Predictors of complication after adrenalectomy

ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate risk factors for complications in patients undergoing adrenalectomy. Materials and Methods: A retrospective search of our institutional database was performed of patients who underwent adrenalectomy, between 2014 and 2018. Clinical parameters and adrenal disorder characteristics were assessed and correlated to intra and post-operative course. Complications were analyzed within 30-days after surgery. A logistic regression was performed in order to identify independent predictors of morbidity in patients after adrenalectomy. Results: The files of 154 patients were reviewed. Median age and Body Mass Index (BMI) were 52-years and 27.8kg/m2, respectively. Mean tumor size was 4.9±4cm. Median surgery duration and estimated blood loss were 140min and 50mL, respectively. There were six conversions to open surgery. Minor and major post-operative complications occurred in 17.5% and 8.4% of the patients. Intra-operative complications occurred in 26.6% of the patients. Four patients died. Mean hospitalization duration was 4-days (Interquartile Range: 3-8). Patients age (p=0.004), comorbidities (p=0.003) and pathological diagnosis (p=0.003) were independent predictors of post-operative complications. Tumor size (p<0.001) and BMI (p=0.009) were independent predictors of intra-operative complications. Pathological diagnosis (p<0.001) and Charlson score (p=0.013) were independent predictors of death. Conclusion: Diligent care is needed with older patients, with multiple comorbidities and harboring unfavorable adrenal disorders (adrenocortical carcinoma and pheocromocytoma), who have greater risk of post-operative complications. Patients with elevated BMI and larger tumors have higher risk of intra, but not of post-operative complications.

Surgical management of adrenal cysts: a single-institution experience

Objective To analyze surgical methods and evaluate treatment efficacy and safety for managing adrenal cystic lesions. Materials and methods All patients presenting with adrenal lesions of the West China Hospital were reviewed retrospectively from January 2003 to April 2013 and 47 were diagnosed as adrenal cysts. Basic information, clinical history, physical examination, laboratory investigations, abdominal ultrasound and enhanced computed tomography were detailed noted. Cysts with different surgical management were analyzed and surgery option operative time, postoperative complications and after-surgery hospital stay were all noted. The final diagnosis was judged by histopathology. Patients were followed from 3 month to 10 years. Results All the 47 patients with a mean age of 43.8 years were managed by surgical intervention. Compared laparoscopic technology with open technology, the laparoscopic has the advantage of a shorter operation time, shorter hospital stay after surgery and enhanced cosmesis. The histopathologic result was: 23 (50%) were endothelial cysts and 16 (35%) were pseudocysts. One patient had evidence to recurrence at the followed-up stage. Conclusion Adrenal cysts are rare and with the development of imaging techniques many of these are diagnosed incidentally. CT has advantages in detecting the cysts with haemorrhage, intracystic debris, calcification and mixed adrenal mass. Minimally invasive surgery offers equivalent efficacy to traditional open procedures, while providing a shorter operation time, shorter convalescence and improved cosmesis. Patients after surgical resection should be followed up closely especially if functional cysts and histopathology of cystic tumor are present. .

Bilateral afrenal nodules due to histoplasmosis in an elderly

We report a case history of an 84-year-old elderly male patient that presented with a clinical picture suggestive of adrenal failure and bilateral adrenal nodules detected by abdominal computed tomography. A fine needle-guided biopsy was inconclusive for achieving a final diagnosis. The patient died due to septic shock and the autopsy disclosed histoplasmosis with extensive bilateral necrosis of the adrenal glands. Although the adrenal involvement in chronic disseminated histoplasmosis has been described, there have been few reports of the infection being associated with adrenal insufficiency.