Magnetic resonance imaging for acute appendicitis in pregnancy: can clinical scores predict when imaging is needed?

PURPOSE: Advanced imaging may augment the diagnostic milieux for presumed acute appendicitis (AA) during pregnancy, however it is not clear when such imaging modalities are indicated. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of clinical scoring systems with the findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of AA in pregnant patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study between 2019 and 2021 was performed in two tertiary level centers. Pregnant patients presenting with suspected AA and non-diagnostic trans-abdominal ultrasound who underwent MRI as part of their evaluation were identified. Patient demographics, parity, gestation, presenting signs, and symptoms were documented. The Alvarado and Appendicitis Inflammatory Response (AIR) score for each patient were calculated and correlated with clinical and MRI findings. Univariate analysis was used to identify factors associated with AA on MRI. RESULTS: Of the 255 pregnant patients who underwent MRI, 33 (13%) had findings of AA. On univariate analysis, presentation during the second/third trimester, migration of pain, vomiting and RLQ tenderness correlated with MRI findings of AA. Whilst 5/77 (6.5%) of patients with an Alvarado score ≤4 had signs of AA on MRI, a score of ≥5 had a sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive value of 84.8%, 36.6%, 94.0% and 17.2%. For an AIR score ≥ 5, this was 78.8%, 41.5%, 93.0%, and 16.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Whilst clinical scoring systems may be useful in identifying which pregnant patients require MRI to be performed when AA is suspected, the low sensitivity implies further research is needed to refine the use of this valuable resource.

The effect of mechanical bowel preparation on postoperative complications in laparoscopic right colectomy: a retrospective propensity score matching analysis.

PURPOSE: To assess whether full bowel preparation affects 30-day surgical outcomes in laparoscopic right colectomy for colon cancer. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of all elective laparoscopic right colectomies performed for colonic adenocarcinoma between Jan 2011 and Dec 2021. The cohort was divided into two groups-no bowel preparation (NP) group and patients who received full bowel preparation (FP), including oral and mechanical cathartic bowel preparation. All anastomoses were extracorporeal stapled side-to-side. The two groups were compared at baseline and then were matched using propensity score based on demographic and clinical parameters. The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative complication rate, mainly anastomotic leak (AL) and surgical site infection (SSI) rate. RESULTS: The original cohort included 238 patients with a median age of 68 (SD 13) and equal M:F ratio. Following propensity score matching, 93 matched patients were included in each group. Analysis of the matched cohort showed a significantly higher overall complication rate in the FP group (28 vs 11.8%, p = 0.005) which was mostly due to minor type II complications. There were no differences in major complication rates, SSI, ileus, or AL rate. Although operative time was significantly longer in the FP group (119 vs 100 min, p ≤ 0.001), length of stay was significantly shorter in the FP group (5 vs 6 days, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Aside from a shorter hospital stay, full mechanical bowel preparation for laparoscopic right colectomy does not seem to have any benefit and may be associated with a higher overall complication rate.

Anorectal Malignancies Presenting as a Perianal Abscess or Fistula.

BACKGROUND: Acute anorectal abscess and fistula are common conditions that usually presents as a painful lump close to the anal margin. Tumors in the distal rectum and in the perianal region may mimic the symptoms and signs of anorectal sepsis, thereby leading to a delay in diagnosis and management. The purpose of this study was to describe patients presenting with acute perianal abscess or fistula who were subsequently diagnosed with anorectal cancer. METHODS: We performed a retrospective, review of all cases presenting with acute perianal abscess or fistula who were subsequently found to have anorectal carcinoma on biopsy in two tertiary centers. We analyzed the data focusing on the clinical features, laboratory values, clinical staging of the tumors, the subsequent management, the pathological staging, and the outcome of each patient. RESULTS: Overall, 3219 patients presenting with anorectal abscess or fistula were reviewed. Cancer was diagnosed in 16 (.5%) patients, 12 with adenocarcinoma of the rectum and 4 with squamous cell carcinoma of the anus. In 5 patients (31.2%), cancer was diagnosed in the setting of chronic perianal fistula, 4 of them had Crohn's disease. In 10 patients (62.5%), cancer was not diagnosed during the initial evaluation of the acute symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: A high index of suspicion is required to make the diagnosis of perianal tumors when assessing patients presenting with perianal sepsis, particularly those with Crohn's disease, a long history of persistent perianal disease, and an advanced age. In most cases, proper drainage followed by proximal diversion are the surgical treatment of choice in the acute setting.

High Failure Rate Following Restorative Surgery for Rectal Prolapse in Systemic Sclerosis Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune connective tissue disorder. Colonic disorders are reported in 70% of patients. Only a few cases of rectal prolapse surgical repair in SSc patients were published, demonstrating high recurrence rate following any restorative surgery. The aim of this study is to present our surgical experience combined with the reported cases of SSc patients who underwent surgical interventions for rectal prolapse. METHODS: We reviewed our data and the published reports in the English literature of patients with SSc who underwent surgery for rectal prolapse. We located 6 case reports, in addition to 3 patients who were operated in our center. RESULTS: A total of 19 procedures (9 patients) were included, among them 17 restorative surgeries and 2 low anterior resections (LAR) with end-colostomy. All patients were female (mean age 70.3). Index surgery was perineal rectosigmoidectomy in 5, abdominal resection rectopexy in 3, and LAR with colostomy in 1 patient. All patients following restorative surgery suffered from fecal incontinence. 5 patients (62.5%) who underwent restorative surgery required at least 1 re-operation. The 2 patients who underwent LAR and colostomy reported a complete resolution of anorectal symptoms with a major improvement in their quality of life. CONCLUSION: High recurrence rate is expected in SSc patients with rectal prolapse who undergo a restorative procedure. Low anterior resection and permanent colostomy provide an alternative surgical option to patients with SSc and prolapse in contrast to restorative surgery. We believe that this surgical approach should be offered for these patients.

Inflammatory bowel disease in families with four or more affected first-degree relatives.

BACKGROUND: Family history increases the risk for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). However, data on differences in phenotypic characteristics among patients with a strong family history of IBD are scarce and controversial. The aim of the study was to compare the phenotypic features of IBD patients with four or more affected first-degree relatives with sporadic cases of IBD. METHODS: Patients with familial and sporadic IBD were identified from the institutional IBD database. IBD patients from families with at least four first-degree affected relatives were selected for analysis and were compared to non-matched sporadic cases with IBD chosen randomly. Comparison for type of IBD (Crohn's disease (CD) vs. ulcerative colitis (UC)), age at onset as well as for disease extent, behavior, extraintestinal manifestations and indicators of severe disease were analyzed. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients with familial IBD (28 CD, seven UC) were compared to 88 sporadic IBD patients (61 CD, 24 UC and three IBDU). Disease duration was 10.3 ± 8.2 in the familial and 8.0 ± 7.2 years in the sporadic cases, p=.13. The familial cases were younger at diagnosis (19.3 ± 8.6 vs. 25.7 ± 11.8, p=.004). Patients with familial compared to sporadic IBD were significantly more likely to require steroid treatment (80% vs. 54.5%, p=.009), biological treatment (94.3%, vs. 63.6%, p<.001) or surgery (25.7%, vs. 11.4%, p=.048). CONCLUSIONS: IBD with a very strong positive family history is associated with younger age at onset and a more adverse IBD phenotype compared to sporadic IBD.

Pyogenic Liver Abscess: Contemporary Trends in a Tertiary Institute.

Background: Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening condition. In recent years, advances in diagnostics and management have led to early diagnosis and treatment and decreased mortality. We present recent data from a large series of patients with PLA and examine the trends in the management of PLA over a period of 50 years. Methods: The medical records of all patients admitted to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Israel, between January 2011 and December 2021 with a primary or secondary diagnosis of PLA were reviewed retrospectively. Results: : Ninety-five patients with PLA were identified. Thirty-eight (40%) were female. The median patient age was 66 years (range 18-93). The diagnosis of PLA in all patients was confirmed with abdominal computed tomography (CT). In twenty patients (21.1%), PLA was not diagnosed by the initial abdominal US. Most abscesses were right-sided. Biliary tract origin was the most common underlying cause of PLA (n = 57, 60%), followed by cryptogenic etiology (n = 28, 30%). Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Streptococcus species were most commonly identified. The most common primary treatment modality was percutaneous drainage (PD), which was performed in 81 patients (85.3%). Fourteen patients (14.7%) were treated medically without intervention, and two patients (2.1%) were treated surgically following a failure of PD. Four patients died as a direct result of PLA. Conclusions: Patients diagnosed with PLA are older, the male predominance is less pronounced, and the offending pathogens are likely to originate from the biliary tract. This study questions the utility of abdominal US as the initial diagnostic imaging in patients with suspected PLA (versus CT) and demonstrates improved outcomes for patients with PLA over the years.

Small Bowel Obstruction in Patients without Prior Abdominal Surgery: To Operate or Not?

INTRODUCTION: Surgical exploration is still considered mandatory in the setting of small bowel obstruction (SBO) in patients without prior intra-abdominal surgery. However, recent studies have challenged this 'classic' approach describing success with conservative non-surgical treatment. The aim of this study is to identify clinical, radiological and biochemical variables that may be associated with the absence of intra-abdominal pathology in patients with SBO who have not undergone previous surgery. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of prospectively recorded data. Patients with SBO without prior abdominal surgery who presented to a single tertiary referral medical center between 2009 and 2019 were included. RESULTS: Eighty-seven patients were included of whom 61(70.0%) were allocated to the 'therapeutic exploration' group and 26 (30.0%) to the 'non-therapeutic exploration' group. Forty-eight patients (55.0%) had adhesions, 17.2% had closed-loop obstruction, 10.0% had an internal hernia, 27.6% had bowel ischemia and 5.7% had bowel necrosis. Although multiple clinical, laboratory, radiological and preoperative factors were examined, none were significantly associated with pathological findings during surgical exploration. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of complications when comparing between those groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this series, no variables were associated with intra-abdominal pathology in patients who underwent surgery for SBO with no history of prior abdominal surgery. However, the fact that 27.0% had ischemic bowel upon surgical exploration suggests that this approach is still mandatory for this specific group of patients. Furthermore, clinicians and patients should be aware that negative exploration may be expected in up to 30.0%.

Artificial intelligence for phase recognition in complex laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND: The potential role and benefits of AI in surgery has yet to be determined. This study is a first step in developing an AI system for minimizing adverse events and improving patient's safety. We developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm and evaluated its performance in recognizing surgical phases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) videos spanning a range of complexities. METHODS: A set of 371 LC videos with various complexity levels and containing adverse events was collected from five hospitals. Two expert surgeons segmented each video into 10 phases including Calot's triangle dissection and clipping and cutting. For each video, adverse events were also annotated when present (major bleeding; gallbladder perforation; major bile leakage; and incidental finding) and complexity level (on a scale of 1-5) was also recorded. The dataset was then split in an 80:20 ratio (294 and 77 videos), stratified by complexity, hospital, and adverse events to train and test the AI model, respectively. The AI-surgeon agreement was then compared to the agreement between surgeons. RESULTS: The mean accuracy of the AI model for surgical phase recognition was 89% [95% CI 87.1%, 90.6%], comparable to the mean inter-annotator agreement of 90% [95% CI 89.4%, 90.5%]. The model's accuracy was inversely associated with procedure complexity, decreasing from 92% (complexity level 1) to 88% (complexity level 3) to 81% (complexity level 5). CONCLUSION: The AI model successfully identified surgical phases in both simple and complex LC procedures. Further validation and system training is warranted to evaluate its potential applications such as to increase patient safety during surgery.

Exploring the Trends of Acute Appendicitis Following Recovery or Vaccination From COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: The relationship that vaccination against corona virus disease 19 (COVID-19) or recovery from the acute form of the illness may have with the incidence or severity of acute appendicitis (AA) has not been explored. The aim of this study was to evaluate this relationship. METHODS: A single centre retrospective study of all consecutive adult patients presenting with AA in the 6 mo after the initiation of a national vaccination program was performed. The presenting characteristics and pathological data of patients who had either been vaccinated against or recovered from COVID-19 were compared with those who had not. In addition, historical data from the equivalent period 12 and 24 mo beforehand was also extracted. The incidence of AA was compared between each of these time-frames. RESULTS: Of the 258 patients initially identified, 255 were included in the analysis of which 156 had either been vaccinated and/or recovered from COVID-19 (61.2%) whilst 99 (38.8%) patients had not. When comparing these two groups, there were no significant differences in the presenting characteristics, operative findings or postoperative courses. There was also no significant change in the incidence of AA when comparing the study dates with historical data (median weekly incidence of AA 8.0 versus 8.0 versus 8.0 respectively, P = 0.672). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the data presented here, we failed to find a relationship between a national vaccination program and both the nature and incidence of AA presenting to a busy urban hospital.

Ex-vivo activation of a liposomal prodrug of mitomycin C by human tumors.

PURPOSE: To examine the ex- vivo ability of explanted human tumors and normal tissue to activate liposomal mitomycin C lipidic prodrug (MLP) by releasing the active free drug form, mitomycin C (MMC). METHODS: We tested conversion of MLP to MMC in an ex vivo assay using explanted tissues obtained during routine surgery to remove primary tumors or metastases. Tumor and adjacent normal tissue were obtained from freshly explanted tumors and were immediately deep frozen at - 70 °C. On test day, the fragments were thawed, homogenized and incubated in the presence of a fixed amount of liposomal MLP at 37 °C for 1 h. We measured MLP and its rate of conversion to MMC by HPLC. Controls included plasma, malignant effusions, red blood cells, tumor cell lines, mouse liver, and buffer with dithiothreitol, a potent reducing agent. RESULTS: Most patients tested (16/20) were diagnosed with colo-rectal carcinoma. The average fraction of MLP cleaved per 100-mg tumor tissue (21.1%, SEM = 1.8) was greater than per 100-mg normal tissue (16.6%, SEM = 1.3). When the tumor and normal tissue samples were paired by patient, the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.022, paired t test). Biological fluids did not activate liposomal MLP, while normal liver tissue strongly does. Interestingly, the omental fatty tissue also greatly activated MLP. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor tissue homogenates activate MLP with greater efficiency than the surrounding normal tissues, but far less than liver and adipose tissue. These observations demonstrate the bioavailability of liposomal MLP in human tumors, and its pharmacologic potential in cancer therapy.

Innovative approach to open abdomen: converting an enteroatmospheric fistula into an easily manageable stoma.

A 52-year-old super morbidly obese patient underwent elective laparoscopic conversion of a failed silastic ring vertical gastroplasty to a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Following surgery, she developed an anastomotic leak which required emergent laparotomy. The patient then suffered from a complex postoperative course during which she developed an intestinal fistula which freely drained into the wound and gradually led to its complete dehiscence. Her course was further complicated by the surfacing of an enteroatmospheric fistula. This devastating complication was managed by employing the TopClosure Tension Relief system. Using the inverse maturation technique, further described in this report, we were able to progressively approximate and invert the edges of the skin around the enteroatmospheric fistula, thereby facilitating its conversion to an easily manageable stoma. Using this technique, we were able to achieve delayed primary wound closure of a grade 4 open abdomen complicated by an enteroatmospheric fistula in just under 5 weeks' time.

The Decreasing Incidence of Acute Appendicitis During COVID-19: A Retrospective Multi-centre Study.

BACKGROUND: As the novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) spreads, a decrease in the number of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) has been noted in our institutions. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence and severity of AA before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed between December 2019 and April 2020 in the four high-volume centres that provide health care to the municipality of Jerusalem, Israel. Two groups were created. Group A consisted of patients who presented in the 7 weeks prior to COVID-19 first being diagnosed, whilst those in the 7 weeks after were allocated to Group B. A comparison was performed between the clinicopathological features of the patients in each group as was the changing incidence of AA. RESULTS: A total of 378 patients were identified, 237 in Group A and 141 in Group B (62.7% vs. 37.3%). Following the onset of COVID-19, the weekly incidence of AA decreased by 40.7% (p = 0.02). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the length of preoperative symptoms or surgery, need for postoperative peritoneal drainage or the distribution of complicated versus uncomplicated appendicitis. CONCLUSIONS: The significant decrease in the number of patients admitted with AA during the onset of COVID-19 possibly represents successful resolution of mild appendicitis treated symptomatically by patients at home. Further research is needed to corroborate this assumption and identify those patients who may benefit from this treatment pathway.

Enhanced Recovery Deviation and Failure After Pancreaticoduodenectomy: Causative Factors and Impact.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is popular and safe. This study aimed to describe the incidence, causative factors, and clinical impact of deviation from and failure of an ERAS protocol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort analysis of elective PD patients managed according to an ERAS protocol between October 2015 and June 2018 was performed. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified variables associated with protocol deviation and failure. The relationship between protocol deviation and failure was also explored. RESULTS: A total of 97 patients were identified comprising of 46 females and 51 males. The median age was 68 y (range 17-85). Twenty-one patients (21.6%) suffered serious complications, whereas two (2.1%) died perioperatively. The median length of stay (LoS) was 14 d (6-36). In total, 73 (75.3%) patients deviated, whereas 39 (40.2%) failed the protocol. On univariate analysis, protocol deviation was associated with male gender, surgery time ≥270 min, and prolonged LoS. On multivariate analysis only prolonged LoS remained significant. Only serious complications were associated with protocol failure on multivariate analysis. Protocol deviation was not associated with significant complications nor ERAS protocol failure. CONCLUSIONS: ERAS protocol deviation does not alter the course of those destined to protocol failure. Greater understanding into the causative factors of either protocol deviation or failure may be the only way to personalize care and realize the maximal benefit of ERAS in this specific group of patients.

Sarcopenia defined by muscle quality rather than quantity predicts complications following laparoscopic right hemicolectomy.

PURPOSE: While sarcopenia has prognostic value in elective colorectal surgery for predicting peri-operative morbidity and mortality, its role in elective laparoscopic surgery is poorly defined. METHODS: A retrospective single-center analysis of patients undergoing elective laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for adenocarcinoma between January 2010 and December 2016. Univariate analysis compared the robustness of total psoas index (TPI) with Hounsfield unit average calculation (HUAC) calculated from pre-operative CT imaging in predicting post-operative complications. Multivariate analysis compared these measures with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade and Charlson scores in predicting post-operative complications. RESULTS: Of the 580 patients identified, 185 met the inclusion criteria (91 males and 94 females, with a median age of 68). Using TPI and HUAC, 46 and 44 patients respectively were identified as sarcopenic, including 18 patients that were identified by both measures. HUAC-defined sarcopenia was significantly associated with pre-operative comorbidities, peri-operative mortality, and a greater incidence of respiratory, cardiac, and serious post-operative complications (Clavien-Dindo ≥ 3). Those with HUAC-defined sarcopenia aged > 75 were at particular risk of morbidity (OR 5.52, p = 0.002). No such relationships were found with TPI-defined sarcopenia. Only HUAC remained predictive of post-operative complications on multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia is a novel methodology for stratifying surgical risk in elective colorectal cancer surgery. HUAC has a high prognostic accuracy for the prediction of complications following laparoscopic colorectal surgery compared with TPI, ASA grade, and Charlson score.

[SARCOPENIA IS AN INDEPENDENT RISK FACTOR FOR DELAYED GASTRIC EMPTYING AFTER PANCREATICODUODENECTOMY].

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia is defined as the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle and can be measured using the cross-sectional diameter of the psoas muscle on computed tomography. Sarcopenia has been associated with a variety of post-operative complications. We propose that sarcopenia acts as an independent factor predictive of delayed gastric emptying (DGE) after elective pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database of all patients undergoing PD at our tertiary hepatobiliary center was performed for the period December 2014 - March 2017. For each patient, the preoperative cross-sectional diameter of the psoas muscle at the upper border of L4 was calculated. Measurements in the lowest third of gender specific groups were considered to be sarcopenic. The presence of DGE, post-operative pancreatic fistulas (POPF) and major postoperative complications graded as Clavien Dindo III or more were included in the analysis. RESULTS: A total of 40 patients were included, 15 (37.5%) of whom were classified as sarcopenic. Comparison between the sarcopenic and non-sarcopenia groups revealed homogeneity in terms of gender, age, BMI and pre-operative albumin levels. DGE occurred in 11 patients (27.5%) of whom 7 were sarcopenic. Significantly more sarcopenic patients suffered from DGE (7/15 vs 4/25, p = 0.042). Major postoperative complications and POPF occurred in 15 patients each (37.5%). Nevertheless, sarcopenia was not significantly associated with POPF or other complications. The presence of sarcopenia was found to have a significant relationship with the incidence of DGE (OR 4.594, 95% CI 1.052-20.057). DISCUSSION: Sarcopenia acted as an independent risk factor predicting DGE after PD but not for POPF or other major postoperative complications.

[INTRACHOLECYSTIC PAPILLARY-TUBULAR NEOPLASM: A NEW PATHOLOGY OF THE GALLBLADDER?]

INTRODUCTION: The clinicopathologic characterization of tumoral intra-epithelial neoplasms of the gallbladder is fairly limited compared to that of similar tumors of the pancreatobiliary system. Until recently, pre-malignant lesions of the gallbladder were mostly reported as adenomas, which were microscopic and therefore regarded as benign and clinically inconsequential, whereas papillary lesions have been largely regarded as a papillary subtype of gallbladder invasive adenocarcinoma. In an attempt to create a unified terminology for these tumors, the term Intracholecystic papillary-tubular neoplasm (ICPN) was proposed to include all exophytic intra-epithelial tumors of the gallbladder measuring ≥1 cm under one category. A few studies which have retrospectively analyzed tumors fulfilling this category found them to be remarkable analogous to the more well-characterized intra-epithelial tumors of the pancreato-biliary system such as IPMN of the pancreas and IPNB of the bile ducts and as such they also represent an 'adenoma-carcinoma' sequence in the gallbladder. Since then a number of case series have been published which attempted to characterize the clinical and pathological features of these tumors and their relationship with invasive carcinoma. In this paper we report three cases of ICPN which represent different stages of the 'adenoma-carcinoma' sequence.

Delaying laparoscopic surgery in pregnant patients with an equivocal acute appendicitis: a step-wise approach does not affect maternal or fetal safety.

BACKGROUND: Accurate and timely diagnoses of acute appendicitis (AA) during pregnancy avoids maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. We present our experience of using an initial transabdominal ultrasound (US) performed at presentation to diagnose AA in pregnant patients as well as the value of a delayed repeat study in those who remain equivocal. We explore the sensitivity and specificity of this algorithm as well as the maternal and fetal safety of this approach. METHODS: Of the 225 patients identified within the study period who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy, 216 met the inclusion criteria and were retrospectively analyzed. If the US performed on presentation revealed AA, surgery was performed. Patients with a non-diagnostic US were admitted with surgery performed if there was clinical and/or biochemical deterioration. Patients who remained equivocal underwent a repeat delayed study. The results of the initial versus delayed studies were compared. Maternal and fetal complications were recorded and contrasted. RESULTS: Of the 216 patients included, 164 (75.9%) had AA, 14 (6.5%) had complicated AA and 38 (17.6%) had a normal appendix. Initial US was diagnostic for 125/216 (57.9%) of patients and 19/34 (55.8%) of patients who underwent a delayed repeat study. The remaining patients underwent empirical surgery. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of US for the cohort was 79.2% and 92.1%, respectively. There was no difference in proxies of maternal or fetal safety between the groups. CONCLUSION: US is a useful tool for diagnosing AA in pregnancy. In this cohort, performing a delayed repeat US during a period of observation in those patients who remained otherwise equivocal increased the diagnostic yield of the US. Delaying surgery in this specific group of patients does not affect maternal or fetal safety.

Sarcopenia is associated with a greater incidence of delayed gastric emptying following pancreaticoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sarcopenia is the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle and has been associated with a variety of post-operative complications. We propose sarcopenia is associated with delayed gastric emptying (DGE) following elective pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of a computerised database maintained in real time of all patients undergoing PD within our hepatobiliary unit was performed. The cross-sectional area of the psoas muscle at the upper border of L3 was calculated and corrected for patient height. The lowest quartile of gender specific groups was considered to be sarcopenic. RESULTS: 61 patients were included, 32 male and 29 female of whom 8 from each group were sarcopenic (26.2%). Although the sarcopenic and non-sarcopenia groups were found to be comparable, significantly more sarcopenic patients were older (75 vs 64 years, p = 0.003), had a lower body mass index (21.9 vs 25.0 kg/m2, p = 0.003) and suffered from DGE (7/16 vs 8/45, p = 0.045). On multivariate analysis, these variables maintained their significance with DGE having an OR of 6.042 (p = 0.036). CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia is significantly associated with DGE, older age and lower BMI in this specific cohort of patients. Further research into the reversibility of this phenomenon is warranted.