Peri-operative management of obese patients in digestive surgery: Clinical practice guidelines from the French Society of Digestive Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: The French Society of Digestive Surgery (Société Française de Chirurgie Digestive [SFCD]) has elaborated clinical practice guidelines for the management of the obese patient undergoing gastro-intestinal surgery. METHODS: The literature was analyzed according to the GRADE® (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology divided into five chapters: preoperative management, modalities of transportation and installation of the patient in the operating room, specific characteristics related to laparoscopic surgery, specific characteristics related to traditional surgery, and postoperative management. Each question was formulated according to the PICO format (Patients, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome). RESULTS: Synthesis of expert opinions and the application of the GRADE methodology produced 30 recommendations among which three were strong and nine were weak. The GRADE methodology could not be applied for 18 questions, for which only expert opinion was obtained. CONCLUSION: These clinical practice guidelines can help surgeons optimize the peri-operative management of the obese patient undergoing gastro-intestinal surgery.

Epidemiology of the surgical management of obesity.

Surgical interventions for obesity have quintupled in the world in 15 years (140,000 in 2003 vs. 720,000 in 2018), however growth has slowed since 2011. This progressive increase varies by country and from 2008 through 2018, 6.5 million people have undergone bariatric surgery. Growth was strongest in the Asia/Pacific region. Belgium is the country performing the most operations per number of inhabitants: (127 operations per 100,000). France is in 7th place with 72 operations per 100,000 and 70% of patients are operated in surgical services that perform more than 100 procedures per year. The sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is the most commonly performed intervention while the adjustable gastric band (AGB) has practically disappeared. Along with the intragastric balloon, novel endoluminal procedures are being evaluated. A real management policy is needed to respond to this evolution of both epidemiology and techniques.

Impact of COVID-19 on surgical emergencies: nationwide analysis.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on healthcare in many countries. This study assessed the effect of a nationwide lockdown in France on admissions for acute surgical conditions and the subsequent impact on postoperative mortality. METHODS: This was an observational analytical study, evaluating data from a national discharge database that collected all discharge reports from any hospital in France. All adult patients admitted through the emergency department and requiring a surgical treatment between 17 March and 11 May 2020, and the equivalent period in 2019 were included. The primary outcome was the change in number of hospital admissions for acute surgical conditions. Mortality was assessed in the matched population, and stratified by region. RESULTS: During the lockdown period, 57 589 consecutive patients were admitted for acute surgical conditions, representing a decrease of 20.9 per cent compared with the 2019 cohort. Significant differences between regions were observed: the decrease was 15.6, 17.2, and 26.8 per cent for low-, intermediate- and high-prevalence regions respectively. The mortality rate was 1.92 per cent during the lockdown period and 1.81 per cent in 2019. In high-prevalence zones, mortality was significantly increased (odds ratio 1.22, 95 per cent c.i. 1.06 to 1.40). CONCLUSION: A marked decrease in hospital admissions for surgical emergencies was observed during the lockdown period, with increased mortality in regions with a higher prevalence of COVID-19 infection. Health authorities should use these findings to preserve quality of care and deliver appropriate messages to the population.

Trends in emergent diverticular disease management: a nationwide cohort study from 2009 to 2018.

BACKGROUND: Diverticular disease is a common disorder. Several guidelines report on its optimal management. The aim of this study was to describe the evolution of the prevalence of this disease, the treatment strategies, and the mortality rate on a national level. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study on prospective data using a nationwide database. All consecutive adult patients diagnosed with diverticular disease and admitted via the emergency department from 2009 to 2018 were included in the study. We performed a descriptive analysis for epidemiologic data, diagnosis, and treatment. RESULTS: During the data collection period, 233,386 patients were included in the study. The number of admissions for emergent diverticular disease increased by 65.8%, from 16,754 in 2009 to 27,781 in 2018, for both uncomplicated and complicated diverticular disease. Among these patients, 19,350 (8.3%) were operated on. The rate of surgical treatment progressively decreased from 9.7% in 2009 to 7.6% in 2018. The three main interventions were Hartmann's procedure (HP, n = 9111, 47.1%), resection with primary anastomosis (RPA, n = 4335, 22.4%), and peritoneal lavage (PL, n = 4836, 25%). We observed a progressive annual increase in HPs (n = 716 in 2009 and n = 1055 in 2018) as well as a decline in PLs since 2015, while the number of RPAs remained stable. CONCLUSIONS: Although admissions for emergent diverticular disease have increased during the study period, the rate of surgical treatment has decreased, suggesting an evolution toward more conservative management of this pathology.

Comparison of Surgical Activity and Scientific Publications in Bariatric Surgery: an Epidemiological and Bibliometric Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: In the last two decades, an impressive increase in the number of surgical interventions was recorded in bariatric surgery. Similarly, several bibliometric studies reported an increasing trend for scientific production. This study aims to compare these two trends. METHODS: This study focused on the period 2003-2016 and included the following procedures: adjustable gastric banding (AGB), bilio-pancreatic deviation (BPD), one-anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), sleeve gastrectomy (SG), and vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG). We retrieved the data on intervention from International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) surveys and data from publications from the Web of Science database. An analysis of the global trend and the trend per continent was performed. RESULTS: Over the study period, the most common procedure to be performed was RYGB (47.1%) followed by SG (33.5%) and AGB (14.8%). The percentage of publications was similar, with 48.3% studies on RYGB, 18.5% on AGB, and 18.4% on SG. In terms of evolution, SG has become the most common procedure to be performed in every continent but Latin America, while RYGB remains the most frequently discussed in scientific publications. Asia has the highest rate of publications per 1000 interventions (4.7), followed by Europe (3.0), the Pacific (2.0), and North America (1.6). CONCLUSION: This study found many similarities in the trend of publications and interventions in bariatric surgery: in particular with an important growth rate in the last 15 years and the progressive polarization toward two procedures (SG and RYGB). Nevertheless some important differences persist at a national level.

Prognostic value of sarcopenia in liver surgery.

Current knowledge indicates that malnutrition increases the rate of post-operative complications, particularly respiratory and infectious, after major surgery. Almost all liver surgery is performed in patients with cancer, a factor that increases the risk of malnutrition. The primary risk factors for post-operative complications are pre-operative hypo-albuminemia and a body mass index less than 20 kg/m(2). To improve the prediction of complications in these patients, some teams have suggested measurement of muscle thickness by computed tomography. Muscular mass can thus be quantified by measuring the total surface of the psoas muscle or the total surface of all muscles (i.e. external and internal oblique, transverse, psoas and paravertebral muscles) seen on an axial CT slice at L3. As well, data exist suggesting that sarcopenia is an independent predictive factor of post-operative morbidity and poor long-term survival after resection for cancer. Nonetheless, the literature on the subject is limited, there are no standardized definitions for sarcopenia, and the need of special software to calculate the surfaces limits its usefulness. Lastly, there are little if any data concerning the nutritional or pharmacologic means to treat sarcopenia. This update, based on a literature review, deals with the value and the prognostic impact of sarcopenia in surgery for liver tumors. The current definition of sarcopenia, validated internationally, the methods of measurement, and the consequences of sarcopenia on the outcome of liver resections are detailed in this review.

Is fixation during gastric banding necessary? A randomised clinical study.

Anterior fixation via a gastro-gastric suture in laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is commonly performed to prevent band-related complications. However, the necessity of this common technique has never been proven. Not fixing the band would be time sparing and would reduce adhesions on the stomach and probably make revisional surgery easier. This study was conceived as a 3-year randomised clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of the non-fixation technique. From December 2006 to December 2007, 81 patients undergoing LAGB were randomly distributed into two groups: group A, with gastro-gastric sutures (n = 41) and group B, without gastro-gastric fixation (n = 40). The two groups were equivalent regarding initial body mass index (BMI), age and sex ratio. The main outcome was postoperative complications and secondary outcomes were operative time and weight loss expressed by the percentage of excess BMI loss (%EBMIL). All patients were prospectively followed up for 2 years. The mean preoperative BMI was 42.5 kg/m² (35-56). All patients were available for follow-up at 2 years. The mean overall preoperative time was 82 ± 20 min for the fixation group and 72 ± 20 min for the non-fixation group (p = 0.13). The mean hospital stay was 4.1 ± 1.5 days (no significant difference between the two groups). The 2-year %EBMIL was 35.9 for group A and 39.4 for group B (p = NS). The mean BMI at 2 years was 36.3 and 36.1, respectively, with no statistical difference. We observed three early band slippages in the non-fixation group and none in the fixation group. Three bands were removed during the second year of follow-up for causes other than band slippage (no significant difference between the two groups). This study was interrupted before a statistical significance could be reached, under the general agreement of all participating surgeons, because of the three unexpected early band slippages. For the patients who did not suffer from this complication, we did not observe any differences between the two groups in terms of late complications and weight loss. The operative time was shorter in the non-fixation group. This randomised clinical trial suggests that care should be taken when not fixating the LAGB because of the risk of early postoperative band slippage. We suggest that fixing the LAGB by gastro-gastric sutures should remain common practice.

[Severe combined immunodeficiencies: a case of adenosine-deaminase deficit]. / Le immunodeficienze combinate gravi: descrizione di un caso clinico di deficit di adenosin deaminasi.

Severe combined immunodeficiencies (SCID) are a group of rare genetic disorders characterized by profoundly defective T lymphocyte. We described in a two months old male a case of SCID with ADA deficiency. With this new case report we summarize recent developments in immunodeficiencies therapy, aiming to induce to bear in mind this disorder, despite its rarity, in differential diagnosis of infections, particularly respiratory or gastrointestinal infections.