Adjuvant intravenous immunoglobulin administration on postoperative critically ill patients with secondary peritonitis: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in sepsis patients from bowel perforation is still debatable. However, few studies have evaluated the effect of IVIG as an adjuvant therapy after source control. This study aimed to analyze the effect of IVIG in critically ill patients who underwent surgery due to secondary peritonitis. METHODS: In total, 646 medical records of surgical patients who were treated for secondary peritonitis were retrospectively analyzed. IVIG use, initial clinical data, and changes in Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score over the 7-day admission in the intensive care unit for sepsis check, base excess, and delta neutrophil index (DNI) were analyzed. Mortalities and periodic profiles were assessed. Propensity scoring matching as comparative analysis was performed in the IVIG group and non-IVIG group. RESULTS: General characteristics were not different between the two groups. The survival curve did not show a significantly reduced mortality in the IVIG. Moreover, the IVIG group did not have a lower risk ratio for mortality than the non-IVIG group. However, when the DNI were compared during the first 7 days, the reduction rate in the IVIG group was statistically faster than in the non-IVIG group (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The use of IVIG was significantly associated with faster decrease in DNI which means faster reduction of inflammation. Since the immune system is rapidly activated, the additional use of IVIG after source control surgery in abdominal sepsis patients, especially those with immunocompromised patients can be considered. However, furthermore clinical studies are needed.

Outcomes improvement despite continuous visits of severely injured patients during the COVID-19 outbreak: experience at a regional trauma centre in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the changes in characteristics of patients who visited trauma centres during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is important to facilitate aneffective response. This retrospective study was conducted to analyse differences in the characteristics and outcomes of patients who visited our trauma centre between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 eras. METHODS: Medical data of trauma patients enrolled in the Korean trauma database from 1 January 2018 to 31 August 2021 were collected. The number of trauma centre visits, patient characteristics, factors associated with in-hospital intervention, and outcomes werecompared between patients in the two time periods. Propensity score matching was performed to analyse the outcomes in patients with similar characteristics and severitybetween patients in the two time periods. RESULTS: The number of emergency department (ED) trauma service visits reduced in the COVID-19 era. Based on the mean age, the patients were older in the COVID-19 era. Abbreviated injury scale (AIS) 1, AIS3, AIS5, and injury severity score (ISS) were higher in the COVID-19 era. The proportion of motor vehicle collisions decreased, whereas falls increased during the COVID-19 era. Ambulance transportation, admission to the general ward, and time from injury to ED visit significantly increased. Patient outcomes, such as hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) LOS, and duration of mechanical ventilation improved, while injury severity worsened during the COVID-19 era. After adjusting for patient characteristics and severity, similar findings were observed. CONCLUSION: The small reduction in the number of trauma patients and visits by patients who hadhigher ISS during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of maintaining trauma service capacity and capability during the pandemic. A nationwide or nationalmulticentre study will be more meaningful to examine the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the changes in trauma patterns, volume, and patient outcomes.

A Study on Trauma Mechanisms and Injury Sites in Patients with Blunt Abdominal Trauma.

Background: Although blunt abdominal trauma is sometimes readily identified in patients with trauma, its diagnosis and treatment can be delayed due to various limitations including unconsciousness or unstable vital functions, which may cause shock due to blood loss and sepsis. Confirming the correlation between the specific damage of the abdominal organ and the recommended surgical intervention will allow for predicting abdominal damage based on the specific underlying trauma mechanisms. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the proportion of patients with blunt trauma resulting from intraabdominal injury who received surgical intervention (surgery and angioembolization [A/E]), stratified by trauma mechanism and to examine which organs were damaged per different trauma incident. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of 2,291 patients in a tertiary trauma center. Clinical characteristics included age, sex, injury severity score, trauma mechanism (car, motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, ship or train accident, fall, slipping or rolling down, bumping, crush injury, explosion burn, and others), abdominal surgical intervention, damaged organ, and A/E site. Results: One-fourth of the patients with blunt trauma required surgical intervention in the abdomen. In particular, the mesentery or bowel was the main injured area for abdominal surgery in all mechanisms, and the spleen or liver was the main damaged organ subjected to A/E. Therefore, we should consider that a substantial proportion of patients with trauma do require abdominal surgery. In particular, repeated physical examination and imaging tests are necessary when the patients are unconscious or their vital functions are unstable for accurate confirmation of injury.

Determination of risk factors associated with surgical site infection in patients undergoing preperitoneal pelvic packing for unstable pelvic fracture.

BACKGROUND: Several recent studies have shown that preperitoneal pelvic packing (PPP) effectively produces hemostasis in patients with unstable pelvic fractures. However, few studies have examined the rate of surgical site infections (SSIs) in patients undergoing PPP following an unstable pelvic fracture. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate factors associated with SSI in such patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of 188 patients who developed hemorrhagic shock due to pelvic fracture between April 2012 and May 2021. Forty-four patients were enrolled in this study. RESULTS: SSI occurred in 15 of 44 patients (34.1%). The SSIs occurred more frequently in cases of repacking during the second-look surgery (0 vs. 4 [26.7%], P=0.010) and combined bladder-urethra injury (1 [3.4%] vs. 4 [26.7%], P=0.039). The incidence of SSIs was not significantly different between patients undergoing depacking within or after 48 hours (12 [41.4%] vs. 5 [33.3%], P=0.603). The mean time to diagnosis of SSI was 8.1±3.9 days from PPP. The most isolated organism was Staphylococcus epidermidis. CONCLUSIONS: Repacking and combined bladder-urethra injury are potential risk factors for SSI in patients with unstable pelvic fracture. Close observation is recommended for up to 8 days in patients with these risk factors. Further, 48 hours after PPP, removing the packed gauze on cessation of bleeding and not performing repacking can help prevent SSI. Additional analyses are necessary with a larger number of patients with the potential risk factors identified in this study.

Pretreatment inflammatory markers predicting treatment outcomes in colorectal cancer.

We aimed to review whether pretreatment inflammatory markers reflect the short- and long-term outcomes of patients with colon cancer, rectal cancer, colon and rectal cancers, and metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). We found that pretreatment complete blood count and blood chemistry tests reflect short-term and long-term oncological outcomes in patients with CRC. Specifically, in patients with colon cancer, hypoalbuminemia was associated with worse postoperative morbidity, mortality, and inferior survival. In patients with rectal cancer, elevated neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and thrombocytosis were associated with postoperative complications, poor overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS). A high C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) was associated with poor OS and DFS. In patients with metastatic CRC, increased NLR and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were associated with poor OS, DFS, and progression-free survival (PFS). In addition, high CAR and a low albumin/globulin ratio on blood chemistry tests were associated with poor OS and PFS. Although universal cut-off values were not available, various types of pretreatment laboratory markers could be utilized as adjuncts to predict prognosis in patients with CRC.

The influence of professional oral hygiene care on reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia in trauma intensive care unit patients.

Aim This study aimed to examine the effects of professional oral hygiene care for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and the improvement of oral hygiene among patients in the trauma intensive care unit (TICU).Materials and methods TICU patients who underwent intubation were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 29) or control group (n = 28). The developed professional oral hygiene care protocol was administered to patients in the experimental group every 24 hours. Additionally, data regarding general characteristics, medical history, oral hygiene status, Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were assessed.Results The incidence of VAP differed between the control group (10.58) and experimental group (0) post intervention. Post-admission bedside oral exam scores with significant differences in oral hygiene were observed in the experimental group (in contrast to the control group) from 48 hours onwards (10.69 ± 3.43, p = 0.06). Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae exhibited significant differences in count as professional oral hygiene care continued.Conclusions This study suggests a model in which different health care professionals can cooperate to reduce the incidence of VAP and improve oral health conditions.

Correlation between the Injury Site and Trauma Mechanism in Severely Injured Patients with Blunt Trauma.

Background: In patients with severe injury, predicting the injury site without using advanced diagnostic modalities can help formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan based on the suspected injury site. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the correlation between the injury site and trauma mechanism in severely injured patients with blunt trauma. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics-including age, sex, date of emergency room (ER) visit, time of injury, trauma mechanism (car accident, motorcycle accident, bicycle accident, pedestrian accident, fall, slipping and rolling down, crush injury, assault, and others), final diagnosis, injury severity score, abbreviated injury scale (AIS) score, and injury site-of 1,245 patients in a tertiary trauma center. Results: There was a strong correlation between certain injury sites and specific trauma mechanisms. In particular, most trauma mechanisms were associated with injury to the head and neck, as well as the chest, with a combined frequency of >40.0%. Moreover, when using one-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni's post hoc tests, there were significant differences in AIS scores 1, 3, 4, and 5 for each trauma mechanism. Conclusion: Generally, when patients with severe injury present to the ER, the injury site can be predicted upon initial assessment based on the trauma mechanism. Based on our study, the injury site predicted by a specific mechanism should be checked repeatedly and additionally through physical examination and imaging tools. This can reduce misdiagnosis and help with accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Artificial intelligence to predict in-hospital mortality using novel anatomical injury score.

The aim of the study is to develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm based on a deep learning model to predict mortality using abbreviate injury score (AIS). The performance of the conventional anatomic injury severity score (ISS) system in predicting in-hospital mortality is still limited. AIS data of 42,933 patients registered in the Korean trauma data bank from four Korean regional trauma centers were enrolled. After excluding patients who were younger than 19 years old and those who died within six hours from arrival, we included 37,762 patients, of which 36,493 (96.6%) survived and 1269 (3.4%) deceased. To enhance the AI model performance, we reduced the AIS codes to 46 input values by organizing them according to the organ location (Region-46). The total AIS and six categories of the anatomic region in the ISS system (Region-6) were used to compare the input features. The AI models were compared with the conventional ISS and new ISS (NISS) systems. We evaluated the performance pertaining to the 12 combinations of the features and models. The highest accuracy (85.05%) corresponded to Region-46 with DNN, followed by that of Region-6 with DNN (83.62%), AIS with DNN (81.27%), ISS-16 (80.50%), NISS-16 (79.18%), NISS-25 (77.09%), and ISS-25 (70.82%). The highest AUROC (0.9084) corresponded to Region-46 with DNN, followed by that of Region-6 with DNN (0.9013), AIS with DNN (0.8819), ISS (0.8709), and NISS (0.8681). The proposed deep learning scheme with feature combination exhibited high accuracy metrics such as the balanced accuracy and AUROC than the conventional ISS and NISS systems. We expect that our trial would be a cornerstone of more complex combination model.

Effectiveness of a multidisciplinary team for nutrition support in a trauma intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated clinical and nutritional outcomes according to multidisciplinary team involvement in nutrition support in a regional trauma intensive care unit (TICU). METHODS: We retrospectively compared the outcomes for 339 patients admitted to the TICU for >5 days depending on nutrition support team (NST) involvement (n=176) and non-NST involvement (n=163). RESULTS: The mean age and injury severity score (ISS) were 57.3±16.7 years and 18.6±9.7, respectively. Fifty-three patients (15.6%) had shock on admission and 182 (53.7%) underwent surgery during TICU admission. Some patients were admitted to neurosurgery (46%), general surgery (35.4%), and other (18.6%) departments. There were significant differences in the ISS, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, shock on TICU admission, and initial laboratory results. After propensity score matching, the total delivered/required caloric ratio and total delivered/required protein ratio were significantly higher in the NST group than in the non-NST group (calorie: 80.4% vs. 66.7%, P=0.007; protein: 93.1% vs. 68.3%, P<0.001). The NST group had an adequate protein supply more frequently than the non-NST group (protein: 48.0% vs. 25.8%, P=0.002). There was no significant difference in survival, even after adjustment for risk factors using Cox proportional hazard analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study suggest that multidisciplinary team involvement in nutrition support in TICU patients may improve nutritional, but not clinical, outcomes.

Effectiveness of kaolin-impregnated hemostatic gauze use in preperitoneal pelvic packing for patients with pelvic fractures and hemodynamic instability: A propensity score matching analysis.

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated the effectiveness of kaolin-impregnated hemostatic gauze use in preperitoneal pelvic packing (PPP) for patients with hemodynamic instability due to severe pelvic fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between May 2014 and October 2018, 53 of 75 patients who underwent PPP due to hemodynamic instability induced by pelvic fracture were enrolled. Their medical records were prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed. QuikClot combat gauze (hydrophilic gauze impregnated with kaolin) and general surgical tape were used in 21 patients, while general surgical tape was used in the remaining 32 patients. RESULTS: As there were differences in the characteristics of patients between the hemostatic gauze (HG) group and control group, propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to adjust for age, sex, and lactate levels. After PSM, the clinical characteristics between the two groups became similar. There were no differences in the rates of mortality and hemorrhage-induced mortality between the two groups. However, the packed red blood cell (RBC) requirement for an additional 12 hours in the HG group was significantly lower than that in the control group (4.1 ± 3.5 vs. 7.6 ± 6.1 units, p = 0.035). The lengths of intensive care unit and hospital stays tended to be shorter in the HG group than in the control group (11.6 vs. 18.5 days, p = 0.1582; 30.8 vs. 47.4 days, p = 0.1861, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The use of HG during PPP did not reduce hemorrhage-induced mortality, but did reduce the need for additional packed RBC transfusions in patients with hemodynamic instability due to severe pelvic fractures.

The need for a rapid transfer to a hybrid operating theatre: Do we lose benefit with poor efficiency?

PURPOSE: Recent studies on hybrid operating rooms (ORs) have mainly reported their applications in orthopaedic surgery and interventional radiology (IR); there are few studies assessing severely injured patients who underwent IR or surgery in hybrid ORs for haemostasis. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate our early experience with the use of hybrid OR to control haemorrhage in severe trauma patients. METHODS: Medical charts of patients who underwent an emergency surgery or IR for haemostasis were analysed retrospectively between January and December 2015. RESULTS: Of the 95 patients directly transported to the general or hybrid OR, 69 (73%) were transported to the non-hybrid OR and underwent emergency surgeries, whereas 26 (27%) were transported to the hybrid OR and underwent emergency IR or surgery on-site. Patients transported to the hybrid OR had a higher median Injury Severity Score (median: 29, interquartile range[IQR]: 21-36.5 vs median: 21, IQR: 16-27) and lower median initial systolic blood pressure (median: 96, IQR: 82.75-128.75 vs median: 114, IQR: 95-151.5) than those transported to the non-hybrid OR. The median time from the emergency room (ER) arrival to the start of the emergency procedure in the hybrid OR group was similar with that in the non-hybrid OR group (median: 80, IQR: 62.75-91.5 vs median: 75, IQR: 56.5-99). Seven patients underwent IR and surgery concurrently in the hybrid OR because of a haemodynamically unstable pelvic fracture, severe liver injury, and severe brain haemorrhage. The median time from the ER arrival to the start of the haemostatic procedure or operation was 64(43-97) minutes. CONCLUSIONS: Although the hybrid OR may be used for haemostasis in severely injured patients, the long median time from ER arrival to the start of a haemostatic procedure in hybrid OR indicates the need for a new workflow to reduce this time and to facilitate hybrid OR use.

Delta neutrophil index for predicting mortality in trauma patients who underwent emergent abdominal surgery: A case controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Delta neutrophil index (DNI) can be used as a biomarker for infection to predict patient outcomes. We aimed to investigate the relationship between DNI and clinical outcomes in trauma patients who underwent abdominal surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed injured patients who underwent emergent abdominal surgery in the regional trauma center of Wonju Severance Christian Hospital between March 2016 and May 2018. Patient characteristics, operation type, preoperative and postoperative laboratory findings, and clinical outcomes were evaluated. Logistic regression analysis was performed for risk factors associated with mortality. RESULTS: Overall, 169 patients (mean age, 53.8 years; 66.3% male) were enrolled in this study, of which 19 (11.2%) died. The median injury severity score (ISS) was 12. The non-survivors had a significantly higher ISS [25(9-50) vs. 10(1-50), p<0.001] and serum lactate level (9.00±4.10 vs. 3.04±2.23, p<0.001) and more frequent shock (63.2% vs 23.3%, p<0.001) and solid organ injury (52.6% vs. 25.3%, p = 0.013) than the survivors. There were significant differences in postoperative DNI between the two groups (p<0.009 immediate post-operation, p = 0.001 on postoperative day 1 [POD1], and p = 0.013 on POD2). Logistic regression analysis showed that the independent factors associated with mortality were postoperative lactate level (odds ratio [OR] 1.926, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.101-3.089, p = 0.007), postoperative sequential organ failure assessment score (OR 1.593, 95% CI 1.160-2.187, p = 0.004), and DNI on POD1 (OR 1.118, 95% CI 1.028-1.215, p = 0.009). The receiver operating characteristics curve demonstrated that the area under the curve of DNI on POD1 was 0.887 (cut-off level: 7.1%, sensitivity 85.7%, and specificity 84.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative DNI may be a useful biomarker to predict mortality in trauma patients who underwent emergent abdominal surgery.

Findings requiring immediate surgery in blunt abdominal trauma patients with isolated free fluid without solid organ injury on abdominal computed tomography: Retrospective laboratory, clinical and radiologic analysis. A case control study.

BACKGROUND: Determining surgical treatment is difficult in blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) patients with isolated free fluid without solid organ injury (IFFWSOI) on abdominal computed tomography (CT). We investigated the laboratory, clinical, and radiologic features of BAT patients with IFFWSOI on abdominal CT requiring surgery. METHODS: A retrospective medical record review was performed for patients treated at our government-established regional tertiary trauma center from March 2014 to August 2018. A total of 501 patients were identified and reviewed. Patients were divided into Surgery and No Surgery groups for analysis. The Surgery group included patients who underwent surgery during the index admission, while the No Surgery group included patients who did not undergo surgery. RESULTS: There were significantly more cases of severe fluid collection (61.5% vs. 11.8%; p < 0.001), car accidents (69.2% vs. 35.3%; p = 0.018), and abdominal pain (87.2% vs. 58.8%; p = 0.031) at the emergency department in the Surgery group. Regarding laboratory studies performed at the emergency department, only the median amylase level was significantly higher in the No Surgery group (54.5 U/L vs. 62.5 U/L; p = 0.048). On multivariate logistic regression analysis with adjustments for age and sex, the odds ratio (OR) for severe fluid collection on abdominal CT to predict surgery was 13.52 (p = 0.006), while the OR for abdominal pain was 7.34 (p = 0.036) and the OR for car accident was 2.14 (p = 0.329). In addition, a multivariate logistic regression with adjustment for age, sex, delta neutrophil index, and C-reactive protein, showed the same propensity as the other model, although statistical significance was retained only for severe fluid collection. CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment should be actively considered in the presence of a large volume of intra-abdominal free fluid, especially when concomitant with abdominal pain or after car accidents in BAT patients without solid organ injury.

PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games and athletes' usage of 'polyclinic' medical services.

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to describe the medical service of two polyclinics of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games and to analyse the injury and illness of athletes who visited the polyclinics during the oilympic period in order to provide some insight with respect to the future construction and operation of polyclinics in mass gathering events such as the Olympic Games. METHODS: The PyeongChang Olympic Village was located near the Olympic Stadium for snow sports athletes and the Gangneung Olympic Village was located near the ice venues for ice sports athletes. During the Olympic Games, polyclinics were consisted of emergency service and outpatient clinics. We retrospectively analysed the electronic medical record data of athletes who visiting polyclinics between 9 February 2018 and 25 February 2018. RESULTS: During the Olympics, there were 1639 athlete encounters in both polyclinics. Among those, injuries of athletes were 237 (14% of all athlete encounters) in total, and the most common injured site was knee joint. Upper respiratory infection was the most frequent case in diseases of athlete encounters. Total 223 cases of image study were done, MRI was 44 cases. CONCLUSION: The PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games had the highest number of participants in the history of Winter Olympic Games. Overall 48% of athletes encountered polyclinics due to disease during the Games period. Upper respiratory infection and other seasonal diseases were more frequent this Olympic Games than before. Polyclinics were managed healthcare of athletes as well as injury and illness of athletes. In winter sports, a polyclinic and similar medical facilities should be prepare for diseases considering geography, weather as well as injuries and endemic diseases when planning future mass gathering events.

Experiences of the Emergency Department at the Pyeongchang Polyclinic During the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

PURPOSE: The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games involved 2925 elite athletes, and providing proper health care services for these elite athletes was a critical priority. We established an emergency department (ED) in the Pyeongchang Mountain Polyclinic during the Olympics, which served staff and athletes from many countries. This experience, as well as a description of illnesses and injuries encountered during the games, may provide useful information for planning medical care at similar events in the future. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The polyclinic ED operated from January 25 to February 27, 2018. All cases were enrolled in this study, and their data were analyzed by date and category. In addition, the number of injuries by body part, number of illnesses by organ system, and illness symptoms and causes were analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 288 patients were encountered in the ED. These included 113 injuries and 175 illnesses. We consulted with 153 staff members and 75 athletes, and reported that the fingers were the most commonly injured body part, followed by the knee. The respiratory system was the most commonly involved organ system, and the most common cause of illness was infection. Thirty-eight influenza tests were performed, among which the results of seven were positive. We performed 17 norovirus tests, among which the results of four were positive. CONCLUSION: Our analysis of our ED experience will aid arrangements for medical services in future Winter Games. Additionally, given our new experience, we will now be able to provide better medical services for future winter sports events.

Improvement of outcomes in patients with pelvic fractures and hemodynamic instability after the establishment of a Korean regional trauma center.

PURPOSE: Despite using a multidisciplinary treatment approach, the mortality rate of patients with hemodynamic instability from severe pelvic fractures is still 40-60%. We evaluated the improvement of outcomes in this patient population after the establishment of a regional trauma center in Korea. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of 50 patients with hemodynamic instability due to pelvic fractures between March 2011 and November 2016. Patients were divided into two groups: the pre-trauma center (PTC) group (n = 23) and trauma center (TC) group (n = 27). RESULTS: Sixteen (32.0%) patients died of exsanguination. Patients in the TC group had shorter trauma resuscitation room stay (101 vs 273 min, p < 0.001) and underwent preperitoneal pelvic packing (PPP) more frequently (88.9 vs 8.7%, p < 0.001) than those in the PTC group. During the TC period, emergent procedures such as PPP and pelvic angiography were performed more frequently (92.6 vs 39.1%, p < 0.001). Although there was no statistical difference in the overall mortality rate between groups, patients in the TC group had less mortality due to hemorrhage (18.5 vs 47.8%, p = 0.027). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that initial systolic blood pressure and establishment of trauma center were independent protective factors of mortality from hemorrhage [odds ratio (OR) 0.957, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.926-0.988, p = 0.007; OR 0.134, 95% CI 0.028-0.633, p = 0.011]. CONCLUSIONS: Since the regional trauma center was established, emergent procedures such as pelvic angiography and PPP were performed more frequently, and mortality due to exsanguination was significantly decreased.

Effectiveness and postoperative wound infection of preperitoneal pelvic packing in patients with hemodynamic instability caused by pelvic fracture.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the use of a multidisciplinary treatment approach, the mortality rate of hemodynamic instability due to severe pelvic fracture remains 40-60%. Several recent studies have shown that preperitoneal pelvic packing (PPP) was useful for achieving hemostasis in these patients in the acute phase. However, few studies have examined postoperative complications. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate clinical outcomes and wound infections of PPP in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of 62 patients with hemorrhagic shock due to pelvic fracture between March 2011 and May 2017. Excluding four patients (two with other major hemorrhage sites and two who experienced cardiac arrest in the emergency room), the patients were divided into PPP (n = 30) and non-PPP (n = 28) groups according to PPP application. Clinical outcomes including early-stage mortality, transfusion amount, and surgical site infection (SSI) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The overall mortality rate was 48.3% and the mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 39 ± 9. The 30 patients in the PPP group had a significantly lower hemorrhage-induced mortality rate than the 28 patients in the non-PPP group (16.7% vs 50%, p = 0.019), although both groups had similar patient characteristics (age, ISS, and initial serum lactate level). Independent factors associated with hemorrhage-induced mortality were PPP and the requirement of packed red blood cells for 4 h. In the PPP group, SSI occurred in 5 of 25 (20%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: PPP may be considered as a hemostatic modality for hemodynamic instability due to pelvic fracture because it reduces the hemorrhage-induced mortality rate. However, wound infections after the procedure should be considered.

Differences Regarding the Molecular Features and Gut Microbiota Between Right and Left Colon Cancer.

For many years, developmental and physiological differences have been known to exist between anatomic segments of the colorectum. Because of different outcomes, prognoses, and clinical responses to chemotherapy, the distinction between right colon cancer (RCC) and left colon cancer (LCC) has gained attention. Furthermore, variations in the molecular features and gut microbiota between right and LCCs have recently been a hot research topic. CpG island methylator phenotype-high, microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancers are more likely to occur on the right side whereas tumors with chromosomal instability have been detected in approximately 75% of LCC patients and 30% of RCC patients. The mutation rates of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes also differ between RCC and LCC patients. Biofilm is more abundant in RCC patients than LLC patients, as are Prevotella, Selenomonas, and Peptostreptococcus. Conversely, Fusobacterium, Escherichia/Shigella, and Leptotrichia are more abundant in LCC patients compared to RCC patients. Distinctive characteristics are apparent in terms of molecular features and gut microbiota between right and LCC. However, how or to what extent these differences influence diverging oncologic outcomes remains unclear. Further clinical and translational studies are needed to elucidate the causative relationship between primary tumor location and prognosis.