Early Serratus Plane Block for Rib Fracture Management could Avoid Intensive Care Unit Admission.

How to cite this article: Gorecha M, Menon A, Woodford E, Yahia S, Marimuthu K. Early Serratus Plane Block for Rib Fracture Management could Avoid Intensive Care Unit Admission. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(10):995.

Percutaneous Retroperitoneoscopic Drainage of Complex Extraperitoneal Abscesses Using Flexible Endoscopy: Description of Technique and Perioperative Care.

The treatment of primary psoas abscesses usually is performed by a combination of prolongued antiobiotic therapy and drainage with interventional radiology techniques. However, although this combination is usually adequate for the treatment of solitary extraperitoneal collections, the presence of multi-loculated complex abscesses requires usually multiple procedures and feruently mandates open surgery. Herein, we describe an alternative tehnique of percutaneous retroperitoneoscopic drainage of multiple extensive primary psoas abscesses using flexible endoscopy, which can enable treatment these cases as one-stop proedure in a minimally invasive manner.

Surveillance Colonoscopy after Appendicectomy in Patients over the Age of 40: Targeted Audit of Outcomes and Variability in Practice.

Introduction: Recent evidence suggests the need to proceed with a surveillance colonoscopy in patients above the age of 40 years who undergo appendicectomy for acute appendicitis, given the higher risk of an underlying colonic tumor. After anecdotally observing a substantial variability in terms of adaptation of these recommendations by the on-call surgical teams, we performed a clinical audit regarding our relevant endoscopic follow-up compliance rates to identify areas for improvement of our practise. Materials Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the electronic records of all patients above 40 years who had appendicectomy for acute appendicitis within a 3-year period in our institution, assessing as primary outcome the actual performance of a follow-up colonoscopy and the detected endoscopic findings. Results: Our results demonstrated that more than 80% of our patients did not have an endoscopic follow-up, as suggested by the current evidence. In addition, with respect to the subspecialisation of the parent surgical team, it seems that non-colorectal teams had lower compliance regarding the arrangement of endoscopic surveillance, when compared to specialist colorectal team. Conclusions: Emergency surgical teams need to be further educated with respect to the current practise recommendations concerning the appropriate endoscopic follow-up after the performance of appendicectomy for acute appendicitis. Establishment of dedicated bundles of postoperative care, as well as clear relevant guidance from the gastrointestinal/emergency surgery societies would be of great value in this direction.

Minimal impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the postoperative morbidity and mortality following emergency general surgery procedures: results from a 3-month observational period.

Aim The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the delivery of elective, as well as emergency surgery on a world-wide scale. Up to date few studies have actually assessed the impact of COVID-19 on the postoperative morbidity and mortality following emergency gastrointestinal surgery. Herein, we present our relevant experience over a 3-month period of uninterrupted provision of emergency general surgery services in George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, the United Kingdom. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospective institutional database, which included the operation types, paraclinical investigations and postoperative complications of all patients undergoing emergency general surgery operations between March - May 2020. Results The occurrence of a 5% overall respiratory complication rate postoperatively, with 3% infection rate for COVID-19 was found; no patient had unplanned return to intensive care for ventilator support and there was no mortality related to COVID-19 infection. Conclusion When indicated, emergency surgery should not be delayed in favour of expectant/conservative management in fear of COVID-19-related morbidity or mortality risks.

Medical influences, surgical outcomes: role of common medications on the risk of perforation from untreated diverticular disease.

Numerous drugs, largely used in the wards or at home, have a significant influence on patients with untreated diverticular disease. The consequences can be disastrous, may require an emergency operation, postoperative intensive care, and overall influence the patient's length of stay and the final outcomes. Bearing these considerations in mind the routine or chronic administration of pain-killers, steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory should be balanced in patients with known diverticular disease as it normally happens with other conditions potentially affected by these drugs (i.e., peptic ulcer disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). This is even more important in the old and frail patient where an eventual surgical treatment may not always be possible.