Effects of Prostaglandin E1 on Patients Undergoing Major Gastrointestinal Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical effects of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) in patients who underwent surgery for gastrointestinal (GI) trauma, perforation, or obstruction. BACKGROUND: PGE1 is thought to enhance intestinal blood supply and reduce GI complications during the postoperative period. METHODS: The medical records of 889 patients undergoing major GI surgery were reviewed retrospectively. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for any baseline differences. Clinical outcomes, including early GI function recovery, postoperative complications, and length of hospital stay, were evaluated in all patients. In 278 paired patients, selected nutritional, immunologic, and inflammatory variables were compared based on PGE1 administration. RESULTS: After propensity score 1:1 matching, the baseline characteristics were similar for both groups. PGE1 was associated with prompt postoperative GI function recovery, including first bowel movement [2.6 ±â€Š0.9 vs 3.1 ±â€Š1.0 days after surgery in patients with and without PGE1 treatment, risk ratio 0.51, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.41-0.65, P < 0.001] and first feeding within postoperative day 3 [179 (64.39%) vs 152 (54.68%); risk ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.42-0.90, P = 0.012]. A lower overall postoperative complication rate, including infectious complications [45 (16.2%) vs 68 (24.5%); odds ratio 0.60, 95% CI 0.39-0.91, P = 0.010] and major complications [23 (8.3%) vs 48 (17.3%); odds ratio 0.43, 95% CI 0.26-0.73, P = 0.001], was noted in patients with PGE1 treatment than in patients without PGE1 treatment. Furthermore, the immunologic and inflammatory variable C-reactive protein on postoperative day 3 was reduced by PGE1 treatment (52.5 ±â€Š36.4 vs 89.6 ±â€Š42.4 mg/L; P = 0.037, t test). CONCLUSIONS: PGE1 is associated with beneficial clinical effects, such as prompt postoperative GI function recovery and reduced overall postoperative complications after emergency GI surgery, which may be attributed to a reduced inflammatory response.

Early postoperative outcomes of surgery for intestinal perforation in NEC based on intestinal location of disease.

Current surgical strategies for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) include primary drainage, resection with enterostomies, and primary anastomosis. There is considerable controversy regarding the preferable surgical management of NEC. We sought to investigate whether the surgical outcomes of newborns with NEC undergoing exploratory laparotomy differed according to the location of the disease site.A total of 204 patients with NEC following laparotomy between July 2007 and May 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical outcomes, including mortality, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) length of stay and complications, were evaluated based on the type of surgical operation.Enterostomy creation or primary anastomosis was performed in 98 patients, and 106 cases underwent laparotomy and simple drainage because of panintestinal involvement with near total intestinal compromise or no perforation. The ileum was the most commonly affected location (n = 170, 83.3%). Patients who had undergone a simple drainage procedure experienced less blood loss (P = .023) and a shorter procedure time (P = .061), although no statistical significance was attained. Infants with bowel anastomosis or ostomy had significantly shorter times to beginning enteral feeds (P = .023) and times on mechanical ventilation (P = .011) compared with infants who had undergone drainage (Student's t test). The mean NICU length of stay (P = .088) was longer for the patients with drainage, although the difference did not attain significant. No difference in the overall mortality rate was detected between the 2 groups (P = .10).The postoperative outcomes in newborns undergoing laparotomy were associated with the surgical type, which was determined by disease location in the bowel.

The impact of early enteral nutrition on pediatric patients undergoing gastrointestinal anastomosis a propensity score matching analysis.

This study was conducted to assess the clinical advantages of early enteral nutrition (EEN) in pediatric patients who underwent surgery with gastrointestinal (GI) anastomosis.EEN has been associated with clinical benefits in various aspect of surgical intervention, including GI function recovery and postoperative complications reduction. Evaluable data documenting clinical advantages with EEN for pediatric patients after surgery with GI anastomosis are limited.We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 575 pediatric patients undergoing surgical intervention with GI anastomosis. Among them, 278 cases were managed with EEN and the remaining cases were set as late enteral nutrition (LEN) group. Propensity score (PS) matching was conducted to adjust biases in patient selection. Enteral feeding related complications were evaluated with symptoms, including serum electrolyte abnormalities, abdominal distention, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. Clinical outcomes, including GI function recovery, postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and postoperative follow-up, were assessed according to EEN or LEN.Following PS matching, the baseline variables of the 2 groups were more comparable. There were no differences in the incidence of enteral feeding-related complications. EEN was associated with postoperative GI function recovery, including time to first defecation (3.1 ±â€Š1.4 days for EEN vs 3.8 ±â€Š1.0 days for LEN, risk ratio [RR], 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.43-1.08, P = .042). A lower total episodes of complication, including infectious complications and major complications were noted in patients with EEN than in patients with LEN (117 [45.9%] vs 137 [53.7%]; OR, 0.73, 95% CI 0.52-1.03, P = .046). Mean postoperative length of stay in the EEN group was 7.4 ±â€Š1.8 days versus 9.2 ±â€Š1.4 days in the LEN group (P = .007). Furthermore, the incidence of adhesive small bowel obstruction was lower for patients with laxative administration compared with control, but no significant difference was attained (P = .092)EEN was safe and associated with clinical benefits, including shorten hospital stay, and reduced overall postoperative complications on pediatric patients undergoing GI anastomosis.

The efficacy of combined therapy with metronidazole and broad-spectrum antibiotics on postoperative outcomes for pediatric patients with perforated appendicitis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of combined therapy with metronidazole and broad-spectrum antibiotics for patients with perforated appendicitis who underwent surgical intervention.Broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy is warranted in the treatment of perforated appendicitis. Metronidazole has been used as anaerobic antimicrobial therapy. However, few studies about the use of metronidazole in perforated appendicitis have been reported.The medical records of 249 patients treated with metronidazole combined with broad-spectrum antibiotics following perforated appendicitis surgery were reviewed retrospectively and compared with the medical records of 149 patients treated only with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for selected baseline variables. Clinical outcomes, including postoperative complications and length of hospital stay, were compared between the 2 groups.No differences were found between the use of combined therapy with metronidazole and the use of solely broad-spectrum antibiotic agents with regard to postoperative duration of intravenous antibiotic treatment (6.8 ±â€Š1.3 vs 7.9 ±â€Š2.1 days, respectively, P = .18), inflammation variables at POD 5 (white blood cell [WBC] [risk ratio [RR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67-1.93, P = .15] and C-reactive protein [CRP] [RR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.73-2.25, P = .36]) (Table 2), and the mean postoperative length of hospital stay (LOS) (RR, 0.68, 95% CI, 0.41-0.94, P = .41). There were also no differences in the incidence of postoperative complications, including the intra-abdominal or pelvic abscess rate (7[7.1%] vs 9[9.2%], respectively, P = .40), the incidence of wound infection (14[14.3%] vs 15[15.3%], respectively, P = .50), and the 30-day readmission rate (9[9.2%] vs 12[12.2%], respectively, P = .32).Regarding overall postoperative outcomes and complications, our study demonstrated no beneficial clinical effects of metronidazole administration in patients with perforated appendicitis who underwent surgical intervention. Therefore, metronidazole is not indicated when broad-spectrum antibiotics such as aminopenicillins with ß-lactam inhibitors or carbapenems and select cephalosporins are used.

Impact of hypertonic saline on postoperative complications for patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery.

The aim of this study was to explore the impact of 3% hypertonic saline (HS) intragastric administration for patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal surgery.During the postoperative period, 3% HS has been suggested as a means to improve the intestinal edema and reduce gastrointestinal complications.The medical records of 111 patients with HS intragastric administration following upper gastrointestinal surgery and 268 patients, served as control, were reviewed retrospectively. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for selected baseline variables. Clinical outcomes, including early gastrointestinal function recovery, postoperative complications, and length of hospital stay, were compared according to the HS intragastric administration or not.HS intragastric administration was associated with prompt postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery, including first flatus (risk ratio [RR], 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.89-1.65; P = 0.048) and feeding within 3 postoperative days (RR (95% CI), 0.57 (0.49-0.77); P = 0.036). Early ileus occurred in 25 of 108 patients with HS treatment versus 36 of 108 patients without HS treatment (RR (95% CI), 1.43 (0.63-2.15); P = 0.065). The patients with HS experienced a lower overall postoperative complication (odds ratio [OD] 0.57; 95% CI, 0.33-1.09; P = 0.063), including trend toward a decrease for infectious complications (15[13.9] vs 23[21.3]; P = 0.11; OD, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.29-1.22). There was a decreased incidence of anastomotic leakage (1[0.9] vs 7[6.5]; P = 0.033) and postoperative ileuas (5[4.6%] vs 11[10.2%]; P = 0.096) in the HS administration patients.Our study demonstrated beneficial postoperative clinical effects of HS intragastric administration in patients who had undergone upper gastrointestinal surgery, such as prompt postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery and reduced overall postoperative complications, which may be attributed to a reduced intestinal edema.