Perioperative management of sarcopenia in patients undergoing major surgeries in Singapore: a modified delphi consensus.

BACKGROUND: Ageing population is a worldwide phenomenon with correspondingly higher proportion of older patients being treated in the hospital setting. Sarcopenia, which increases with age, has serious negative implications on health, hospitalization and overall postoperative recovery. There is no mutual consensus on perioperative management of sarcopenia in surgical patients in Singapore. The purpose of this study is to create greater clarity pertaining to the recognition of sarcopenia, the application of assessment criteria of sarcopenia and perioperative management of surgical patients in Singapore. METHODS: A modified Delphi consensus consisting of a panel of experts from Singapore forming a multidisciplinary team, including surgeons, geriatricians, anesthesiologists, physiotherapists and dieticians. Eight recommendations were proposed by the steering committee. Literature search from MEDLINE, Embase and Scopus for articles up till June 2023 were performed to support recommendation statements. The expert panel voted on agreement to recommendation statements and graded the level of evidence supporting each statement through surveys to achieve consensus, set at 85% a priori. RESULTS: The panelists underwent two rounds of anonymized, independent voting before reaching consensus for all eight statements. After the first round, seven statements reached consensus, including the corresponding grading for level of evidence. The statement which did not achieve consensus was revised with supporting literature and after the second round of survey, all eight statements and level of evidence reached consensus, completing the Delphi process. These eight statements covered themes to (1) encourage the identification of sarcopenia, (2) guide pre-operative and (3) post-operative management of sarcopenia. CONCLUSION: With the varying approaches in perioperative management, poor understanding of and identification of sarcopenia can result in suboptimal management of sarcopenia in surgical patients. Given the abundance of evidence linking beneficial impact on recovery and post-operative complications with prudent management of sarcopenia, it is imperative and urgent to achieve awareness and consensus.

Technical advantages and oncological efficacy of transanal total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer / 中华消化外科杂志

Total mesorectal excision (TME) is an effective surgical method to reduce the local recurrence of rectal cancer and improve patient prognosis. However, there is debate about which surgical platform to use to achieve the best surgical outcome for TME. The emergence and technological progress of transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) can solve the problem of difficulty in lower rectal resection and achieve better surgical resection results. Based on relevant literatures and combined with team clinical practice, the authors explore the technical advantages and oncological efficacy of taTME in rectal cancer.

Journey for patients following ileostomy creation is not straightforward.

BACKGROUND: An ileostomy is usually created to avert systemic sepsis in a patient with a tenuous anastomosis. However, what is often not reported are the numerous issues facing these patients subsequently, ranging from readmissions, non-reversal of the stoma, and complications from the closure. This study was performed to identify these issues among patients following creation of an ileostomy. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients who had an ileostomy created from January 2011 to December 2016 at two institutions. Statistical analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with readmissions and ileostomy non-reversal. RESULTS: In total, 193 patients had an ileostomy created during the study period. Twenty-six (13.5%) patients developed stoma-related complications requiring readmission. The most common cause of readmission (9.3%) was due to dehydration and acute kidney injury secondary to high stoma output. One hundred thirty (67.4%) patients had their ileostomy reversed. On multivariate analysis, only stomas created during an ultra-low anterior resection were associated with reversal (OR 2.88 [95% CI, 1.24-6.68]; p = 0.014). Among the patients who underwent ileostomy reversal, seven (3.6%) patients developed complications from their ileostomy reversal. Four patients (2.1%) suffered from an anastomotic leak which required repeat surgical intervention with one mortality from the ensuing sepsis. CONCLUSION: Almost half of the patients who had an Ileostomy had an undesirable outcome, including readmissions, non-reversal, and post-operative complications following closure. Patients need to be properly counselled about the risks involved prior to the index operation.

Adherence to surveillance guidelines following colonic polypectomy is abysmal.

BACKGROUND: Surveillance guidelines following excision of colonic tubular adenomas are well established. However, adherence to the guidelines are rarely audited. The aim of our study was to evaluate the rate of compliance to the recommended guidelines following polyp removal. METHODS: A review of a prospectively collected colonoscopy database in a single tertiary institution was conducted for all patients who underwent polypectomy in 2008. We excluded patients who were diagnosed with or had prior history of colorectal malignancy. The frequency of subsequent colonoscopic were evaluated against the recommended guidelines based on the clinico-histological characteristics of the removed polyps. RESULTS: There were 419 colonoscopies with polypectomies performed in 2008. The patient cohort had a median age of 60 years (range, 26-95 years), with the most common diagnosis being tubular adenoma with low grade dysplasia (n=291, 69.5%). Adherence to Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) post-polypectomy surveillance guidelines, based on the factors such as the characteristics of the colonic polyps and bowel preparation at initial colonoscopy, was only 13.8% (n=58). There were 107 (25.5%) patients who had their surveillance endoscopy performed earlier than recommended. None of them were diagnosed with malignancy. The majority of patients (n=192, 45.8%), had surveillance scopes later than recommended or were lost to follow-up. Amongst these patients, two actually were diagnosed to have malignancy 3 and 5 years after their recommended surveillance scope date, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There is a very low compliance to post-polypectomy surveillance guidelines. More needs to be done to improve compliance to guidelines.

Is Colonoscopy Indicated in Young Patients with Hematochezia.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: While colonoscopy is indicated in patients >50 years old presenting with hematochezia, its role in those ≤50 remains debatable. This study aims to evaluate the role of colonoscopy in patients presenting with hematochezia who are ≤50 years old. METHODS: A retrospective review of all patients aged ≤50 years who underwent colonoscopy for hematochezia in 2012 was conducted. Patient demographics, endoscopic details, and histological results were analyzed. Patients were stratified by age to compare differences in outcome. RESULTS: A total of 361 patients with a median age of 44 (range, 18-50) years were reviewed. Hemorrhoid (n = 183, 69.6%) was the most common etiology. Seventy-two neoplastic polyps were identified in 48 (13.3%) patients. There was a significantly larger proportion of patients aged 41-50 years who had neoplastic polyps compared to those aged ≤40 (18.8 vs. 3.8%, p ≤ 0.001); 43.8% (n = 28) of the neoplastic polyps found in those aged 41-50 were proximal to the splenic flexure. The only 2 (0.5%) patients with malignancy were aged 41-50 years. CONCLUSION: Performing colonoscopy in patients presenting with hematochezia should be strongly considered for those aged 41-50 years in view of the significant likelihood of underlying neoplastic polyps compared to those aged ≤40 years.