Abdominal compartment syndrome and ruptured aortic aneurysm: Validation of a predictive test (SCA-AAR).

BACKGROUND: The abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) has been clearly identified as being one of the main causes of mortality after ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA). The ACS is defined as a sustained intra-abdominal pressure > 20 mm Hg associated with a new organ dysfunction or failure. A pilot study was conducted and found that the threshold of 3 among 8 selected criteria, we would predict an ACS occurrence with a 54% positive predictive value and a 92% negative predictive value. But a multicentric prospective study was clearly needed to confirm these results. The outcome of this new study is to assess the qualities of a predictive test on occurrence of the ACS after rAAA surgery. METHODS: This is a 30 months prospective cohort study conducted in 12 centers and 165 patients will be included. All patients with a rAAA will be consecutively included, whatever the surgical treatment. At the end of surgery, all patients have an abdominal closure and a monitoring of intrabladder pressure will be established every 3 to 4 hours. Decompressive laparotomy will be indicated when ACS occurs. Follow-up period is 1 month. Eight pre- and per-operative criteria will be studied: anemia, hypotension, cardiac arrest, obesity, massive fluid resuscitation, transfusion, hypothermia, and acidosis. DISCUSSION: In the literature, there is no recommendation about prophylactic decompression, but early decompressive laparotomy appears to improve survival. This study should make it possible to establish a predictive test, detect the ACS early, and consider a prophylactic decompression in the operating room. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02859662, Registered on 4 August 2016.

Ruptured Pancreaticoduodenal Artery Aneurysm due to a Median Arcuate Ligament Treated Solely by Revascularization of the Celiac Trunk.

Pancreaticoduodenal artery aneurysms (PDAAs) are rare, but rupture can occur at any time regardless of the size. We describe here the case of 53-year-old woman who presented with a ruptured PDAA associated with compression of the celiac trunk by the median arcuate ligament. We first performed revascularization of the celiac trunk without intervening on the PDAA because of surgically hostile conditions. We observed complete regression of the PDAA, probably due to the dramatic decrease in inflow to the PDAA, thanks to the revascularization procedure. This prompted us to cancel the secondary endovascular embolization. The patient remained asymptomatic at 3 months.

Impact of Nutritional State on Critical Limb Ischemia Early Outcomes (DENUCRITICC Study).

BACKGROUND: Despite current progress, the prognosis of critical limb ischemia (CLI) remains poor. The ageing of the population, the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, and the stability of tobacco use will increase the prevalence of CLI. CLI patients have risk factors for malnutrition, and the impact of malnutrition on morbidity and mortality has been demonstrated in the general population. However, we have little information on the consequences of undernutrition in the CLI population. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of malnutrition on the early outcomes in CLI patients. METHODS: This is a double-center prospective study that included all consecutive hospitalized patients with CLI. All patients were screened for malnutrition and divided into 2 groups: severe malnourished patients (group A) and moderate malnourished and well-nourished (group B). This distribution was based on age-indexed clinical and biological data and the patient's general condition: the Nutritional Risk Index for patients younger than 75 years, the Mini Nutritional Assessment, or the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index for those older than 75 years. The primary end point was defined as the rate of 30-day death. Outcomes were compared in a univariate analysis. Stepwise logistic regression was used for the multivariate analysis. Variables with a P value <0.2 in the univariate analysis were introduced in the multivariate model. RESULTS: We included 106 patients. The prevalence of malnutrition was 75.5%, divided into moderate malnutrition (51.9%) and severe malnutrition (23.6%). Six patients (24%) died in group A compared with 8 in group B (4.9%) (P = 0.01). By univariate analysis, severe malnutrition was the only factor associated with death at 30 days. By stepwise logistic regression, severe malnutrition (odds ratio 6.1, 95% confidence interval 1.6-23.7, P = 0.006) was found to be the significant risk factors for death at 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to demonstrate prospectively the major importance of malnutrition in the early prognosis of CLI patients.

How to identify patients at risk of abdominal compartment syndrome after surgical repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms in the operating room: A pilot study.

Objectives Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is poorly identified in surgery for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm and an early management is crucial. The aim of this study was to validate how many risk factors were needed to predict ACS. Secondary objectives were to assess its prevalence and the 30-day mortality. Methods All patients operated for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm during 5 years were included. An independent committee performed a retrospective diagnosis of ACS. Eight criteria were selected from the literature, and corresponded to pre- and intraoperative period: anemia (hemoglobin lower than 10 g/dL), prolonged shock (systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg more than 18 min), preoperative cardiac arrest, obesity (body mass index > 30), massive fluid resuscitation (≥3500 mL per hour for at least 1 h) and transfusions (>10 units packed blood red cell since the beginning of the treatment), severe hypothermia (≤33℃), acidosis (pH < 7.2). Sensitivity and specificity were assessed for each number of criteria. Results Eight patients were ACS+ and 28 ACS-, with three criteria for ACS+ and 1.5 for ACS- ( p = 0.002). Three criteria among the eight selected criteria have the best cutoff for sensitivity and specificity (75% and 82%) with a positive predictive value of 54% and a negative predictive value of 92%. The prevalence of ACS was 17%. The 30-day mortality in ACS+ tended to be higher than in ACS- ( p = 0.108). Conclusion The present results suggest that patients with an ACS seemed to have higher mortality and the threshold of three factors among eight specific factors is enough to predict this.

Axillary artery transection and bilateral pulmonary embolism after anterior shoulder dislocation: case report.

INTRODUCTION: Anterior shoulder dislocation can be associated with vascular and neurological complications. However, axillary artery injury associated with shoulder dislocation is rare and extremely rare without bone fracture. An early diagnosis of these complications allows predicting long-term functional outcomes. METHODS: This article reports the case of a 66-year-old patient who presented an anterior shoulder dislocation after a ski fall without any neurological dysfunction or pulse deficit. RESULTS: The first reduction attempts were unsuccessful and during the new attempt, we observed a hematoma. A CT scan showed a disruption of the axillary artery and a bilateral pulmonary embolism. CONCLUSION: Neurovascular injury must be systematically sought before and after reduction, and a multidisciplinary approach is always necessary.

Is Suprarenal Fixation of Aortic Stent Grafts Really without Consequence on the Renal Function?

BACKGROUND: The renal safety of suprarenal (SR) fixation stent grafts has not been demonstrated yet. The principal objective of this study was to analyze the effect of the type of fixation of stent grafts on the renal function at 1 year, by calculating the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The secondary objective was the evaluation of the morphological repercussion of the implants at the renal level by computed tomography. METHODS: This is a monocentric retrospective study, including all the patients treated electively between 2008 and 2014 with a bifurcated aortic stent graft. We compared the characteristics of the SR and infrarenal (IR) populations and the evolution of the preoperative and 1-year postoperative renal function. Renal function was evaluated by eGFR, according to the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration formula, and expressed as mL/min/1.73 m2. Regarding morphological evolution, we sought renal infarctions and thromboses or stenoses of the renal arteries (RAS). RESULTS: During the study period, 102 patients were treated: 42 IR and 60 SR. The populations were comparable in terms of operative risk factors and impaired renal function. Preoperative eGFR was similar (SR 71.7 ± 17.8 vs. IR 70.3 ± 17.5, P = 0.7). There was no variation in eGFR at 1 year in the IR group (-0.9; P = 0.4), whereas a significant decrease was observed in the SR group (-5.6, P < 0.0001), a difference which proved to be significant in the intergroup comparison (P = 0.0065). This difference persisted after the exclusion of the patients in which at least one polar renal artery had been covered (P = 0.019). The proportion of patients with a degradation ≥20% of the eGFR was significantly higher in the SR group (SR 13.3%, n = 8 vs. IR 2.4%, n = 1; P = 0.046). We observed significantly more new or progressing RAS in the SR group (SR 21.67%, n = 13 vs. IR 2.38%, n = 1; P = 0.0035). Overall, 15 infarctions were detected but 9 were due to the cover of a polar artery including 8 in the SR group SR, which were thus excluded (SR 6.7%, n = 4 vs. IR 4.8%, n = 2; P = 0.52). No renal artery thrombosis was diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: The report of a significant difference in the evolution of the renal function and the progression of renal stenoses makes us wonder about the real harmlessness of SR fixation stent grafts. If further reflection is necessary, their systematic use should be called into question, in particular in the presence of an anatomy authorizing the use of IR fixation stent grafts.