Homogeneity in immune features between colorectal liver metastases better identifies patients with good prognosis compared to pathological response to preoperative chemotherapy.

In colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM), the density of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, the expression of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I), and the pathological response to preoperative chemotherapy have been associated with oncological outcomes after complete resection. However, the prognostic significance of the heterogeneity of these features in patients with multiple CRLMs remains under investigation. We used a tissue microarray of 220 mismatch repair-gene proficient CRLMs resected in 97 patients followed prospectively to quantify CD3+ T cells and MHC-I by immunohistochemistry. Histopathological response to preoperative chemotherapy was assessed using standard scoring systems. We tested associations between clinical, immunological, and pathological features with oncologic outcomes. Overall, 29 patients (30.2%) had CRLMs homogeneous for CD3+ T cell infiltration and MHC-I. Patients with immune homogeneous compared to heterogeneous CRLMs had longer median time to recurrence (TTR) (30 vs. 12 months, p = .0018) and disease-specific survival (DSS) (not reached vs. 48 months, p = .0009). At 6 years, 80% of the patients with immune homogeneous CRLMs were still alive. Homogeneity of response to preoperative chemotherapy was seen in 60 (61.9%) and 69 (80.2%) patients according to different grading systems and was not associated with TTR or DSS. CD3 and MHC-I heterogeneity was independent of response to pre-operative chemotherapy and of other clinicopathological variables for their association with oncological outcomes. In patients with multiple CRLMs resected with curative intent, similar adaptive immune features seen across metastases could be more informative than pathological response to pre-operative chemotherapy in predicting oncological outcomes.

Anomaly detection in microservice environments using distributed tracing data analysis and NLP.

In recent years DevOps and agile approaches like microservice architectures and Continuous Integration have become extremely popular given the increasing need for flexible and scalable solutions. However, several factors such as their distribution in the network, the use of different technologies, their short life, etc. make microservices prone to the occurrence of anomalous system behaviours. In addition, due to the high degree of complexity of small services, it is difficult to adequately monitor the security and behavior of microservice environments. In this work, we propose an NLP (natural language processing) based approach to detect performance anomalies in spans during a given trace, besides locating release-over-release regressions. Notably, the whole system needs no prior knowledge, which facilitates the collection of training data. Our proposed approach benefits from distributed tracing data to collect sequences of events that happened during spans. Extensive experiments on real datasets demonstrate that the proposed method achieved an F_score of 0.9759. The results also reveal that in addition to the ability to detect anomalies and release-over-release regressions, our proposed approach speeds up root cause analysis by means of implemented visualization tools in Trace Compass.

Prognostic implications of adaptive immune features in MMR-proficient colorectal liver metastases classified by histopathological growth patterns.

BACKGROUND: After resection, colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM) surrounded by a desmoplastic rim carry a better prognosis than the metastases replacing the adjacent liver. However, these histopathological growth patterns (HGPs) are insufficient to guide clinical decision-making. We explored whether the adaptive immune features of HGPs could refine prognostication. METHODS: From 276 metastases resected in 176 patients classified by HGPs, tissue microarrays were used to assess intratumoral T cells (CD3), antigen presentation capacity (MHC class I) and CD73 expression producing immunosuppressive adenosine. We tested correlations between these variables and patient outcomes. RESULTS: The 101 (57.4%) patients with dominant desmoplastic HGP had a median recurrence-free survival (RFS) of 17.1 months compared to 13.3 months in the 75 patients (42.6%) with dominant replacement HGP (p = 0.037). In desmoplastic CRLM, high vs. low CD73 was the only prognostically informative immune parameter and was associated with a median RFS of 12.3 months compared to 26.3, respectively (p = 0.010). Only in dominant replacement CRLM, we found a subgroup (n = 23) with high intratumoral MHC-I expression but poor CD3+ T cell infiltration, a phenotype associated with a short median RFS of 7.9 months. CONCLUSIONS: Combining the assessments of HGP and adaptive immune features in resected CRLM could help identify patients at risk of early recurrence.

Distributed Architecture for an Integrated Development Environment, Large Trace Analysis, and Visualization.

Integrated development environments (IDEs) provide many useful tools such as a code editor, a compiler, and a debugger for creating software. These tools are highly sophisticated, and their development requires a significant effort. Traditionally, an IDE supports different programming languages via plugins that are not usually reusable in other IDEs. Given the high complexity and constant evolution of popular programming languages, such as C++ and even Java, the effort to update those plugins has become unbearable. Thus, recent work aims to modularize IDEs and reuse the existing parser implementation directly in compilers. However, when IDE debugging tools are insufficient at detecting performance defects in large and multithreaded systems, developers must use tracing and trace visualization tools in their software development process. Those tools are often standalone applications and do not interoperate with the new modular IDEs, thus losing the power and the benefits of many features provided by the IDE. The structure and use cases of tracing tools, with the potentially massive execution traces, significantly differ from the other tools in IDEs. Thus, it is a considerable challenge, one which has not been addressed previously, to integrate them into the new modular IDEs. In this paper, we propose an efficient modular client-server architecture for trace analysis and visualization that solves those problems. The proposed architecture is well suited for performance analysis on Internet of Things (IoT) devices, where resource limitations often prohibit data collection, processing, and visualization all on the same device. The experimental evaluation demonstrated that our proposed flexible and reusable solution is scalable and has a small acceptable performance overhead compared to the standalone approach.

A Framework for Detecting System Performance Anomalies Using Tracing Data Analysis.

Advances in technology and computing power have led to the emergence of complex and large-scale software architectures in recent years. However, they are prone to performance anomalies due to various reasons, including software bugs, hardware failures, and resource contentions. Performance metrics represent the average load on the system and do not help discover the cause of the problem if abnormal behavior occurs during software execution. Consequently, system experts have to examine a massive amount of low-level tracing data to determine the cause of a performance issue. In this work, we propose an anomaly detection framework that reduces troubleshooting time, besides guiding developers to discover performance problems by highlighting anomalous parts in trace data. Our framework works by collecting streams of system calls during the execution of a process using the Linux Trace Toolkit Next Generation(LTTng), sending them to a machine learning module that reveals anomalous subsequences of system calls based on their execution times and frequency. Extensive experiments on real datasets from two different applications (e.g., MySQL and Chrome), for varying scenarios in terms of available labeled data, demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach to distinguish normal sequences from abnormal ones.

Outcomes of Older Patients with Resectable Colorectal Liver Metastases Cancer (CRLM): Single Center Experience.

Surgery is the only potential curative option of CRLM if resectable. The curative approach in patients over 70 years old is challenging mainly because of comorbidities and other geriatric syndromes. Herein, we report outcomes of older patients with resectable CRLM in our center. We retrospectively analyzed characteristics and outcomes of older patients with CRLM operated at "Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal" (CHUM) between 2010 and 2019. We identified 210 patients aged ≥70 years with a median age of 76 (range: 70-85). CRLM were synchronous in 56% of patients. Median disease-free survival (DFS) was 41.3 months. Median overall survival (OS) was 62.2 months and estimated 5-year survival rate was 51.5% similar to those of younger counterparts. Patients with metachronous CRLM had a trend to a higher OS compared to those with synchronous disease (67.2 vs. 58.7 months; p = 0.42). Factors associated with lower survival in the multivariate analysis were right-sided tumors and increased Charlson Comorbidity index (CCI). Survival outcomes of patients aged ≥70 years were comparable to those of younger patients and those reported in the literature. Age should not be a limiting factor in the curative management of older patients with resectable CRLM.

Effect of intraoperative hypovolemic phlebotomy on transfusion and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing hepatectomy: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on how to best achieve a low central venous pressure during hepatectomy for the purpose of reducing blood loss and red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. We analyzed the associations between intraoperative hypovolemic phlebotomy (IOHP), transfusions, and postoperative outcomes in cancer patients undergoing hepatectomy. METHODS: Using surgical and transfusion databases of patients who underwent hepatectomy for cancer at one institution (11 January 2011 to 22 June 2017), we retrospectively analyzed associations between IOHP and RBC transfusion on the day of surgery (primary outcome), and with total perioperative transfusions, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complications (secondary outcomes). We fitted logistic regression models by inverse probability of treatment weighting to adjust for confounders and reported adjusted odds ratio (aOR). RESULTS: There were 522 instances of IOHP performed during 683 hepatectomies, with a mean (standard deviation) volume of 396 (119) mL. The IOHP patients had a 6.9% transfusion risk on the day of surgery compared with 12.4% in non-IOHP patients (aOR, 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.29 to 0.98; P = 0.04). Total perioperative RBC transfusion tended to be lower in IOHP patients compared with non-IOHP patients (14.9% vs 22.4%, respectively; aOR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.44 to 1.16; P = 0.18). In patients with a predicted risk of ≥ 47.5% perioperative RBC transfusion, 24.6% were transfused when IOHP was used compared with 56.5% without IOHP. The incidence of severe postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo scores ≥ 3) was similar in patients whether or not IOHP was performed (15% vs 16% respectively; aOR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.53 to 1.54; P = 0.71). CONCLUSIONS: The use of IOHP during hepatectomy was associated with less RBCs transfused on the same day of surgery. Trials comparing IOHP with other techniques to reduce blood loss and transfusion are needed in liver surgery.

RéSUMé: CONTEXTE: Il n'existe pas de consensus quant à la meilleure façon d'obtenir une pression veineuse centrale basse pendant une hépatectomie dans le but de réduire les pertes et les transfusions sanguines. Nous avons analysé les associations entre la phlébotomie hypovolémique peropératoire, les transfusions, et les résultats cliniques postopératoires chez les patients qui subissent une hépatectomie pour cancer. MéTHODE: À l'aide de bases de données chirurgicales et transfusionnelles de patients ayant subi une hépatectomie pour cancer dans un seul établissement (du 11 janvier 2011 au 22 juin 2017), nous avons rétrospectivement analysé les associations entre la phlébotomie hypovolémique peropératoire et les transfusions érythrocytaires le jour de la chirurgie (critère d'évaluation principal) et avec les transfusions périopératoires totales, les pertes sanguines peropératoires, et les complications postopératoires (critères d'évaluation secondaires). Nous avons utilisé des modèles de régression logistique avec pondération de probabilité inverse de traitement afin de tenir compte des facteurs de confusion et rapporté les rapports de cotes ajustés (RCa). RéSULTATS: Il y a eu 522 phlébotomies hypovolémiques peropératoires exécutées au cours de 683 hépatectomies, avec un volume moyen (écart type) de 396 (119) mL. Les patients ayant eu une phlébotomie hypovolémique peropératoire avaient un risque transfusionnel de 6,9 % le jour de la chirurgie, comparativement à 12,4 % pour les patients sans phlébotomie (RCa, 0,53; intervalle de confiance [IC] de 95 %, 0,29 à 0,98; P = 0,04). Les transfusions périopératoires totales d'érythrocytes tendaient à être moins fréquentes chez les patients ayant subi une phlébotomie hypovolémique peropératoire par rapport aux patients sans phlébotomie (14,9 % vs 22,4 %, respectivement; RCa, 0,72; IC 95 %, 0,44 à 1,16; P = 0,18). Pour les patients présentant un risque prédit de transfusion périopératoire d'érythrocytes ≥ à 47,5 %, 24,6 % de ceux qui ont eu une phlébotomie hypovolémique peropératoire ont été transfusés, comparativement à 56,5 % sans phlébotomie. L'incidence des complications postopératoires graves (scores de Clavien-Dindo ≥ 3) était semblable chez tous les patients, avec ou sans phlébotomie hypovolémique peropératoire (15 % vs 16 % respectivement; RCa, 0,97; IC 95 %, 0,53 à 1,54; P = 0,71). CONCLUSIONS: L'utilisation de la phlébotomie hypovolémique peropératoire pendant une hépatectomie était associée à un moins grand nombre de transfusions érythrocytaires le jour de la chirurgie. Des études qui compareront la phlébotomie hypovolémique peropératoire à d'autres techniques visant à réduire les pertes et les transfusions sanguines sont nécessaires en chirurgie hépatique.

Prognostic value of CD73 expression in resected colorectal cancer liver metastasis.

Immune checkpoint blockade has not yet been effective in patients with mismatch repair proficient metastatic colorectal cancer. Targeting immunosuppressive metabolic pathways is being explored as a new immunotherapeutic approach. We assessed whether CD73, the rate limiting enzyme that catalyzes the degradation of extracellular AMP into immunosuppressive adenosine, could be an immunological determinant of colorectal liver metastases (CRLMs). By immunofluorescence on tissue microarrays, intratumoral CD73 expression (tCD73) was analyzed in 391 CRLMs resected in 215 patients, and soluble CD73 (sCD73) was measured by ELISA in the pre-operative serum of 193 patients. High tCD73 was associated with worse pathological features, such as multiple and larger CRLMs, and poorer pathologic response to pre-operative chemotherapy. The median time to recurrence and disease-specific survival after CRLM resection was significantly shorter in patients with high tCD73 (11.0 and 46.4 months, respectively) compared with low tCD73 (19.0 and 61.5 months, respectively). tCD73 was strongly associated with patient outcomes independently of clinicopathological variables. sCD73 did not correlate with tCD73. Patients with high levels of sCD73 also had shorter disease-specific survival. Our results suggested that CD73 in CRLMs may be prognostically informative and may help select patients more likely to respond to adenosine pathway blocking agents.

Portal vein embolization does not affect the long-term survival and risk of cancer recurrence among colorectal liver metastases patients: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies comparing the survival outcomes of liver resections with and without preoperative portal vein embolization (PVE) for colorectal liver metastases (CLM) have linked PVE to higher rate of tumor progression, lower overall survival (OS) and lower disease-free survival (DFS). The lack of adjusted models to compare these outcomes is a limitation of these studies since patients requiring PVE may differ significantly from the ones receiving upfront surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective cohort study of 128 patients undergoing CLM resection. The OS analysis followed an intent-to-treat (ITT) approach. The adjusted impact of PVE on OS and DFS was evaluated using multivariate Cox regression models. RESULTS: Seventy-one patients underwent PVE before attempting a liver resection while 57 received upfront surgery (NoPVE). All NoPVE patients were resected while 14 PVE participants (19.7%) were not operated (tumor progression = 9/14). PVE patients had a significantly higher preoperative lesions count (3 [1.75-4] vs 1 [1-2.5]; p < 0.001), a higher prevalence of bilateral metastases (23.5% vs 8.8, p = 0.028) and a higher count of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy cycles compared to NoPVE patients. The OS of PVE patients was similar to NoPVE participants (44.7 months [26.9-69.5] vs 49.0 [24.9-64.8], p = 0.761). The DFS of resected PVE patients was higher than NoPVE patients (33.2 months [10.7-54.6] vs 23.4 months [14.1-58.1], p = 0.991). In the adjusted models, preoperative lesions count was the only significant predictor of overall mortality (HR+IC95 = 1.06 (1.02-1.11) p = 0.005) and cancer recurrence (HR+IC95 = 1.14 (1.03-1.27) p = 0.012). CONCLUSION: In the context of CLM, patients requiring PVE differ significantly from patients receiving upfront surgery. This confirms the need for adjusted models when comparing the clinical outcomes of both groups. Our adjusted analysis suggests that PVE is not a significant predictor of a lower OS or DFS. PVE allowed the resection of 80% of participants with initially unresectable CLM. INSTITUTIONAL PROTOCOL NUMBER: 12.106 STUDY REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03168230.

Development of a Predictive Model for Blood Transfusions and Bleeding During Liver Transplantation: An Observational Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) frequently is associated with major blood loss and considerable transfusion requirements. The goal of this study was to define the risk factors for multiple transfusions and major bleeding during OLT and to help identify higher risk patients that could benefit from targeted interventions. DESIGN: OLTs were studied for this observational cohort study. SETTING: Community hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 800 consecutive OLTs were studied. INTERVENTION: No intervention. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Baseline and intraoperative data were gathered. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to find variables associated with 2 outcomes: transfusion of more than 2 units of red blood cells (RBC) and bleeding ≥900 mL. Two nomograms were developed to predict individual risks. The overall intraoperative RBC transfusion was 0.6 ± 1.4 units on average, and 61 surgeries (7.6%) received more than 2 units of RBC (4.5 ± 1.9). Some variables were associated with the outcomes: 5 were associated with transfusion of more than 2 units of RBC (patient's height, starting hemoglobin concentration, starting bilirubin value, the use of a phlebotomy, and central venous pressure [CVP] at the time of vena cava clamping) and 3 with blood loss of ≥900 mL (starting hemoglobin value, Child-Turcotte-Pugh score, and CVP at the time of vena cava clamping). Preclamping CVP showed the strongest association with both outcomes. Nomograms were developed to predict the individual OLT recipients' risk of requiring more than 2 units RBC and suffering from major bleeding. Among the variables associated with multiple RBC transfusions and major bleeding, 3 can lead to interventions: baseline hemoglobin value, the use of a phlebotomy, and the preclamping CVP. CONCLUSION: Some variables were able to predict the risk of multiple transfusions and major bleeding in this low bleeding liver transplantation population. Further studies based on these variables should be done to better define the role of targeted interventions in higher risk liver transplant recipients.

Comparison of techniques for volumetric analysis of the future liver remnant: implications for major hepatic resections.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work was to compare measured and estimated volumetry prior to liver resection. METHODS: Data for consecutive patients submitted to major liver resection for colorectal liver metastases at two centres during 2004-2012 were reviewed. All patients underwent volumetric analysis to define the measured total liver volume (mTLV) and measured future liver remnant ratio (mR(FLR)). The estimated total liver volume (eTLV) standardized to body surface area and estimated future liver remnant ratio (eR(FLR)) were calculated. Descriptive statistics were generated and compared. A difference between mR(FLR) and eR(FLR) of ±5% was considered clinically relevant. RESULTS: Data for a total of 116 patients were included. All patients underwent major resection and 51% underwent portal vein embolization. The mean difference between mTLV and eTLV was 157 ml (P < 0.0001), whereas the mean difference between mR(FLR) and eR(FLR) was -1.7% (P = 0.013). By linear regression, eTLV was only moderately predictive of mTLV (R(2) = 0.35). The distribution of differences between mR(FLR) and eR(FLR) demonstrated that the formula over- or underestimated mR(FLR) by ≥5% in 31.9% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Measured and estimated volumetry yielded differences in the FLR of ≥5% in almost one-third of patients, potentially affecting clinical decision making. Estimated volumetry should be used cautiously and cannot be recommended for general use.

Hepatic rupture in hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Rupture of hepatic hematoma associated with hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets (HELLP) syndrome is a catastrophic complication of pregnancy. Maternal and fetal mortality rates are still high despite advances in diagnosis and treatment. We aimed to present our experience at two referral centers for hepatic disease and to compare it with cases from the literature. METHODS: We reviewed nine cases that occurred over the past 6 years in our centers and made an extensive literature review covering the past 10 years. We reviewed and compared multiple outcomes for all these cases. RESULTS: The median maternal age of our patients was 29 years (interquartile range 27-32). Embolization treatment was used with seven of nine (78%) of our patients compared with 5 of 88 (6%) in the literature (P<.001). Our maternal and fetal mortality rates were 0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0-34%) and 30% (95% CI 7-65%), respectively, compared with 17% (95% CI 10-26%) and 38% (95% CI 31-52%]) from our review of the literature from 2000 to 2010. CONCLUSION: The use of hepatic artery embolization to address hepatic rupture associated with HELLP syndrome may help minimize morbidity and maternal mortality.

Is intra-operative ultrasound still useful for the detection of a hepatic tumour in the era of modern pre-operative imaging?

BACKGROUND: The current role of intra-operative ultrasound (IOUS) is questioned because of recent progress in medical imaging. The aim of the present study was to determine the accuracy of IOUS in the detection of a hepatic tumour (HT) compared with a pre-operative multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: This retrospective study included 418 patients evaluated using an 8-slice MDCT scan (SCAN8), 64-slice MDCT scan (SCAN64) and MRI alone or combined with a computed tomography (CT) scan. The pathological result was used as a gold standard. RESULTS: Correlation rates for the number of detected lesions compared with pathology results were 0.627 for SCAN8, 0.785 for SCAN64, 0.657 for MRI and 0.913 for IOUS. Compared with pathology, the rate of concordance was significantly higher with IOUS (0.871) than with SCAN8 (0.736; P=0.011), SCAN64 (0.792; P<0.001) and MRI (0.742; P<0.001). IOUS was responsible for a change in operative strategy in 16.5% of patients. Surgery was extended in 12.4%, limited in 1.7% and abandoned in 2.4%. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with cross-sectional pre-operative imaging, IOUS is still superior for the detection of HT and the planning of surgery. IOUS remains recommended as a routine procedure in patients having a hepatic resection in the era of modern pre-operative imaging.

Evaluation of the addition of bupivacaine to intrathecal morphine and fentanyl for postoperative pain management in laparascopic liver resection.

BACKGROUND: Optimal modality of pain management after liver resection has been controversial. Epidural analgesia is often avoided because of transient coagulopathy and the associated risk of epidural hematoma. Single-dose intrathecal morphine has been shown to be an effective alternative in open liver resection. The purpose of this trial was to compare the analgesic efficacy of intrathecal morphine and fentanyl versus intrathecal bupivacaine 0.5%, morphine, and fentanyl for patients undergoing laparoscopic liver resection. METHODS: This prospective randomized controlled double-blind trial compared morphine consumption between control (CTRL) group receiving a spinal injection of fentanyl 15 µg and morphine 0.4 mg and bupivacaine (BUPI) group receiving the same medications in addition to bupivacaine 0.5% (15 mg). Forty patients scheduled for laparoscopic liver resection were enrolled. Primary outcome was intravenous patient-controlled analgesia morphine consumption measured at 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 hrs after spinal injection. Secondary outcomes were pain scores at rest and with movement, sedation, nausea, pruritus, and respiratory rate. RESULTS: Cumulative doses of morphine were significantly lower for all time intervals in the BUPI group: 54 (30) versus 94 (47) mg (P = 0.01) at 48 hrs. Morphine consumption was significantly lower for each time interval up to 18 hrs. Pain scores with movement were significantly lower in the BUPI group up to 24 hrs after injection. Pain score at rest was significantly lower in the BUPI group 9 hrs after injection. There were no differences in adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of bupivacaine to intrathecal morphine and fentanyl significantly reduced intravenous morphine consumption after laparoscopic liver resection.

Long-lasting analgesic effects of intraoperative thoracic epidural with bupivacaine for liver resection.

OBJECTIVES: Continuous epidural analgesia may be considered in liver resection but is often avoided because of possible coagulopathies and the risk of epidural hematoma in the postoperative period. On the other hand, there is no coagulation defect during the surgery. Effective prevention of postoperative pain may require continuous sensory ablation throughout the surgery event. METHODS: A prospective, randomized, double-blind study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of intraoperative epidural anesthesia on postoperative morphine consumption via patient-controlled analgesia after liver surgery in 2 groups of patients. One group (epidural) received, intraoperatively, thoracic epidural bupivacaine perfusion (0.5% at 3 mL/hr) added to preoperative intrathecal morphine (0.5 mg) and fentanyl (15 microg). The other group (placebo) was administered the same intrathecal narcotics but with a sham epidural. Forty-four patients scheduled for major liver resection (> or =2 segments) were recruited. Patient-controlled analgesia morphine consumption, pain at rest and with movement, sedation, nausea, pruritus, and respiratory frequency were evaluated at 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 hrs after intrathecal morphine injection. RESULTS: Patients in the placebo group consumed twice as much morphine during each time interval than patients in the epidural group (at 48 hrs: 123 [SD, 46] vs 59 [SD, 25] mg; P < 0.0001). Pain evaluation on visual analog scale at rest and on movement was lower in the epidural group (P = 0.017 and P = 0.037). CONCLUSION: Intraoperative thoracic epidural infusion of bupivacaine, added to intrathecal morphine, decreased postoperative morphine consumption with better pain relief compared with the placebo.

Hypertrophy of the non-embolized liver after chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC(+)) and portal vein embolization (PVE) enables curative resection in more patients with colorectal-liver metastases (CRLM). However, after NC(+), structural alterations have been reported with the risk of post-operative hepatic failure. We undertook to determine if NC(+) toxicity limits future remnant liver (FRL) hypertrophy after PVE. METHODS: PVE was performed in 20 patients, 13 (65%) of whom previously received a mean FOLFIRI (5-fluorouracil + leucovorin + irinotecan) regimen (NC(+)) of 6.6 cycles. The seven remaining patients served as the control group without NC (NC(-)). RESULTS: CRLM were bilateral in 69% (NC(+)) and 57% (NC(-)), and synchronous in 84% (NC(+)) and 14% (NC(-)). The FRL hypertrophy rate was 54.1% (NC(+)) and 43.7% (NC(-)) (P= 0.3). CRLM were unresectable in four of our 20 patients, i.e. group NC(+): one insufficient FRL hypertrophy and one severe steatosis; and group NC(-): two tumoral progressions. In both groups, the operative parameters were comparable except for pedicular clamping: 8 (NC(+)) and 36 min (NC(-)), respectively (P < 0.05). Also, the surgical outcome rate and hospital stay were comparable. No significant pathological difference was observed between the two groups. No mortality occurred in either group. CONCLUSION: In view of our limited experience, we conclude that hypertrophy of the non-embolized liver (FRL) is not altered after FOLFIRI-based NC.

MELD score and blood product requirements during liver transplantation: no link.

BACKGROUND: Orthotopic liver transplantation has been traditionally associated with major blood loss and the need for allogenic blood product transfusions. In recent years, improvements in surgical and anesthetic techniques have greatly decreased the amount of blood products transfused. We have published a median of 0 for all intraoperative blood products transfused. Some authors argue that these results could be possible merely because of the relatively healthy cohort in terms of model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) score. The MELD score could be adjusted by some conditions (hepatocellular carcinoma, hemodialysis, hepatopulmonary syndrome, and amyloidosis) and was not adjusted in these series. The goal of this work was to verify the MELD score according to US standards and to find any link between the MELD score and the transfusion rate. METHOD: Three hundred fifty consecutive liver transplantations were studied. The MELD score was adjusted according to US standards. Patients were divided into two groups according to the median of the MELD score. Blood loss and transfusion rate were determined for these two groups. Logistic regression models were used to find any link with transfusion of red blood cell (RBC) units. RESULT: The MELD score before adjusting was 19+/-9 and 22+/-10 after. A mean of 0.5+/-1.3 RBC units/patient intraoperative were transfused with 80.6% of cases without any blood products. There was no difference for the blood loss (999+/-670 mL vs. 1017+/-885 mL) or the transfusion rate (0.4+/-1.2 vs. 0.5+/-1.4 RBC/patient) between two groups of MELD (<21 or >or=21) or any of its component (creatinine, bilirubin, and international normalized ratio). The logistic regression analysis found that only two variables were linked to RBC transfusion; starting hemoglobin value and phlebotomy. CONCLUSION: In this series, the MELD score was as high as US series and did not predict blood losses and blood product requirement during liver transplantation. If the MELD system has to be implemented to prioritize orthotopic liver transplantation, it should be revisited, and the starting hemoglobin value should be added to the equation.

Cure of gastric antral vascular ectasia by liver transplantation despite persistent portal hypertension: a clue for pathogenesis.

Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) is a rare cause of chronic bleeding in cirrhotic patients. It has been suggested that these gastric lesions might be related to portal hypertension, hepatic insufficiency, or both parameters. We report two cases of cirrhotic patients in whom GAVE was the source of recurrent bleeding. These patients also had complete portal vein thrombosis. Liver transplantation was performed and an end-to-end cavoportal anastomosis was performed, leaving patients with persistent portal hypertension after surgery. We observed complete disappearance of the antral lesions several weeks after transplantation, which shows that the GAVE is not related to portal hypertension but is rather a direct consequence of liver failure. Possible pathophysiologic mechanisms are discussed.

Helical CT with CT angiography in assessing periampullary neoplasms: identification of vascular invasion.

PURPOSE: To determine the accuracy of helical computed tomography (CT) with CT angiography in identifying vascular invasion by periampullary neoplasms and to assess the added value of CT angiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-nine patients suspected of having periampullary neoplasms were examined. Images from dual phase helical CT with CT angiography were compared with surgical findings in 36 patients. Arterial and venous invasion were assessed separately. Accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were determined for CT alone and for CT supplemented with CT angiography. RESULTS: The accuracy, PPV, and NPV of helical CT with CT angiography in identifying venous invasion was 92% (33 of 36 patients), 86% (12 of 14 patients), and 95% (21 of 22 patients), respectively. When transverse CT images alone were analyzed, accuracy decreased to 69% (25 of 36 patients) (P =.005); PPV and NPV were 63% (five of eight patients) and 71% (20 of 28 patients), respectively. When identifying arterial invasion, the accuracy of CT with CT angiography and of CT alone was 86% (31 of 36 patients). PPV and NPV also were identical at 71% (five of seven patients) and 90% (26 of 29 patients), respectively. CONCLUSION: CT angiography significantly increases the ability to identify venous invasion when compared with CT alone but does not improve detection of arterial invasion.