (2) Intraoperative situations. All patients in the experiment group and the control group underwent radical gastrectomy successfully. Cases with yield pathologic TNM (ypTNM) stage 0, stage Ⅰ, stage Ⅱ, stage Ⅲ after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, cases undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy or Da Vinci robotic radical gastrectomy, the operation time, the volume of intraoperative blood loss, cases undergoing digestive tract recons-truction as Billroth Ⅱ anastomosis or Roux-en-Y anastomosis were 2, 7, 15, 13, 19, 21,205(180-240)minutes, 50(30-60)mL, 6, 34 in the experiment group, versus 4, 6, 12, 16, 23, 17, 218(190-251)minutes, 50(43-60)mL, 11, 29 in the control group, showing no significant difference in the above indicators between the two groups ( U=683.00, χ2=0.80, U=668.00, 681.00, χ2=1.87, P>0.05). (3) Follow-up and postoperative situations. All the 80 patients were followed up for 1 month after surgery. Cases with postoperative infectious complications were 6 in the experiment group, versus 15 in the control group, showing a significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=5.23, P<0.05). The application of antimicrobial agent, time to postoperative first flatus, time to postoperative first defecation, time to tolerance of solid food, duration of postoperative hospital stay, time to postopera-tive startup of adjuvant chemotherapy were 3(3-6)doses, 53(49-66)hours, 72(62-82)hours, (72±18)hours, 6.0(5.5-7.0)days, 26.0(25.0-28.0)days in the experiment group, versus 6(3-10)doses, 66(60-88)hours, 94(82-112)hours, (107±23)hours, 7.0(6.4-8.3)days, 30.0(28.0-33.0)days in the control group, showing significant differences in the above indicators between the two groups ( U=471.50, 432.00, 343.50, t=-7.62, U=411.50, 319.50, P<0.05). (4) Inflam-mation related hematological indexes. ① The white blood cell counts before surgery and at postoperative day 1, 3, 5 were (5.6±1.4)×10 9/L, (9.9±3.2)×10 9/L, (7.7±2.6)×10 9/L, (6.8±1.8)×10 9/L in the experiment group, versus (6.1±1.9)×10 9/L, (12.3±2.9)×10 9/L, (9.7±3.6)×10 9/L, (7.8±2.7)×10 9/L in the control group, meeting the mauchly′s test of sphericity ( χ2=4.17, P>0.05). Results of intrasubject effect test showed that there were significant differences in the time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect of white blood cell counts between the two groups ( F=106.61, 10.45, 4.56, P<0.05). ② The neutrophilic granulocyte percentages before surgery and at postoperative day 1, 3, 5 were 55%±10%, 76%±11%, 73%±9%, 69%±9% in the experiment group, versus 56%±9%, 84%±5%, 79%±8%, 74%±9% in the control group, not meeting the mauchly′s test of sphericity ( χ2=16.63, P<0.05). Results of multi-variate test showed that there were significant differences in the time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect of neutrophilic granulocyte percentages between the two groups ( F=92.42, 11.46, 5.55, P<0.05). ③ The levels of C-reactive protein before surgery and at postoperative day 1, 3, 5 were 1.35(1.15-1.97)mg/L, 14.94(8.24-21.22)mg/L, 33.39(13.02-66.02)mg/L, 18.36(8.27-60.43)mg/L in the experiment group, versus 1.62(0.97-2.27)mg/L, 24.03(10.42-36.52)mg/L, 81.66(31.20-116.76)mg/L, 46.84(28.30-80.26)mg/L in the control group, not meeting the normal distribution. Results of generalized estimation equation test showed that there were significant differences in the time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect of levels of C-reactive protein between the two groups ( Waldχ2=145.74, 9.48, 9.90, P<0.05). ④ The levels of procalcitonin before surgery and at postoperative day 1, 3, 5 were 0.02(0.02-0.04)μg/L, 0.08(0.06-0.12)μg/L, 0.12(0.07-0.21)μg/L, 0.09(0.06-0.15)μg/L in the experiment group, versus 0.02(0.02-0.04)μg/L, 0.14(0.07-0.71)μg/L, 0.35(0.14-0.71)μg/L, 0.24(0.10-0.48)μg/L in the control group, not meeting the normal distribution. Results of generalized estimation equation test showed that there were signifi-cant differences in the time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect of levels of procalcitonin between the two groups ( Waldχ2=62.88, 14.71, 18.33, P<0.05). Conclusion:Perioperative supple-ment of probiotics can reduce the incidence of postoperative infectious com-plications and the application of antimicrobial agent, promote recovery of gastrointestinal function, reduce the level of inflammation related indexes, shorten the duration of postoperative hospital stay and the time to postoperative startup of chemotherapy in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical gastrectomy.

Effects of robotic and laparoscopic-assisted surgery on lymph node dissection and short-term outcomes in patients with Siewert II adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction / 中华胃肠外科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the effects of robotic and laparoscopic-assisted radical total gastrectomy on lymph node dissection and short-term outcomes in patients with Siewert type II adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG).@*METHODS@#Inclusion criteria: the tumor center was located between 2 cm above and below the esophagogastric junction and was confirmed as adenocarcinoma by endoscopic biopsy.@*EXCLUSION CRITERIA@#tumor with local invasion of the liver,spleen, pancreas or other organs; intraoperative finding of tumor dissemination or distant metastasis; patients undergoing palliative surgical treatment or preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy; patients with serious heart diseases, lung diseases, liver diseases, kidney diseases and other comorbidities; patients with multiple primary cancers;patients receiving emergency surgery. According to the above criteria, 82 patients with Siewert type II AEG who underwent gastrointestinal surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from October 2014 to October 2018 were enrolled in the study. They were randomly divided into robotic surgery groups (41 cases) and laparoscopic group (41 cases) according to a computer-generated randomized allocation table. Both groups underwent radical total gastrectomy plus D2 lymph node dissection through the transabdominal esophageal hiatus approach. The intraoperative conditions and postoperative short-term outcomes were compared between two groups, including surgery time, intraoperative blood loss, length of esophagectomy, postoperative complications, postoperative gastrointestinal recovery time, length of hospital stay, postoperative unplanned reoperation rate and rehospitalization rate. Mean±SD is used for the measurement data that conforms to the normal distribution, and two independent sample t-tests are used to compare the two groups; the comparison of the count data is performed by the χ² test.@*RESULTS@#There were 35 males (85.4%) with age of (62.3±10.0) years and body mass index of (24.4±3.2) kg/m² in the robotic surgery group. There were 37 males (90.2%) with age of (62.5±10.0) years and body mass index of (23.8±2.6) kg/m² in the laparoscopic group. No significant differences in the baseline data between two groups were found (all P>0.05). All the patients of both groups completed R0 resection successfully without conversion to laparotomy or perioperative death. Compared with the laparoscopic group, the robotic group had less intraoperative blood loss [(70.7±39.9) ml vs. (110.2±70.6) ml, t=3.118, P=0.003], longer resected esophagus [(3.0±0.7) cm vs. (1.9±0.5) cm, t=8.759, P0.05). The highest lymph node metastasis rate was approximately 20% and observed in No.1, No.2, No.3, and No.7, followed by No.8a, No.9, No.11p, and No.110 with around 5%. The lymph node metastasis rate in other stations (No.4sa, No.4sb, No.4d, No.5, No.6, No.11d, No.12a, No.19, No.20 and No.111) was less than 5%.There were no significant differences in postoperative complication rate, postoperative fever time, postoperative exhaust and defecation time, fluid diet time, and postoperative hospital stay (all P>0.05). There were 2 patients(4.9%) with unplanned reoperation and 1 patient (2.4%) with unplanned re-admission in the laparoscopic group,while 3 patients (7.3%)with unplanned reoperation and 2 patients (4.9%)with unplanned re-admission in the robotic surgery group, whose differences were also not statistically significant (χ²=0.240,P=0.675;χ²=0.346,P=1.000).@*CONCLUSION@#Robot-assisted radical total gastrectomy for Siewert II AEG is safe and feasible, which is characterized by more sophisticated operation, less blood loss and higher quality of lymph node dissection, especially for subphrenic and inferior mediastinal lymph nodes.

Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis analysis of 217 patients with carcinoma in the remnant stomach / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinicopathological features and prognostic factors of carcinoma in the remnant stomach (CRS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinicopathological data of 217 consecutive CRS patients from January 2000 to March 2017 at Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were retrospectively analyzed. CRS was defined as the primary cancer arising from the remnant stomach following gastrectomy, regardless of the initial disease or operation, and at no special time interval. The clinicopathological features and treatment were compared between CRS after benign disease operation (CRS-B) group and CRS after gastric cancer operation (CRS-C) group, and factors influencing prognosis were analyzed using Cox regression model analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of 217 patients, 189 were male and 28 were female with mean age of (60.9±11.2) years. The interval between the first and the second operations was (18.3±15.1) years. The CRS-B group comprised 108 patients and the CRS-C group comprised 109 patients. Compared to CRS-C group, CRS=B group had higher ratio of male [92.6% (100/108) vs. 81.7% (89/109), χ=5.779, P=0.016], longer interval [30(25-40) years vs. 4(1.5-8.0) years, Z=-1.685, P=0.000], longer tumor diameter [(5.9±3.2) cm vs. (3.9±2.4) cm, t=3.390, P=0.000] and later tumor stage [patients in stage I(, II(, III(, and IIII(: 6 (8.0%), 14 (18.7%), 41 (54.7%), and 14 (18.7%) vs. 16 (25.4%), 14 (22.2%), 21(33.3%), and 12(19.0%), respectively, Z=-2.018, P=0.044]. A total of 138 patients underwent surgery, including 118(85.5%) patients of curative resection and 20(14.5%) patients of palliative resection. The other 79 patients did not receive surgery due to extensive metastasis or miscellaneous reasons. Among 138 patients receiving surgery, 3 patients underwent endoscopic resection, 6 patients underwent minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy or robot), and 129 patients underwent laparotomy. Forty-eight patients underwent surgery involving combined resection. The median postoperative hospital stay was 10(8-14) days. The incidence of postoperative complication was 23.2%(32/138). A total of 91 patients were followed up for 7-120 months, including 51 patients in CRS-B group and 40 in CRS-C group. The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates of the 75 patients receiving curative resection were 80.7%, 55.1%, and 41.6%, respectively. The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 73.5%, 48.3%, and 29.0% respectively in CRS-B group and 83.1%, 51.2%, and 32.5% respectively in CRS-C group. There was no significant difference between two groups (P=0.527). Multivariate analysis showed that age (RR=1.879, 95%CI: 1.015-3.479, P=0.045), radical procedure (RR=2.956, 95%CI: 1.421-6.150, P=0.004) and TNM stage (RR=1.570, 95%CI: 1.047-2.354, P=0.029) were independent prognostic factors for CRS.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>As compared to the CRS-C group, the CRS-B group has higher percentage of male, longer interval, larger tumor diameter and later TNM stage. Radical resection indicates better prognosis.</p>

Clinical efficacy of enhanced recovery after surgery in the radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a prospective study / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in the radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer.Methods The clinical data of 140 patients undergoing radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from April 2011 to June 2013 were prospectively analyzed.A double-blind,randomized,controlled study was performed in the 140 patients,and all of them were divided into the ERAS group (patients undergoing perioperative management according to enhanced recovery rehabilitation program) and the control group (patients undergoing perioperative management) based on a random numble table.The inflammatory markers,nutritional index and postoperative recovery of patients were observed.Patients of the ERAS group were followed up by telephone interview within the first 24 hours after discharge,and by outpatient examination since the second week after discharge.The follow-up was ended at postoperative day 30.Patients of the control group were reexamined at the third week after discharge.The measurement data with normal distribution was presented as x ± s.The comparison between groups was evaluated with an independent sample t test.The trend analyses for variables were done using repeated measures ANOVA.The count data were analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability.Results Eighty patients were screened for eligibility,and were allocated into the ERAS group (40 patients) and the control group (40 patients).The total protein in serum (TP),albumin (Alb),prealbumin,TNF-α,IL-6,c-reactive protein,resting energy expenditure (REE),glycemic index,insulin index and Insulin resistance index in the 2 groups showed a range of variations at postoperative day 1,3,and 5,and these were (61 ±5)g/L,(34 ±3)g/L,(160 ± 18)g/L,(12.3 ±2.3)mmol/L,(101 ±34)ng/L,(43 ± 11)g/L,(1 336 ± 105)kal/d,(7.6 ±0.8)mmol/L,(16.8 ±3.5)mU/L and 5.7 ±1.3 in the ERAS group at postoperative day 1,and (58 ± 4) g/L,(31 ± 4) g/L,(147 ± 18) g/L,(15.3 ± 2.2) mmol/L,(122 ±37)ng/L,(56 ±27) g/L,(1 450 ± 164)kal/d,(9.3 ± 1.4) mmol/L,(30.5 ±6.8) mU/L and 12.5 ±3.2 in the control group,respectively,showing a significant difference between the 2 groups (F =31.63,8.03,67.36,147.04,9.63,6.84,16.10,54.85,104.51,139.47,P ＜0.05).The duration of fever,time to flatus,duration of hospital stay,hospital expenses,numeric rating scale and quality of life (QOL) were (2.9 ±0.9) days,(2.9 ± 0.6) days,(7.6 ± 2.1) days,(28 495 ± 4 722) yuan,1.4 ± 1.0 and 15.4 ± 0.9 in the ERAS group after operation,and (3.8 ±0.6)days,(3.5 ±0.7)days,(8.9 ±2.6)days,(35 318 ±7 610)yuan,2.4 ± 1.1 and 14.4 ± 1.2 in the control group,respectively,with a significant difference between the 2 groups (t =-0.91,-3.66,-2.85,-4.82,-4.20,3.92,P ＜0.05).Two patients were complicated with respiratory diseases,1 patient received reoperation and 1 was readmitted to the hospital at postoperative day 30 in the ERAS group.Three patients had respiratory diseases,1 received reoperation and 2 were readmitted to the hospital at postoperative day 30 in the control group,with no significant difference between the 2 groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions ERAS is safe and feasible for the perioperative treatment of patients with gastric cancer,meanwhile it could reduce the surgical stress,shorten the duration of hospital stay and improve QOL and postoperative complications,ERAS might take effects by reducing insulin resistance and decreasing REE.Registry This study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry with the registry number of ChiCTR-TRC-10001611.