Comparison of anaesthesia strategies on postoperative nausea and vomiting in laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Intra-operative anaesthesia management should be optimised to reduce the occurrence of postoperative nausea and vomiting in high-risk patients; however, a single intervention may not effectively reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting in such patients. This study assessed the effect of an optimised anaesthetic protocol versus a conventional one on postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. METHODS: A single-centre randomised trial was conducted at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital from June 2021 to December 2022. Among 168 patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, 116 qualified, and 103 completed the study with available data. Patients were categorized into the conventional group (received sevoflurane and standard fluids) and the optimised group (underwent propofol-based anaesthesia and was administered goal-directed fluids). The primary endpoints were postoperative nausea and vomiting incidence and severity within 24 h. RESULTS: Postoperative nausea and vomiting assessment at 0-3 h post-surgery revealed no significant differences between groups. However, at 3-24 h, the optimised anaesthetic protocol group showed lower postoperative nausea and vomiting incidence and severity than those of the conventional group (P = 0.005). In the conventional group, 20 (37.04%) patients experienced moderate-to-severe postoperative nausea and vomiting, compared to six (12.25%) patients in the optimised group (odds ratio = 0.237; 95% CI = 0.086, 0.656; P = 0.006). No significant differences were noted in antiemetic treatment, moderate-to-severe pain incidence, anaesthesia recovery, post-anaesthetic care unit stay, or postoperative duration between the groups. While the total intra-operative infusion volumes were comparable, the optimised group had a significantly higher colloidal infusion volume (500 mL vs. 0 mL, P = 0.014) than that of the conventional group. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and severity of postoperative nausea and vomiting 3-24 h postoperatively in patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy were significantly lower with propofol-based total intravenous anaesthesia and goal-directed fluid therapy than with sevoflurane anaesthesia and traditional fluid management. Total intravenous anaesthesia is an effective multimodal antiemetic strategy for bariatric surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-TRC- 2,100,046,534, registration date: 21 May 2021).

Prognostic significance of preoperative skeletal muscle status in patients with gastric cancer after radical gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The association between skeletal muscle status and gastric cancer (GC) prognosis remains unclear. Here, we investigated the impact of the skeletal muscle index (SMI) on overall survival (OS) in GC patients after radical gastrectomy. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: We divided 178 patients into four groups: adult men, adult women, elderly men and elderly women. The SMI, calculated using CT images, of patients was graded using cutoff values of group-specific tertiles. Age, body mass index, SMI grade, Charlson comorbidity index, surgical method (total vs distal gastrectomy), tumor stage, and histological type and differentiation were included in Cox regression models to assess the primary outcome parameter of OS. A new prognostic score for 3- year OS was established by combining the SMI grade and tumor stage, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to determine its predictive reliability. RESULTS: For groups with high, medium, and low SMI grades, the 3-year OS rates were 94.04, 79.08 and 59.09% and 86.09, 70.11 and 49.11% (p<0.001) in patients undergoing distal and total gastrectomy, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, low SMI (hazard ratio (HR) 1.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-2.9), advanced stage (HR 2.89, 95% CI 1.43-5.83), and total gastrectomy (HR 1.69, 95% CI 0.95-3.01) were independent risk factors for OS (p<0.010). The areas under the ROC curves for the prognostic score were 0.77 (range 0.61-0.93) and 0.76 (range 0.65-0.86) in patients undergoing distal and total gastrectomy, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative SMI was an independent prognostic factor for long-term survival in GC patients after radical gastrectomy.

Enhancing tourist loyalty through location-based service apps: Exploring the roles of digital literacy, perceived ease of use, perceived autonomy, virtual-content congruency, and tourist engagement.

Advanced mobile functions and empowered smartphones have provided tourists with various location-based service apps that reshaped the business model of the tourism sector. Despite their importance to tourists, l-apps still have limitations, such as ignorance of tourist preferences and the mismatch between app introduction and tourist experience, therefore affecting tourist loyalty to destinations. Understanding tourist-oriented factors thus becomes critical for l-app designers and service providers. This study integrates the technology-acceptance model (TAM) into a unique context to examine the roles of digital literacy, perceived ease of use, perceived autonomy, virtual-content congruence, and tourist engagement on tourist loyalty. Our empirical test of a structural equation model based on a randomly recruited 319 customers found that tourists' digital literacy influences their engagement and perceived ease of use, which mediates the relationship between digital literacy and engagement; tourists' perceived autonomy influences their engagement. Moreover, we found the moderating role of information-experience congruency between digital literacy, perceived ease of use, and perceived autonomy and tourist engagement, thus contributing to the boundary conditions of the TAM model. Finally, tourist engagement contributes to tourist loyalty. The study contributes to the integration of the technology acceptance model with a tourist orientation. The findings also offer meaningful, practical implications and recommendations on l-app design to stakeholders of tourist destinations.

Exploring the influence of expectancy, valence, and instrumentality on VR tourism intention: A framework based on TAM and expectancy theory.

BACKGROUND: Virtual Reality (VR) has demonstrated tremendous potential to transform the tourism industry, offering tourists immersive experiences in remote destinations with reduced costs. Drawing on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and expectancy theory, we investigated the intricate interplay between expectancy, valence, and instrumentality and tourists' VR tourism intention through perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. METHODS: Our structural equation modeling results based on the survey of 282 VR tourists in China revealed that expectancy, valence, and instrumentality significantly impact perceived ease of use, which in turn affects VR tourism intention. RESULTS: Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness each mediate the relationship between expectancy, valence, instrumentality, and VR tourism intention. CONCLUSION: These results contribute to the VR tourism literature and offer practical insights for destination operators and marketers aiming to enhance VR tourism experiences and promote technology adoption in the tourism industry.

Constructing and Validating a Dynamic Nomogram to Predict Response to Bariatric Surgery: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

PURPOSE: Suboptimal response is one of the major problems for bariatric surgery, and constructing an individualized model for predicting outcomes of bariatric surgery is essential. Thus, the aim of this study is to develop a nomogram to predict the response to bariatric surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 509 patients who underwent bariatric surgery between 2019 to 2020 from 6 centers were retrieved and assessed. Multiple Imputation was used to replace missing data. Patients with %TWL ≥ 20% 1 year after bariatric surgery were classified as patients with optimal response, while the others were patients with suboptimal response. A web-based nomogram was constructed and validated. ROC curve and calibration curve were used to determine the predictive ability of our model. RESULTS: 56 (11.0%) patients were classified as patients with suboptimal response, and they showed advanced age, lower pre-operative BMI, smaller waist circumference, higher fasting glucose, higher HbA1c and lower fasting insulin compared to patients with optimal response. A forward likelihood ratio logistic regression analysis indicated that age (OR = 0.943, 95% CI: 0.915-0.971, p < 0.001), pre-operative BMI (OR = 1.109, 95% CI: 1.002-1.228, p = 0.046) and waist circumference (OR = 1.043, 95% CI: 1.000-1.088, p = 0.048) were essential factors contributing to the response to bariatric surgery. Lastly, a web-based nomogram was constructed to predict the response to bariatric surgery and demonstrated an AUC of 0.829 and 0.798 upon internal and external validation. CONCLUSION: Age, BMI and fasting glucose were proved to be essential factors influencing the response to bariatric surgery. The nomogram constructed in this study demonstrated good adaptivity.

Effect of Modified Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery on GLP-1, GIP in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

The type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most serious diseases that threaten public health. Modified gastric bypass surgery has been applied to the treatment of T2DM patients in the 1990s, but the therapeutic mechanism to this function is still unclear. The aim of this study was to further clarify the effect and the mechanism of modified gastric bypass surgery on glucose metabolism in patients with T2DM. In the study, the incretin indexes and blood glucose indexes were analyzed before surgery and 1 week and 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. The results suggested that modified Roux-en-Y gastric bypass can promote GLP-1 secretion in patients with T2DM, while reducing the secretion of GIP. Thus it could effectively control blood glucose of patients with T2DM.

Comparison of different gastric bypass procedures in gastric carcinoma patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIM: To determine the effect of different Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedures in gastric carcinoma patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 54 patients with gastric cancer and type 2 diabetes mellitus treated in the Department of General Surgery from January 2006 to June 2013 was conducted. The patients underwent gastrectomy using different Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedures (traditional, n = 26; modified, n = 28). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), two hour postprandial blood glucose (2 h PBG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were analyzed before surgery (0 mo) and 1, 3 and 6 mo after surgery. RESULTS: FPG and 2 h PBG levels were significantly decreased 1 mo after surgery in the traditional Roux-en-Y gastric bypass group (FPG 7.5 ± 1.3 vs 10.7 ± 1.2, P < 0.05) (2 h PBG 10.2 ± 1.8 vs 13.8 ± 3.2, P < 0.05). FPG and 2 h PBG levels were significantly decreased after surgery in the modified Roux-en-Y gastric bypass group (FPG 6.9 ± 1.2 vs 10.5 ± 1.1, 6.5 ± 1.3 vs 10.5 ± 1.1, 6.4 ± 1.2 vs 10.5 ± 1.1, P < 0.05) (2 h PBG 9.9 ± 2.2 vs 14.1 ± 2.9, 9.2 ± 2.4 vs 14.1 ± 2.9, 8.9 ± 2.6 vs 14.1 ± 2.9, P < 0.05). Compared with the levels before surgery, HbA1c levels were significantly decreased 3 and 6 mo after surgery (7.2 ± 1.1 vs 10.5 ± 1.1, 5.5 ± 1.1 vs 10.5 ± 1.1, P < 0.05). Significant differences between the two groups regarding FPG, 2 h PBG and HbA1c concentration were observed 3 and 6 mo after surgery (FPG 10.1 ± 1.5 vs 6.5 ± 1.3, 10.3 ± 1.4 vs 6.4 ± 1.2, P < 0.05) (2 h PBG 13.1 ± 2.8 vs 9.2 ± 2.4, 13.6 ± 3.1 vs 8.9 ± 2.6, P < 0.05) (HbA1c 10.1 ± 1.4 vs 7.2 ± 1.1, 10.5 ± 1.3 vs 5.5 ± 1.1, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Modified Roux-en-Y gastric bypass can improve glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetic patients with gastric cancer.