The effectiveness of fascial closure with antimicrobial-coated sutures in preventing incisional surgical site infections in gastrointestinal surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of fascial closure using antimicrobial-sutures specifically for the prevention of surgical site infections (SSIs) in gastrointestinal surgery, as part of the revision of the SSI prevention guidelines of the Japanese Society of Surgical Infectious Diseases (JSSI). We searched CENTRAL, PubMed and ICHUSHI-Web in May 2023, and included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing antimicrobial-coated and non-coated sutures for fascial closure in gastrointestinal surgery (PROSPERO No. CRD42023430377). Three authors independently screened the RCTs. We assessed the risk of bias and the GRADE criteria for the extracted data. The primary outcome was incisional SSI and the secondary outcomes were abdominal wall dehiscence and the length of postoperative hospital stay. This study was supported partially by the JSSI. A total of 10 RCTs and 5396 patients were included. The use of antimicrobial-coated sutures significantly lowered the risk of incisional SSIs compared with non-coated suture (risk ratio: 0.79, 95% confidence intervals: 0.64-0.98). In subgroup analyses, antimicrobial-coated sutures reduced the risk of SSIs for open surgeries, and when monofilament sutures were used. Antimicrobial-coated sutures did not reduce the incidence of abdominal wall dehiscence and the length of hospital stay compared with non-coated sutures. The certainty of the evidence was rated as moderate according to the GRADE criteria, because of risk of bias. In conclusion, the use of antimicrobial-coated sutures for fascial closure in gastrointestinal surgery is associated with a significantly lower risk of SSI than non-coated sutures.

Adverse effects of long-term drain placement and the importance of direct aspiration: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Long-term placement of prophylactic drains may result in retrograde infections. AIM: To investigate the association between the timing of drain removal and clinical outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective, single-centre cohort study evaluated 110 patients who underwent elective gastrointestinal or hepatopancreatobiliary surgery and developed subsequent organ/space surgical site infection (SSI) between 2016 and 2020. The difference between the culture-positive species of prophylactic drains and direct aspiration was evaluated; whether the prophylactic drains functioned effectively at the time of SSI diagnosis; and whether the empirical antibiotics administered before drainage were effective against all the detected bacteria. Finally, clinical outcomes were compared between early (i.e. cases wherein the prophylactic drain had already been removed or replaced at the time of SSI diagnosis) and late (removal after diagnosis) drain removal. FINDINGS: The prophylactic drains functioned effectively in only 27 (25%) patients at the time of SSI diagnosis. Due to the results of direct aspiration cultures, 43% of patients required antibiotic escalation. The median time to drain removal or first replacement was seven postoperative days. The early removal group included 43 patients (39%). Compared with early removal, late removal resulted in a higher frequency of vancomycin use (7.0% vs 22.4%; P = 0.037). CONCLUSION: Prolonged prophylactic drain placement is associated with complicated infections requiring vancomycin; therefore, the drains should be removed as soon as possible. Additionally, obtaining the cultures of direct aspiration should be actively considered, as escalation of antimicrobial therapy is often performed based on culture results.

Epstein-Barr virus-associated inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma of the liver: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma is a rare stromal tumor with no standard treatment. However, some reports have revealed that follicular dendritic cell sarcoma has an inflammatory pseudotumor variant associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection that has a relatively good prognosis. In this report, we present a case of a resected inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma of the liver, and have reviewed the literature on the clinicopathological, molecular, and genomic features of this tumor. CASE PRESENTATION: The inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma originates only in the liver or spleen, causes no symptoms, and is more common in middle-aged Asian women. It has no characteristic imaging features, which partially explains why the inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma is difficult to diagnose. Pathologically, the inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma has spindle cells mixed with inflammatory cells and is variably positive for follicular dendritic cell markers (CD21, CD23, and CD35) and Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNA. On genetic analysis, patients with this tumor high levels of latent membrane protein 1 gene expression and extremely low levels of host C-X-C Chemokine Receptor type 7 gene expression, indicating that the inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma has a latent Epstein-Barr virus type 2 infection. CONCLUSIONS: The inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma is an Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumor and a favorable prognosis by surgical resection, similar to Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancer.

Automatic surgical phase recognition in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair with artificial intelligence.

BACKGROUND: Because of the complexity of the intra-abdominal anatomy in the posterior approach, a longer learning curve has been observed in laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) inguinal hernia repair. Consequently, automatic tools using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor TAPP procedures and assess learning curves are required. The primary objective of this study was to establish a deep learning-based automated surgical phase recognition system for TAPP. A secondary objective was to investigate the relationship between surgical skills and phase duration. METHODS: This study enrolled 119 patients who underwent the TAPP procedure. The surgical videos were annotated (delineated in time) and split into seven surgical phases (preparation, peritoneal flap incision, peritoneal flap dissection, hernia dissection, mesh deployment, mesh fixation, peritoneal flap closure, and additional closure). An AI model was trained to automatically recognize surgical phases from videos. The relationship between phase duration and surgical skills were also evaluated. RESULTS: A fourfold cross-validation was used to assess the performance of the AI model. The accuracy was 88.81 and 85.82%, in unilateral and bilateral cases, respectively. In unilateral hernia cases, the duration of peritoneal incision (p = 0.003) and hernia dissection (p = 0.014) detected via AI were significantly shorter for experts than for trainees. CONCLUSION: An automated surgical phase recognition system was established for TAPP using deep learning with a high accuracy. Our AI-based system can be useful for the automatic monitoring of surgery progress, improving OR efficiency, evaluating surgical skills and video-based surgical education. Specific phase durations detected via the AI model were significantly associated with the surgeons' learning curve.

Prediction of pouchitis after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis in patients with ulcerative colitis using artificial intelligence and deep learning.

BACKGROUND: Pouchitis is one of the major postoperative complications of ulcerative colitis (UC), and it is still difficult to predict the development of pouchitis after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) in UC patients. In this study, we examined whether a deep learning (DL) model could predict the development of pouchitis. METHODS: UC patients who underwent two-stage restorative proctocolectomy with IPAA at Keio University Hospital were included in this retrospective analysis. The modified pouchitis disease activity index (mPDAI) was evaluated by the clinical and endoscopic findings. Pouchitis was defined as an mPDAI ≥ 5.860; endoscopic pouch images before ileostomy closure were collected. A convolutional neural network was used as the DL model, and the prediction rates of pouchitis after ileostomy closure were evaluated by fivefold cross-validation. RESULTS: A total of 43 patients were included (24 males and 19 females, mean age 39.2 ± 13.2 years). Pouchitis occurred in 14 (33%) patients after ileostomy closure. In less than half of the patients, mPDAI scores matched before and after ileostomy closure. Most of patients whose mPDAI scores did not match before and after ileostomy closure had worse mPDAI scores after than before. The prediction rate of pouchitis calculated by the area under the curve using the DL model was 84%. Conversely, the prediction rate of pouchitis using mPDAI before ileostomy closure was 62%. CONCLUSION: The prediction rate of pouchitis using the DL model was more than 20% higher than that using mPDAI, suggesting the utility of the DL model as a prediction model for the development of pouchitis. It could also be used to determine early interventions for pouchitis.

Effects of an elemental diet to reduce adverse events in patients with esophageal cancer receiving docetaxel/cisplatin/5-fluorouracil: a phase III randomized controlled trial-EPOC 2 (JFMC49-1601-C5).

BACKGROUND: Oral mucositis (OM) is an unpleasant adverse event in patients receiving chemotherapy. A prospective feasibility study showed that elemental diet (ED), an oral supplement that does not require digestion, may prevent OM. Based on this, we established a central review system for oral cavity assessment by dental oncology specialists blinded to background data. We used this system to elucidate the preventive effect of an ED against OM in patients with esophageal cancer receiving docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (DCF) therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this phase III, multicenter, parallel-group, controlled trial, patients consuming a normal diet orally were randomly assigned (1 : 1) to receive two cycles of DCF with (group A) or without (group B) an ED (Elental® 160 g/day). We assessed the incidence of grade ≥2 OM evaluated by two reviewers, changes in body weight, prealbumin, C-reactive protein, and DCF completion rate based on ED compliance. RESULTS: Of the 117 patients randomly assigned to treatment, four failed to start treatment and were excluded from the primary analysis; thus, groups A and B comprised 55 and 58 patients, respectively. There were no significant differences in background characteristics. Grade ≥2 OM was observed in eight (15%) and 20 (34%) patients in groups A and B, respectively (P = 0.0141). Changes in body weight and prealbumin during the two DCF cycles were significantly higher in group A than B (P = 0.0022 and 0.0203, respectively). During the first cycle, changes in C-reactive protein were significantly lower in group A than B (P = 0.0338). In group A (receiving ED), the DCF completion rate was 100% in patients with 100% ED compliance and 70% in patients failing ED completion (P = 0.0046). CONCLUSIONS: The study findings demonstrate that an ED can prevent OM in patients with esophageal cancer receiving chemotherapy.

Outcomes of robot-assisted versus conventional laparoscopic low anterior resection in patients with rectal cancer: propensity-matched analysis of the National Clinical Database in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery has several advantages over conventional laparoscopy. However, population-based comparative studies for low anterior resection are limited. This article aimed to compare peri-operative results of robot-assisted low anterior resection (RALAR) and laparoscopy. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used data from patients treated with RALAR or conventional laparoscopic low anterior resection (CLLAR) between October 2018 and December 2019, as recorded in the Japanese National Clinical Database, a data set registering clinical information, perioperative outcomes, and mortality. Of note, the registry does not include information on the tumour location (centimetres from the anal verge) and diverting stoma creation. Perioperative outcomes, including rate of conversion to open surgery, were compared between RALAR and CLLAR groups. Confounding factors were adjusted for using propensity score matching. RESULTS: Of 21 415 patients treated during the study interval, 20 220 were reviewed. Two homogeneous groups of 2843 patients were created by propensity score matching. The conversion rate to open surgery was significantly lower in the RALAR group than in the CLLAR group (0.7 versus 2.0 per cent; P < 0.001). The RALAR group had a longer operating time (median: 352 versus 283 min; P < 0.001), less intraoperative blood loss (15 versus 20 ml; P < 0.001), a lower in-hospital mortality rate (0.1 versus 0.5 per cent; P = 0.007), and a shorter postoperative hospital stay (median: 13 versus 14 days; P < 0.001) compared with the CLLAR group. The CLLAR group had a lower rate of readmission within 30 days (2.4 versus 3.3 per cent; P = 0.045). CONCLUSION: These data highlight the reduced conversion rate, in-hospital mortality rate, intraoperative blood loss, and length of postoperative hospital stay for rectal cancer surgery in patients treated using robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery compared with laparoscopic low anterior resection.

A proposal for uniformity in classification of lymph node stations in esophageal cancer.

The 11th edition of the "Japanese Classification of Esophageal Cancer" by the Japan Esophageal Society (JES) and the 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)/Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) "Cancer Staging Manual" are two separate classification systems both widely used for the clinical and pathological staging of esophageal cancer. Furthermore, the lymph node stations from these classification systems are combined for research purposes in the multinational TIGER study, which investigates the distribution pattern of lymph node metastases. The existing classification systems greatly differ with regard to number, location and anatomical boundaries of locoregional lymph node stations. The differences in these classifications cause significant heterogeneity in studies on lymph node metastases in esophageal cancer. This makes data interpretation difficult and comparison of studies challenging. In this article, we propose a match for these two commonly used classification systems and additionally for the TIGER study classification, in order to be able to compare results of studies and exchange knowledge and to make steps towards one global uniform classification system for all patients with esophageal cancer.

Safety and feasibility of laparoscopic surgery for elderly rectal cancer patients in Japan: a nationwide study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyse the perioperative results from a national dataset of rectal cancer resections in elderly patients. METHODS: The clinical records of patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery between 2012 and 2014 were retrieved from the Japanese National Clinical Database and analysed retrospectively. Patients were categorized according to age and those 80 years or older were defined as elderly. Subgroups were also defined according to the surgical approach (laparoscopy versus open surgery). The short-term outcomes, including mortality, anastomotic leak, surgical site infections and medical complications were compared between subgroups. RESULTS: Of 56 175 patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery, some 6717 patients were elderly and laparoscopy was performed in 46.8 per cent of the sample. When comparing laparoscopy and open surgery in elderly patients, the operative mortality rate (1.5 versus 2.8 per cent; P < 0.001), the incidence of anastomotic leakage (5.2 versus 6.5 per cent; P = 0.026), surgical site infections (6.0 versus 8.0 per cent; P = 0.001), pneumonia (1.4 versus 2.5 per cent; P = 0.001), renal failure (0.7 versus 1.3 per cent; P = 0.016) and cardiac events (0.3 versus 0.8 per cent; P = 0.008) were lower for laparoscopy than for open surgery. The overall complication rate in elderly patients (19.5 per cent) was comparable to that in the younger group (P = 0.07). However, incidence of systemic complications was significantly higher in elderly than in younger patients (all P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopy was safe and feasible in elderly patients compared with open surgery. However, the rates of systemic complications were significantly higher than in younger patients.

Effect of high ligation on survival of patients undergoing surgery for primary colorectal cancer and synchronous liver metastases.

BACKGROUND: Although R0 surgery is recommended for stage IV colorectal cancer, the degree of required lymphadenectomy has not been established. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic impact of high ligation (HL) of the feeding artery and the number of retrieved lymph nodes after R0 surgery for colorectal cancer and synchronous colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRLM). METHODS: This was a multi-institutional retrospective analysis of patients with colorectal cancer and synchronous CRLM who had R0 surgery between January 1997 and December 2007. Clinical and pathological features were compared in patients who underwent HL and those who had a low ligation (LL). Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to estimate the effect of HL on overall survival (OS). The impact of several risk factors on survival was analysed using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Of 549 patients, 409 (74·5 per cent) had HL. Median follow-up was 51·4 months. HL significantly improved the 5-year OS rate (58·2 per cent versus 49·3 per cent for LL; P = 0·017). Multivariable analysis revealed HL to be a significant prognostic factor compared with LL (5-year mortality: hazard ratio (HR) 0·68, 95 per cent c.i. 0·51 to 0·90; P = 0·007). In subgroup analysis, the positive effect of HL on OS was greatest in patients with lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: HL of the feeding artery was associated with improved OS in patients with colorectal cancer and synchronous CRLM after R0 surgery.

ANTECEDENTES: Aunque se recomienda una cirugía R0 para el cáncer colorrectal (colorectal cancer, CRC) en estadio IV, no se ha establecido el grado de linfadenectomía requerida. El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar el impacto pronóstico de la ligadura alta (high ligation, HL) de la arteria que irriga el tumor y el número de ganglios linfáticos (lymph nodes, LN) identificados después de cirugía R0 en pacientes con cáncer colorrectal y metástasis hepáticas sincrónicas (colorectal cancer liver metastasis, CRLM). MÉTODOS: En este estudio se realizó un análisis retrospectivo multicéntrico de pacientes con CRC y CRLM sincrónicas en los que se realizó una cirugía R0 desde enero de 1997 hasta diciembre de 2007. Se compararon las características clínicas y patológicas entre los pacientes a los que, durante la cirugía R0, se practicó una HL frente a los que no se practicó esta técnica. El análisis de Kaplan-Meier se realizó para estimar el efecto de la HL en la supervivencia global (overall survival, OS). El impacto de varios factores de riesgo sobre la supervivencia se analizó utilizando el modelo de Cox de riesgo proporcional. RESULTADOS: Sobre un total de 549 pacientes, se realizó una HL en 409 (74,5%), y el período de seguimiento medio en esta cohorte fue de 51,4 meses. La HL mejoró significativamente la tasa de OS a los 5 años (HL 37,7% versus no HL 27,1%, P = 0,02). El análisis multivariable mostró que la HL era un factor pronóstico significativo en comparación con la no realización de una HL (cociente de riesgos instantáneos, hazard ratio, HR de muerte a 5 años = 0,68 (i.c. del 95% 0,51-0,90), P < 0,01)). En el análisis de subgrupos, el efecto positivo de la HL sobre la OS fue mayor en pacientes con metástasis ganglionares. CONCLUSIÓN: La ligadura alta de la arteria que irriga el tumor se asoció con una mejor OS en pacientes con CRC y CRLM sincrónicas después de una cirugía R0.

JSCO-ESMO-ASCO-JSMO-TOS: international expert consensus recommendations for tumour-agnostic treatments in patients with solid tumours with microsatellite instability or NTRK fusions.

A Japan Society of Clinical Oncology (JSCO)-hosted expert meeting was held in Japan on 27 October 2019, which comprised experts from the JSCO, the Japanese Society of Medical Oncology (JSMO), the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the Taiwan Oncology Society (TOS). The purpose of the meeting was to focus on what we have learnt from both microsatellite instability (MSI)/deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) biomarkers in predicting the efficacy of anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) immunotherapy, and the neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) gene fusions in predicting the efficacy of inhibitors of the tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) proteins across a range of solid tumour types. The recent regulatory approvals of the anti-PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab and the TRK inhibitors larotrectinib and entrectinib, based on specific tumour biomarkers rather than specific tumour type, have heralded a paradigm shift in cancer treatment approaches. The purpose of the meeting was to develop international expert consensus recommendations on the use of such tumour-agnostic treatments in patients with solid tumours. The aim was to generate a reference document for clinical practice, for pharmaceutical companies in the design of clinical trials, for ethics committees in the approval of clinical trial protocols and for regulatory authorities in relation to drug approvals, with a particular emphasis on diagnostic testing and patient selection.

Sesame lignans reduce LDL oxidative susceptibility by downregulating the platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase.

OBJECTIVE: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidative susceptibility is recognized as a risk factor for atherosclerosis. We previously reported that the ingestion of a supplement containing sesame lignans (sesamin/episesamin) for 4 weeks reduced LDL oxidative susceptibility in humans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To elucidate the mechanisms underlying this observation, 12-week-old New Zealand White rabbits were fed a fat/cholesterol-enriched diet (100 g/day) for 6 weeks followed by oral administration of vehicle (control) or sesame lignans (50 mg/kg) for 4 weeks with the fat/cholesterol-enriched diet. RESULTS: The results showed that the ingestion of sesame lignans prolonged LDL oxidation lag time, regardless of the existence of the anti-oxidative catechol metabolite of sesamin/episesamin in LDL. Plasma platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) activity was significantly reduced by sesame lignans. The prolongation of LDL oxidation lag time was abolished by the addition of a PAF-AH inhibitor. The expression level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and macrophage infiltration observed in the liver following the feeding of the fat/cholesterol-enriched diet were also significantly reduced by sesame lignans. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that sesame lignans reduce LDL oxidative susceptibility by downregulating plasma PAF-AH activity via the reduction of inflammation in the liver induced by fat/cholesterol-enriched diets.

Minimally invasive oesophagectomy with extended lymph node dissection and thoracic duct resection for early-stage oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma is an aggressive disease owing to early and widespread lymph node metastases. Multimodal therapy and radical surgery may improve prognosis. Few studies have investigated the efficacy of radical lymph node and thoracic duct resection. METHODS: Patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent transthoracic minimally invasive oesophagectomy (TMIE) for cancer at Keio University Hospital between January 2004 and December 2016 were selected. Between 2004 and 2008, TMIE was performed in the lateral decubitus position without thoracic duct resection (standard TMIE). From 2009 onwards, TMIE with extended lymph node and thoracic duct resection was introduced (extended TMIE). Demographics, co-morbidity, number of retrieved lymph nodes, pathology, postoperative complications and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were compared between groups. RESULTS: Forty-four patients underwent standard TMIE and 191 extended TMIE. There were no significant differences in clinical and pathological tumour stage or postoperative complications. The extended-TMIE group had more lymph nodes removed at nodal stations 106recL and 112. Among patients with cT1 N0 disease, RFS was better in the extended-TMIE group (P < 0·001), whereas there was no difference in RFS between groups in patients with advanced disease. CONCLUSION: Extended TMIE including thoracic duct resection increased the number of lymph nodes retrieved and was associated with improved survival in patients with cT1 N0 oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

A Targeted Genetic Association Study of the Rare Type of Osteomyelitis.

Chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis is a rare bone disorder that can be found in the jaw. It is often associated with systemic conditions, including autoimmune deficiencies. However, little is known about how the genetic and immunologic background of patients influences the disease. Here, we focus on human leukocyte antigen (HLA), killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), and their specific combinations that have been difficult to analyze owing to their high diversity. We employed a recently developed technology of simultaneous typing of HLA alleles and KIR haplotype and investigated alleles of the 35 HLA loci and KIR haplotypes composed of centromeric and telomeric motifs in 18 cases and 18 controls for discovery and 472 independent controls for validation. We identified an amino acid substitution of threonine at position 94 of HLA-C in combination with the telomeric KIR genotype of haplotype tA01/tB01 that had significantly higher frequency (>20%) in the case population than in both control populations. Multiple logistic regression analysis based on a dominant model with adjustments for age and sex revealed and validated its statistical significance and high predictive accuracy (C-statistic ≥0.85). Structure-based analysis revealed that the combination of the amino acid change in HLA-C and the telomeric genotype tA01/tB01 could be associated with lower stability of HLA-C. This is the first case-control study of a rare disease that employed the latest sequencing technology enabling simultaneous typing and investigated amino acid polymorphisms at HLA loci in combination with KIR haplotype.

Diagnostic criteria and symptom grading for delayed gastric conduit emptying after esophagectomy for cancer: international expert consensus based on a modified Delphi process.

Delayed gastric conduit emptying (DGCE) after esophagectomy for cancer is associated with adverse outcomes and troubling symptoms. Widely accepted diagnostic criteria and a symptom grading tool for DGCE are missing. This hampers the interpretation and comparison of studies. A modified Delphi process, using repeated web-based questionnaires, combined with live interim group discussions was conducted by 33 experts within the field, from Europe, North America, and Asia. DGCE was divided into early DGCE if present within 14 days of surgery and late if present later than 14 days after surgery. The final criteria for early DGCE, accepted by 25 of 27 (93%) experts, were as follows: >500 mL diurnal nasogastric tube output measured on the morning of postoperative day 5 or later or >100% increased gastric tube width on frontal chest x-ray projection together with the presence of an air-fluid level. The final criteria for late DGCE accepted by 89% of the experts were as follows: the patient should have 'quite a bit' or 'very much' of at least two of the following symptoms; early satiety/fullness, vomiting, nausea, regurgitation or inability to meet caloric need by oral intake and delayed contrast passage on upper gastrointestinal water-soluble contrast radiogram or on timed barium swallow. A symptom grading tool for late DGCE was constructed grading each symptom as: 'not at all', 'a little', 'quite a bit', or 'very much', generating 0, 1, 2, or 3 points, respectively. For the five symptoms retained in the diagnostic criteria for late DGCE, the minimum score would be 0, and the maximum score would be 15. The final symptom grading tool for late DGCE was accepted by 27 of 31 (87%) experts. For the first time, diagnostic criteria for early and late DGCE and a symptom grading tool for late DGCE are available, based on an international expert consensus process.

Feasibility of endoscopic submucosal dissection for recurrent colorectal tumors after endoscopic mucosal resection.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal recurrent lesions after endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) often contain severe fibrosis. In such lesions, repeat EMR is often difficult and endoscopic piecemeal mucosal resection (EPMR) has a high risk of repeated recurrence, while surgery is considered overtreatment. Whether ESD can be used safely and reliably to treat such difficult lesions has not been adequately verified. We analyzed the treatment outcomes of ESD for recurrent lesions after EMR. METHODS: Among 653 colorectal ESD conducted in our institution between April 2012 and August 2017, 27 consecutive patients underwent the procedure for recurrent lesions after EMR. Treatment outcomes including en bloc resection rate, R0 resection rate, and curative resection rate; complications were analyzed. RESULTS: Treatment outcomes of the 27 patients were as follows: en bloc resection rate 81.5%, R0 resection rate 74.1%, curative resection rate 74.1%, median procedure time 47 min (range 10‒210 min), perforation rate 0%, and delayed bleeding rate 3.7%. The corresponding rates for 626 patients who underwent colorectal ESD during the same period for lesions other than recurrence after EMR were 97.2%, 95.5%, 88.7%, 37 min (7-225 min), 0.5%, and 2.8%. There were no differences in complication rates. Treatment outcomes including en bloc resection rate were inferior in the recurrence group compared to non-recurrent group, but no local recurrence was found in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: Colorectal ESD is feasible for recurrent colorectal lesions after EMR. The procedure is safe and achieves good treatment outcomes with no local recurrence.

Short-term wind speed forecasting in Uruguay using computational intelligence.

Short-term wind speed forecasting for Colonia Eulacio, Soriano Department, Uruguay, is performed by applying an artificial neural network (ANN) technique to the hourly time series representative of the site. To train the ANN and validate the technique, data for one year are collected by one tower, with anemometers installed at heights of 101.8, 81.8, 25.7, and 10.0 m. Different ANN configurations are applied for each site and height; then, a quantitative analysis is conducted, and the statistical results are evaluated to select the configuration that best predicts the real data. This method has lower computational costs than other techniques, such as numerical modelling. For integrating wind power into existing grid systems, accurate short-term wind speed forecasting is fundamental. Therefore, the proposed short-term wind speed forecasting method is an important scientific contribution for reliable large-scale wind power forecasting and integration in Uruguay. The results of the short-term wind speed forecasting showed good accuracy at all the anemometer heights tested, suggesting that the method is a powerful tool that can help the Administración Nacional de Usinas y Transmissiones Eléctricas manage the national energy supply.

Decreased Incidence of Acute Cellular Rejection in Low-Muscle-Mass Recipients After Living-donor Liver Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia has recently been studied as a potential risk factor for mortality and complications after liver transplantation. We investigated the impact of low muscle mass on postoperative outcomes after living-donor liver transplantation. METHODS: Our study population consisted of 100 adult recipients who underwent living-donor liver transplantation in our department between 2005 and 2017. Recipients were divided into a low-muscle-mass group (L group) and a normal-muscle-mass group (N group) based on skeletal muscle index (SMI) values, and postoperative outcomes were compared between the groups. Regarding factors that were significantly different between the groups, multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictive factors. RESULTS: Based on the SMI definition, 47 and 53 of the recipients were categorized as having low muscle mass (L group) and normal muscle mass (N group), respectively. Comparison between the groups revealed a significantly reduced incidence of rejection (10.6% in L group vs 30.2% in N group, P = .017) and increased incidences of bacterial infection (61.7% in L group vs 37.7% in N group, P = .017) in the L group compared with the N group. The survival rate did not differ significantly between the groups. Multivariate analyses indicated that muscle mass was a significant predictive factor for both rejection and bacterial infection. CONCLUSION: It is important to recognize that muscle mass has an impact not only on bacterial infection but also on rejection in recipients with low muscle mass in the postoperative course of living-donor liver transplantation.

Meta-analysis of the impact of postoperative complications on survival after oesophagectomy for cancer.

BACKGROUND: Oesophagectomy has a high risk of postoperative morbidity. The impact of postoperative complications on overall survival of oesophageal cancer remains unclear. This meta-analysis addressed the impact of complications on long-term survival following oesophagectomy. METHODS: A search of PubMed and Cochrane Library databases was undertaken for systematic review of papers published between January 1995 and August 2016 that analysed the relation between postoperative complications and long-term survival. In the meta-analysis, data were pooled. The main outcome was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included disease-free (DFS) and cancer-specific (CSS) survival. RESULTS: A total of 357 citations was reviewed; 21 studies comprising 11 368 patients were included in the analyses. Overall, postoperative complications were associated with significantly decreased 5-year OS (hazard ratio (HR) 1·16, 95 per cent c.i. 1·06 to 1·26; P = 0·001) and 5-year CSS (HR 1·27, 1·09 to 1·47; P = 0·002). Pulmonary complications were associated with decreased 5-year OS (HR 1·37, 1·16 to 1·62; P < 0·001), CSS (HR 1·60, 1·35 to 1·89; P < 0·001) and 5-year DFS (HR 1·16, 1·00 to 1·33; P = 0·05). Patients with anastomotic leakage had significantly decreased 5-year OS (HR 1·20, 1·10 to 1·30; P < 0·001), 5-year CSS (HR 1·81, 1·11 to 2·95; P = 0·02) and 5-year DFS (HR 1·13, 1·02 to 1·25; P = 0·01). CONCLUSION: Postoperative complications after oesophagectomy, including pulmonary complications and anastomotic leakage, decreased long-term survival.

Size of recurrent laryngeal nerve as a new risk factor for postoperative vocal cord paralysis.

Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis (RLNP) is a frequent and serious complication following esophageal cancer surgery. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the correlation between recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) size and RLNP. This was a retrospective study of esophageal cancer patients who underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy from January 2012 to December 2014. Eighty-four patients were included in the primary analysis. Diameter of the RLN was measured using the digital video recording of surgical procedures by the ratio between scissor and RLN. For evaluation of vocal cord paralysis or paresis, indirect laryngoscopy was performed. Because RLNP more frequently occurs on the left side than the right, we evaluated the correlation between size of the left RLN and left RLNP. The median size of the left RLN was 1.51 mm. We found that the incidence of postoperative left RLNP (Clavien-Dindo classification ≥1) was significantly higher (71% vs. 24%; P < 0.001) in thin RLNs (≤1.5 mm) than in thick RLNs (>1.5 mm). Thin RLN (P < 0.001), female sex (P = 0.025), and being overweight (P = 0.034) were identified as significant independent risk factors for postoperative RLNP. RLNP more easily occurred when the RLN was thin. It is difficult to confirm occurrence of postoperative RLNP before and at extubation. Therefore, it is helpful to know its risk factors including size of RLN.