Splanchnic vein thrombosis in acute pancreatitis: a review of treatment indications, methods, and outcomes in a single institution.

BACKGROUND: Splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT) is a well-recognized complication of acute pancreatitis. The question of whether or not to treat SVT with systemic therapeutic anticoagulation (STA) remains to be seen. The universal use of anticoagulation may lead to an increased risk of bleeding complications associated with acute pancreatitis. Literature on this subject is sparse and there is no clear guideline on how to treat SVT. Our research demonstrates local practice where therapeutic anticoagulation in SVT varies. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients presenting with acute pancreatitis admitted over a five-year period to a single tertiary hospital with splanchnic vein thrombosis was performed. RESULTS: Of the 1408 patients admitted with acute pancreatitis, 42 were diagnosed with splanchnic vein thrombosis, with a male dominance of 34 (81%). A total of 25 patients received anticoagulation. The use of anticoagulation was dependent on the location of the thrombus, P < 0.01. Anticoagulation use was most common in cases of combination mesenteric, splenic, and portal vein thrombus (100%), isolated mesenteric vein (100%), isolated portal vein (89%), combination portal and splenic vein (87%), and combination mesenteric and splenic vein (75%). The rate of anticoagulation use was lowest in isolated splenic vein thrombus (23%). CONCLUSION: The early commencement of STA in patients with acute pancreatitis and triple-vessel SVT or with portal vein involvement is supported by our data. Isolated splenic vein thrombus does not require systemic therapy. Further research is needed to establish a clear clinical guideline.

Characteristics of kangaroo-related motor vehicle crashes.

BACKGROUND: Kangaroo-related motor vehicle collisions are common but there is limited literature on this topic. Drivers confronted by kangaroos may choose to swerve or to directly collide with the kangaroo. The effect of these differing crash mechanisms, along with the effect of vehicle type or time of day, has not yet been reported. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed, examining patients admitted to our tertiary trauma centre for kangaroo-related motor vehicle collisions between 2000 and 2020. Data on patient demographics, crash characteristics, and hospital stay were collected and analysed. RESULTS: A total of 366 patients were included and were predominantly male (76%) with an median age of 40. Swerve crashes were more common (59%) than direct impact and swerving was a statistically significant predictor of reduced injury severity score on multivariable analysis (other significant factors were female sex and no rollover). Motor vehicle crashes and motorbike crashes had differing crash characteristics. Motor vehicle crashes were more likely the result of swerving, and swerving was less likely to cause ejection or require extrication but more likely to cause rollover. Motorbike crashes however, were more likely the result of head on collision and riders were more likely to be ejected from the vehicle, require extrication, or be involved in a rollover. In terms of time of day, there were more crashes at dawn and there was a trend towards higher injury severity score and length of stay for night-time crashes. CONCLUSION: For kangaroo-related motor vehicle crashes, predictors of increased injury severity score on multivariable analysis were male sex, direct impact, and rollover. Motorbikes and motor vehicles had differing crash mechanisms and characteristics, as did night-time crashes when compared to daytime or twilight crashes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV, prognostic.

Splanchnic venous thrombosis: aetiologies and a review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT) is an uncommon yet potentially life-threatening manifestation of venous thromboembolism. The aim of this study was to present a retrospective analysis of a cohort of Western Australian patients diagnosed with SVT on imaging study, and a review of the literature surrounding the aetiology, location, anticoagulation treatment and outcomes of SVT. METHODS: All patients diagnosed with SVT over a five-year period from 2015 to 2020 in three tertiary hospitals in Western Australia were identified by using an electronic search engine of imaging reports. Collected data included patient demographics and co-morbidity, presentation data, location of thrombus, aetiology of thrombus, treatment with anti-coagulation, length of stay and outcome data including mortality. RESULTS: A total of 164 patients met inclusion criteria. The 90-day mortality was 20.1%; 64% of whom were those with portal vein thrombosis. Aetiology was grouped into haematological conditions (4 patients), non-haematological conditions (130 patients), a combination of factors (17 patients) and idiopathic (13 patients). The majority of deaths were due to malignancy, severe pancreatitis or decompensated liver cirrhosis. CONCLUSION: Whilst the prevalence of SVT is rising with the increase in accessibility to radiological studies, it remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for clinicians. With no consensus guidelines available to direct treatment, the management of patients with SVT should be individualized and considered carefully. The potential complications of venous thrombosis, SVT recurrence or extension and the risk of bleeding need to be evaluated before the commencement of anticoagulation therapy.

The effect of comorbidity on early clinical decision making in acute mesenteric ischemia.

INTRODUCTION: Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is a surgical emergency with a high mortality and morbidity rate. Prompt diagnosis and early surgical management are the cornerstones of management. In certain patients, however, treatment is futile and early palliative care, lessens patient, and family distress. The aim of this study was to investigate factors, focusing on patient comorbidity, that may predict futility of treatment and hence, guide clinicians in their decision making. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive adult patients with AMI diagnosed on imaging were reviewed for demographics, comorbidity, imaging, and biochemical results. RESULTS: Seventy patients were identified with average age of 67 (range 33 - 94). Overall hospital mortality was 72%. Patients were divided into three distinct groups, patients who recovered (27%), patients deceased despite surgical treatment (18%), and patients palliated on presentation (54%). Age was comparable between groups (61 vs. 69 vs. 69; p=.2). Length of stay was highest in the recovered group (41.6 vs. 12.3 vs. 2.8 d). Biochemically, only lactate level differed (3.1 vs. 2.3 vs. 5.3 mmol/L, p=.03). Both deceased and palliative group scored similarly but significantly higher than the recovered group in both the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) (4.2 and 5.6 vs. 3.4, p=.02) and age-adjusted CCI (ACCI) (6.7 and 8.2 vs. 5; p<.01). Other co-morbidities of atrial fibrillation (AF) and hypertension were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Raised ACCI confers poor outcomes in AMI despite surgical management. ACCI may be used to aid early decision making in AMI, predicting futility of treatment, and altering management goals to palliative comfort care.

Endoscopic clips allow for accurate pre-operative localisation of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Optimal management of this disease relies upon accurate pre-operative localisation to allow multidisciplinary discussion and treatment planning. Current pre-operative localisation methods consist of colonoscopy and computed tomography (CT), which are only 79%-85% accurate. To minimise this error, colonoscopy tattooing is a routine practice to facilitate operative localisation. The aim of this study is to investigate if endoscopic radiopaque clips can more accurately localise the lesions pre-operatively. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was conducted of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a tertiary hospital between 2017 and 2019. Visualisation rates and accurate localisation rates were compared between patients receiving radiopaque clips and those who had colonoscopy alone. All patients received a tattoo distal to the tumour and a staging CT. Data on patient demographics, tumour demographics, post-procedure complications and changes to surgical management were collected. RESULTS: Of 285 patients, 245 had tumour localisation with colonoscopy alone and 40 had additional clip localisation. Groups had comparable patient demographics. For patients receiving clips and follow-up CTs within 14 days, 92% of lesions were visualised and 100% of these lesions were accurately localised. In contrast, colonoscopy only accurately localised 77% of lesions (p < 0.01). This resulted in 1.2% of patients requiring an altered operation due to incorrect localisation. No clip-related complications were reported. CONCLUSION: Radiopaque clips are a highly accurate and cost-effective method for localising colorectal cancer with a pre-operative accuracy rate over 92%.

Diagnosis and management of epiploic appendagitis: a single-institution 10-year experience.

<b>Introduction</b>: Epiploic appendagitis is known to be a benign and self-limiting process, yet optimal management is not well understood. Research focused on the efficacy of treatment in this rare condition may allow future patients diagnosed with epiploic appendagitis to be treated accordingly with the best evidence-based medical practice.<br/><b>Aim</b>: The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnosis, compare management options and follow up epiploic appendagitis. <br><b>Materials and methods</b>: This retrospective study included all patients over 18 years of age who were treated in a large tertiary hospital in the years 2009-2019 with a confirmed diagnosis of epiploic appendagitis and no coexisting acute intra-abdominal pathologies. Patients' health information was recorded and analysed.<br/><b>Results</b>: As many as 78 patients were diagnosed with epiploic appendagitis over a 10-year observation period. A minor male predominance (55%) and a broad range of ages at the moment of diagnosis (18-75) were found, with diabetes (n = 10) being the most common comorbidity in this condition . In the majority of cases, the disease was located in the sigmoid (41%) and descending colon (35%). Diagnosis was primarily based on imaging (computerised tomography 91%, ultrasonography 2.6%). Six percent of patients were diagnosed during surgery and these patients recovered with smaller rates of readmissions and recurrences (P < 0.05). Patients given opioids on discharge were less likely to be readmitted to hospital (P < 0.05), while those given antibiotics had a longer inpatient stay (P < 0.05) with no change in readmission rates (P = 0.78) or recurrence rates (P = 0.48). <br/><b>Discussion</b>: Managing epiploic appendagitis with antibiotics is shown to have no effect on patient outcomes, while opioid use for pain control did not affect the length of hospital stay but it reduced the number of readmissions when compared to simple analgesics alone.

Post-operative outcomes in the elderly following colorectal cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND: Despite the prevalence of colorectal cancer in the elderly, there has been a lack of recent studies examining surgical outcomes in these patients. Post-operative outcomes of colorectal cancer surgeries in those aged 80 and above will be compared to those younger than 80. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted of adults receiving surgical resections at a single tertiary centre for colorectal cancer diagnosed between January 2017 and December 2019. Patient demographics, mode of presentation, tumour demographics, operative data and post-operative outcomes were investigated. RESULTS: Of the 326 patients included, 56 were aged 80 and above. Older patients were more likely to be female (P = 0.02), present with surgical emergencies or from other workup rather than through screening (P = 0.002), have more locally advanced cancers (P = 0.009) and receive less neoadjuvant therapy (P = 0.016). Despite this, they had comparable outcomes to those younger than 80 in terms of length of stay (P = 0.21) and rates of complications including mortality (P = 0.67). CONCLUSION: With appropriate patient selection and management, elderly patients can achieve comparable post-operative outcomes to their younger counterparts.

Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture: delayed presentation following a SCUBA dive.

Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture (TDR) is a rare yet life-threatening occurrence that remains a diagnostic challenge for clinicians. Delayed presentation with associated strangulation of the contents, although uncommon, requires emergent management. A 42-year-old woman presented with constant, severe left-sided shoulder and chest pain, as well as associated upper abdominal pain following a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) dive. A chest radiograph (CXR) and CT showed a left-sided diaphragmatic hernia containing stomach. She subsequently underwent a laparoscopic repair of the diaphragmatic defect and recovered well postoperatively.

Appendiceal Diverticular Disease: A 10-year Retrospective Study of Cases from Tertiary Hospitals in Western Australia.

Background: Appendiceal diverticular disease (ADD) is typically a histological diagnosis. Our paper aims to investigate the implications of ADD compared to acute appendicitis (AA). Methods: We conducted a retrospective data collection of patients who had undergone an appen dicectomy in three tertiary hospitals across Western Australia between 2009-2019 and included patients with histopathological diagnoses of ADD and AA. Results: Thirty-seven patients with ADD and forty with AA were included. The mean age in the ADD group was significantly older (p 0.001) at 50.1 compared to the AA group (37.3). The mean white cell count (WCC) in the ADD group was lower than the AA group (11x109/L vs. 13.3x109/L, p 0.001), whereas the C-Reactive Protein (CRP) level was greater, although not statistically significant. The ADD group had a greater risk of major surgery (p 0.05) and complications such as appendiceal perforation and appendiceal mass (p 0.05). Post-operative colonoscopy also demon strated a higher incidence of polyps in patients with ADD (19% vs. 2.5%, p 0.001). Conclusion: ADD frequently presents with clinical features indiscernible from AA. Our study demonstrates that ADD is associated with higher rates of appendiceal perforation, polyps and malignancy. We recommend that patients with ADD be advised to have a colonoscopy post-opera tively to rule out underlying malignancy.

Portal venous gas: different aetiologies and their respective outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Historically finding of portal venous gas (PVG) has been considered as an ominous sign and an indication for emergency surgery and reportedly has a high mortality rate. However, with the recent increasing use of imaging studies, cases of PVG associated with benign and non-life-threatening causes are increasing. The purpose of our study was to investigate the different aetiologies associated with PVG and their respective outcomes. METHODS: A consecutive series of patients with PVG was identified in our group of tertiary hospitals in Western Australia over a 10-year period. Collected data included patients' demographic data, comorbidities, blood tests results, underlying aetiology of the PVG, patients' management and their outcomes. RESULTS: During the study period of 2008 to 2018, 164 patients met the inclusion criteria. Male : Female 90 versus 74. Average age was 65.6. A diverse range of underlying causes identified broadly divided into thromboembolic events (n = 70), mechanical bowel obstruction (n = 29), inflammatory conditions (n = 37) and a wide range of other pathologies (n = 28). The overall mortality was 47.5%, however, varied depending on the underlying aetiology (14.3-72.8%). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that PVG is not always a fatal sign and that mortality varies significantly depending on the aetiology. Both the patient's presenting history and the clinical findings have to be considered to recognize benign aetiology of PVG on computed tomography imaging and the treatment should be directed to the underlying disease with consideration of the high mortality rate of PVG associated with ischaemic bowel.

Herpes simplex virus 1 infection on a reconstructive free flap.

OBJECTIVE: Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) is a widespread virus that primarily causes orofacial infection. METHODS: We present a case of HSV1 infection on a free radial forearm flap used to reconstruct a palate defect. Initially, the free flap appeared healthy; however, after 48 hours the free flap appeared in distress, with dark red colour and fast capillary refill. Venous congestion was suspected, and the patient underwent a second operation where no vascular compromise was found. Vesicles were noted on the free flap; swabs revealed HSV1 infection. RESULTS: Complete recovery of the free flap was achieved with acyclovir. DISCUSSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of HSV1 infection on a free flap that was found to be responsible for the free flap appearing distressed.

Acutely slipped gastric band with gastric necrosis and massive haemorrhage.

We present a case of acute gastric band slippage with gastric necrosis and massive haemoperitoneum necessitating an emergency surgery. The patient presented with an 8h history of dysphagia, vomiting and epigastric pain. Initial examination was unremarkable, but within 6h the patient suddenly deteriorated with a distended peritonitic abdomen. At laparotomy the patient was found to have gastric band slippage, a distended necrotic gastric pouch, a denuded spleen and a massive intraperitoneal haemorrhage of approximately 4l. A splenectomy was performed to control haemorrhage and sleeve gastrectomy to remove the necrotic pouch. The patient made an uneventful recovery. There are no reported cases of massive intraperitoneal haemorrhage or splenic involvement in cases of gastric band slippage. We believe that the gastric necrosis lead to short gastric and splenic vein thrombus and splenic outflow obstruction. This resulted in a subcapsular haematoma which subsequently ruptured causing acute deterioration.