Pain trajectories and neuropathic pain symptoms following lung cancer surgery: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Persistent postsurgical pain (PPSP) after lung cancer surgery is common and current definitions are based on evaluations at a single time point after surgery. Pain intensity and symptoms may however fluctuate and change over time, and be impacted by multiple and shifting factors. Studies of postoperative recovery patterns and transition from acute to chronic pain are needed for further investigation of preventive measures and treatments to modify unfavourable recovery paths. METHODS: In this explorative study, 85 patients undergoing surgery due to either presumptive or confirmed lung cancer reported pain intensities bi-monthly for 12 months. Pain trajectories during recovery were investigated, using group-based trajectory modelling. Associations with possible risk factors for PPSP, including clinical variables and anxiety and depression score (HADS), were also explored. RESULTS: A trajectory model containing three 12-month pain recovery groups was computed. One group without PPSP fully recovered (50%) within two to three months. Another group with mild-intensity PPSP followed a protracted recovery trajectory (37%), while incomplete recovery was observed in the last group (13%). Acute postoperative pain and younger age were associated with a less favourable recovery trajectory. More neuropathic pain symptoms were observed in patients with incomplete recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Three clinically relevant recovery trajectories were identified, based on comprehensive pain tracking. Higher acute postoperative pain intensity was associated with an unfavourable pain recovery trajectory. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Understanding the transition from acute to chronic postoperative pain and identifying preoperative risk factors is essential for the development of targeted treatments and the implementation of preventive measures. This study (1) identified distinct recovery trajectories based on frequent pain assessment follow-ups for 12 months after surgery and (2) evaluated risk factors for unfavourable postoperative pain recovery paths. Findings suggest that early higher postoperative pain intensity is associated with an unfavourable long-term recovery path.

Should blood flow during cardiopulmonary bypass be individualized more than to body surface area?

Blood flow during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is calculated on body surface area (BSA). Increasing comorbidity, age and weight of today's cardiac patients question this calculation as it may not reflect individual metabolic requirement. The hypothesis was that a measured cardiac index (CI) prior to normothermic CPB is a better estimate. A cross-over study, with random allocation to CPB blood flow for 20 minutes based on either a calculation (2.4 L/min/m(2)) or on CI, with a switch to the opposite flow for another 20 minutes, was performed. Twenty-two elective cardiac surgery patients with normal ventricular function were included. Effect parameters were cerebral oxygenation, mixed venous saturation and arterial lactate. CI varied from 1.9 to 3.1 L/min/m(2) (median 2.4 L/min/m(2)). No differences in effect parameters were seen. In conclusion, a CPB blood flow based on an individual estimate did not improve cerebral and systemic oxygenation compared to a blood flow based on BSA.

Fatty acid composition of the internal mammary artery in relation to dietary intake of marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and association with flow-mediated vasodilation.

Some evidence suggests that long-chain marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) may increase production of vasodilatory nitric oxide from vascular endothelium. Fatty acids may therefore play a role for the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) graft function in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, little is known about the composition of fatty acids in the vessel wall of the LIMA. Using gas chromatography we investigated fatty acid composition in segments of the LIMA, in plasma nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), in plasma phospholipid (PL) and in the pericardial adipose tissue (PAT) from 22 patients undergoing CABG. Furthermore, we investigated whether there was an association between the n-3 PUFA composition in LIMA and flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD). Self-reported fish consumption and supplementation of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acids were reflected by the fatty acid composition in NEFA, PL and in PAT, but less so in the LIMA. There was no association between FMD and fatty acid composition of the LIMA.

Emergency coronary artery bypass surgery after failed percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

Coronary complications caused by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) may necessitate emergency coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). In 1994-1998, 132 patients (1.5% of the patients registered in the Danish PTCA registry) underwent CABG within 24 h because of angioplasty complications. We reviewed the files of 86 patients who had emergency operations within 6 h and found that 35% suffered from 1-vessel disease. Fifty-eight percent were taken directly to the operating room from the cardiovascular laboratory, and 13% were given preoperative cardiovascular resuscitation. The vessels most frequently injured were the right coronary artery and the left anterior descending branch (LAD). The patients received a mean of 2.4 coronary bypasses each. Forty-three percent of the patients with lesions of the left main coronary artery and/or the LAD received a vein graft to the LAD. A perioperative Q-wave myocardial infarction developed in 51% of the patients. The in-hospital mortality rate was 12%. These results are inferior to those obtained after elective surgery. Local cardiothoracic backup is vital when PTCA is performed in an unselected patient group.

Intraluminal papaverine with pH 3 doubles blood flow in the internal mammary artery.

Seventy-five patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were randomized to receive injections of papaverine solution or isotonic saline or no injection into the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) used as graft. Blood flow in the LIMA was measured twice-after dissection of the pedicle and before anastomosis to the coronary artery. Blood flow increased significantly in all three groups, but after papaverine injection it was twice as high as in the control groups, increasing by 285% (from 40 +/- 12 to 154 +/- 32 ml/min, p = < 0.0001). The pH of the papaverine solution was only 3, and we advise that surgeons check and correct pH in the papaverine solutions they use, in order to avoid endothelial damage to the LIMA. Based on these results we can recommend papaverine injection into the arterial graft only if the initial flow is low.

Failure to detect Chlamydia pneumoniae in calcific and degenerative arteriosclerotic aortic valves excised during open heart surgery.

Chlamydia pneumoniae has been associated with atherosclerosis, although no causal association has been established. Employing culture and polymerase chain reaction in aortic valves with calcific and degenerative arteriosclerotic changes from 23 non-consecutive patients undergoing aortic valve replacement, C. pneumoniae was not detected in any of the valves. 19/22 patients had serological evidence of past infection with C. pneumoniae. Our findings do not provide supportive evidence for the hypothesis that C. pneumoniae is associated with calcific or degenerative arteriosclerotic aortic heart valve disease.

Antibodies to cardiolipin may increase the risk of failure of peripheral vein bypasses.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the association between antibodies to cardiolipin and infrainguinal vein graft patency. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Plasma levels of antibodies to cardiolipin, haemostatic factors, lipids and the smoking marker carboxyhaemoglobin were determined preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively in 80 patients undergoing infrainguinal vein bypass surgery. Bypass patency was assessed by ankle blood pressure measurements and ultrasound duplex scanning at 1 week, 6 weeks, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. A localised increase in the graft peak systolic velocity by a factor of 2.5 or more was considered to indicate a significant stenosis. RESULTS: Antibodies to cardiolipin were identified in seven (9%) patients preoperatively. In four of these seven patients the bypasses thrombosed within 3 months after surgery and another two developed stenoses. At 6 months the primary bypass patency, i.e. patency without stenosis, was 14% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0-33%) in patients with antibodies to cardiolipin, as opposed to 57% (95% CI 45-69%) in patients without these antibodies (log rank test: p = 0.03). Diabetes mellitus was also associated with a reduced 6 months primary bypass patency (38% (95% CI 16-60%) vs. 58% (95% CI 45-71%), p = 0.006). A Cox regression analysis showed that both the presence of antibodies to cardiolipin and diabetes independently contributed towards predicting the overall risk of bypass failure. CONCLUSION: Antibodies to cardiolipin were identified in 9% of patients undergoing infrainguinal vein bypass surgery and appeared to be associated with increased risk of bypass failure.

[Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis]. / Chlamydia pneumoniae og aterosklerose.

Several seroepidemiological studies have shown an association between chronic infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis of the coronary and carotid arteries as well as with acute myocardial infarction. Chlamydia-specific antibodies and circulating immune complexes are found more often in patients than in controls. The organism can often be shown in atherosclerotic plaques from coronary, carotid, iliac and femoral arteries as well as from the aorta, employing electron microscopy, immunocytochemical staining and the polymerase chain reaction, but is seldom demonstrated in arteries without atherosclerosis. Only one successful isolation by culture from an atherosclerotic coronary artery has been described. Whether there is any etiological or pathogenetic link between atherosclerosis and chronic infection with C. pneumoniae remains to be elucidated.

The release of gastric inhibitory peptide, glucagon-like peptide-I, and insulin after oral glucose test in colectomized subjects.

BACKGROUND: The physiologic role of the colon as an endocrine organ is not clear. We therefore studied the enteroinsular axis in patients with ulcerative colitis after colectomy. METHODS: The subjects included 11 patients with a conventional ileostomy, 10 patients with an ileoanal reservoir, and 10 normal controls. The concentrations of glucose, insulin, gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), and glucagon-like peptide-I (GLP-I) were measured in plasma during an oral glucose test. RESULTS: The peak level of glucose and peak levels and area under the curve (AUC) of insulin and GIP were higher in patients (P < 0.05). Neither the peak level nor the AUC of GLP-I differed between patients and controls, but time to peak level was four times longer in patients with an ileoanal reservoir (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Colectomy seems to affect the enteroinsular axis, leading to hyperinsulinemia and an impaired glucose tolerance. Moreover, patients with an ileoanal reservoir have a slower GLP-I response after intake of glucose.

[Transmyocardial laser revascularization. A new possible method for treatment of ischemic heart disease]. / Transmyokardial laserrevaskularisering. En mulig ny metode til behandling af iskoemisk hjertesygdom.

Transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMR) using a CO2 laser or a holmium YAG laser represents a novel approach to treating coronary artery disease. Through a left thoracotomy, 15-30 transmural channels approximately 1 mm in diameter, are created with the laser through reperfusable areas of the left ventricular free wall of the beating heart. This allows blood to flow directly from the left ventricle into the myocardial vascular network. The epicardial holes seal within few minutes. More than 1000 patients have had TMR worldwide. Indications are not fully established. Preliminary results suggest that TMR may be of value either as an adjunct to coronary bypass surgery, or in patients in whom another invasive treatment is not an option. Results from randomized, controlled studies are not yet available.

[Treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer and solitary adrenal gland metastasis]. / Behandling af ikkesmåcellet lungecancer og solitaer binyremetastase.

A patient with non-small-cell lung cancer and a solitary adrenal metastasis was treated with right subsegmental pulmonary resection and right adrenalectomy. Four months later an upper right lobectomy was performed because of local recurrence. Forty-one months following the initial operation the patient is doing fine without signs or symptoms of recurrence. Adrenalectomy because of a solitary adrenal metastasis in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer may offer the opportunity of prolonged survival, when a radical thoracotomy can be performed.

[Appendicitis in pregnancy. Complications and treatment]. / Appendicitis i graviditeten. Komplikationer og behandling.

In order to establish guidelines for the management of a pregnancy that is complicated by acute appendicitis we carried out a retrospective review of 16 patients that had their appendix removed at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen in the period 1974-1988. The diagnostic accuracy was 12/16 (75%). The signs and symptoms were classic. Uterine contractions may occur. There was one foetal death in a case complicated by an intraperitoneal abscess, and two patients delivered prematurely. Three patients had infectious complications, none of these patients were given prophylactic antibiotics. In all uncomplicated cases the pregnancy proceeded to term and the deliveries were normal. The pregnancy ought not to divert the surgeon's attention from performing prompt appendectomy once the diagnosis is suspected. Prophylactic antibiotics and tocolytic drugs should be used in all cases. Simultaneous caesarean section should be performed only on obstetric indications.

Secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 and reactive hypoglycemia after partial gastrectomy.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 is a peptide hormone from the distal small intestine which stimulates insulin secretion and inhibits glucagon secretion and thereby lowers blood glucose. This hormone, therefore, could be involved in the pathogenesis of postprandial reactive hypoglycemia. We subjected 8 patients showing symptoms of early dumping after partial gastrectomy to an oral 100 g glucose load and measured blood glucose and plasma insulin, C-peptide, glucagon, enteroglucagon and GLP-1 concentrations for 3.5 h after ingestion. Ten matched controls were treated similarly. The patients had higher blood glucose concentrations for the initial 60 min, but lower values for the remaining test period with a nadir of 2.76 +/- 0.19 mmol/l at 146 +/- 17 min after glucose (controls: 3.36 +/- 0.21 mmol/l at 210 +/- 9 min). GLP-1 and enteroglucagon responses were grossly elevated in patients compared to controls and insulin and C-peptide levels were higher during the initial 60 min. Glucagon concentrations increased in patients and decreased in controls. When hypoglycemia occurred, GLP-1 levels were only moderately elevated and insulin and C-peptide levels were lower and glucagon levels higher in patients than in controls. Thus, mechanisms other than release of GLP-1 seem to be responsible for the observed changes in the concentrations of glucose and glucoregulatory hormones.

Acute appendicitis in pregnancy: complications and subsequent management.

OBJECTIVE: To establish guidelines for the management of a pregnancy that is complicated by acute appendicitis. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. SUBJECTS: 16 patients operated on for symptoms of acute appendicitis during the 15 year period 1974-1988. RESULTS: In 12 patients (75%) the diagnosis was confirmed histologically. The signs and symptoms were classic, and three patients had contractions. One fetus died, in a patient with appendicitis complicated by intraperitoneal abscess. In all uncomplicated cases the pregnancy proceeded to term and the deliveries were normal. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancy should not deter a surgeon from removing an appendix, once the diagnosis is suspected; no pregnancy was affected by removal of a normal appendix. We recommend that prophylactic antibiotics and tocolytic drugs be given in all cases. Simultaneous caesarean section should be done only if there are obstetric indications.

[Microbiology related to anal abscess complicated with fistula formation]. / Mikrobiologi i relation til analabsces kompliceret med fisteldannelse.

The results of operative treatment of anal abscesses with reviewed retrospectively for a period of three years with the object of correlating the microbiological findings on culture from the abscess with the presence of a fistula. Patients who had not been controlled postoperatively were requested to attend for anal examination. Fistula were demonstrated in 27 out of 83 patients. No fistulae nor recurrences of abscesses were found in patients in whom only bacteria not derived from the intestine were cultured. Culture from an anal abscesses is thus of considerable prognostic value.

No signs of Campylobacter jejuni/coli-related antibodies in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis.

Twenty-two patients with active ankylosing spondylitis were investigated to assess the levels of specific serum IgG, IgA and IgM titres against Campylobacter jejuni/coli before and during treatment with sulfasalazine. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used, and the results were compared with the antibody levels in 300 healthy blood donors. Three patients had elevated levels of serum anti-Campylobacter-IgA before treatment, and a two-fold decrease in the antibody titre was observed during treatment. Three patients had elevated anti-Campylobacter-IgG titres before treatment. One of these patients also had elevated anti-Campylobacter-IgA and IgM titres. Elevated IgM titres were not seen in any other patient. The results do not support the hypothesis that C. jejuni/coli plays an important role in the pathogenesis of active AS.

Human galanin: primary structure and identification of two molecular forms.

From acid/ethanol extracts of surgical specimens of human large intestine we isolated two peptides, in approximately equal amounts, that reacted with an antiserum against porcine galanin. By amino acid analysis, sequence analysis and mass spectrometry, the larger of the two peptides was found to consist of 30 amino acid residues, the sequence of which was identical to that of porcine galanin except for the following substitutions: Val16, Asn17, Asn26, Thr29 and Ser30. Unlike porcine galanin, the carboxy-terminus was not amidated. The smaller peptide corresponded to the first 19 amino acid residues counted from the N-terminus of the 30 residue peptide (again without amidation). The structural analysis was repeated on another batch of tissue with identical results. By HPLC analysis of extracts of specimens from a further 4 patients, the same peptides were identified. Thus, human galanin includes two peptides of 19 and 30 amino acids that share the sequence of the N-terminal 15 residues with other mammalian galanins, but exhibit characteristic differences in the remaining part of the molecules.

Massive hematuria due to iliac artery-ureteral fistula. Case report.

Massive hematuria in a 73-year-old man, who 17 years previously had undergone aorto-iliac-femoral thrombendarterectomy, was found to originate from an iliac artery-ureteral fistula due to a false aneurysm. Fistula formation should be kept in mind when investigating such hematuria in patients with a history of vascular surgery in the iliac segment.

[Appendicitis in pregnancy]. / Appendicitis i svangerskabet.

The incidence, symptoms, clinical and paraclinical findings, and complications of appendicitis during pregnancy is reviewed. The symptoms and signs do not differ from those in non-pregnant women with the disease. Uterine contractions may occur. The pregnancy ought not to divert the clinicians attention from the disease which is complicated by a considerable foetal mortality, premature labour and abortion. These complications are especially connected with perforated appendicitis. The perforation frequency is related to the delay prior to operation. Immediate appendectomy is recommended as soon as the disease is suspected, making use of prophylactic tocolytic therapy. Antibiotics should be administered according to the usual recommendations. Abdominal delivery should be reserved for obstetric indications only.