Efficacy and safety of RD2 Ver.02, a whole blood clot therapy, coupled with a minimally invasive procedure in pilonidal sinus: a phase II study.

BACKGROUND: PNS is caused by an infection in the sacrococcygeal area triggered by hair particle accumulation in skin tunnels, resulting in infection. Surgical options range from simple excision to complex flap constructions. Primary wound healing failure and recurrence rates contribute to the burden of PNS. RD2 Ver.02, a novel autologous whole-blood clot product, demonstrated safety and efficacy in treating complex cutaneous wounds and was investigated for the management of PNS. METHODS: A Phase II open-label, pilot, single-arm prospective study was conducted from May 2021 to May 2023 (Ethics Committee approval #7952-20). Patients with PNS underwent a minimally invasive trephine procedure under local anesthesia followed by RD2 Ver.02 instillation into the cavity. Primary healing was assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months. Secondary outcomes included the collection of adverse events. RESULTS: Overall, 51 patients participated in the study. At 3 months, 42/51 healed (82.4%), 7/51 (13.7%) were granulating but not completely healed, and 2/51 (3.9%) failed to heal. At 6 and 12 months, 46/51 (90.2%) and 42/51 (82.4%) achieved complete healing, respectively. At 6 months, two PNSs recurred after initial healing and an additional four instances of PNS recurrence observed in 12 months, so a total of recurrence in six patients (11.8%). There were five adverse events (AEs) with no severe adverse events. CONCLUSION: RD2 Ver.02 is a safe and effective treatment of PNS when coupled with a minimally invasive trephine PNS procedure. Further comparative studies are needed to fully assess the role of this novel therapy for PNS.

Surgical outcomes of minimally invasive trephine surgery for pilonidal sinus disease with and without laser therapy: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Over the last decades, novel therapeutic options have emerged for the surgical treatment of pilonidal sinus disease (PSD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of trephine/pit excision surgery with or without laser therapy in patients with PSD. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a large tertiary medical center, including all adult patients with PNS who underwent trephine surgery with/without laser therapy between 2016 and 2021[AUTHORS TO INSERT MONTH]. Propensity score matching was used to address confounding factors, and the primary outcome was the 1-year recurrence rate. RESULTS: The study included 221 patients with PSD, with a mean age of 23.73 years (87.7% male). In the unmatched cohort (130 trephine surgery alone, 91 trephine surgery + laser therapy), significant differences were observed in mean age (23 vs. 25 years; p < 0.01)[AUTHROS TO USE MEDIAN PLUS RANGE OR ADD SD] and surgeons' experience (p = 0.014). Propensity score matching was applied to overcome confounding factors, resulting in a matched cohort including 73 patients in each group. The addition of laser therapy demonstrated a significantly lower recurrence rate (8.2% vs. 32.9%; p < 0.001) compared to pit excision without laser therapy. Logistic regression analysis showed that the addition of laser was significantly associated with a lower risk for recurrence (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.089-0.633; p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The incorporation of laser therapy along with trephine/pit excision surgery significantly reduces the recurrence rate in patients with PNS. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Number of evaluated lymph nodes and positive lymph nodes, lymph node ratio, and log odds evaluation in early-stage pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: numerology or valid indicators of patient outcome?

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the prognostic significance and universal validity of the total number of evaluated lymph nodes (ELN), number of positive lymph nodes (PLN), lymph node ratio (LNR), and log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) in a relatively large and homogenous cohort of surgically treated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. METHODS: Prospectively accrued data were retrospectively analyzed for 282 PDAC patients who had pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) at our institution. Long-term survival was analyzed according to the ELN, PLN, LNR, and LODDS. RESULTS: Of these patients, 168 patients (59.5 %) had LN metastasis (N1). Mean ELN and PLN were 13.5 and 1.6, respectively. LN positivity correlated with a greater number of evaluated lymph nodes; positive lymph nodes were identified in 61.4 % of the patients with ELN ≥ 13 compared with 44.9 % of the patients with ELN < 13 (p = 0.014). Median overall survival (OS) and 5-year OS rate were higher in N0 than in N1 patients, 22.4 vs. 18.7 months and 35 vs. 11 %, respectively (p = 0.008). Mean LNR was 0.12; 91 patients (54.1 %) had LNR < 0.3. Among the N1 patients, median OS was comparable in those with LNR ≥ 0.3 vs. LNR < 0.3 (16.7 vs. 14.1 months, p = 0.950). Neither LODDS nor various ELN and PLN cutoff values provided more discriminative information within the group of N1 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our data confirms that lymph node positivity strongly reflects PDAC biology and thus patient outcome. While a higher number of evaluated lymph nodes may provide a more accurate nodal staging, it does not have any prognostic value among N1 patients. Similarly, PLN, LNR, and LODDS had limited prognostic relevance.

Metabolic and Renal Effects of Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Inhibitors Treatment After Liver Transplantation: Real-Life Single-Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors following liver transplantation (LT) are used to minimize calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-related nephrotoxicity. Data about metabolic effects of mTOR inhibitors are still limited. AIM: This study aims to determine the renal and metabolic effects of different mTOR inhibitor-based protocols in real-life LT patients. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients treated with mTOR inhibitors after LT. Demographics, treatment protocols, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and metabolic parameters were collected over a period of 4 years. Initiation of blood pressure (BP), diabetes mellitus, and lipid medications was also noted. RESULTS: Fifty-two LT recipients received mTOR inhibitors. GFR improved significantly (by 1.96 mL/min/year), with greater improvement in patients with baseline renal dysfunction (+13.3 mL/min vs +4.5 mL/min at 3 years). Conversion to an mTOR inhibitor during the first post-transplant year resulted in a more durable improvement in GFR (for 4 years vs only 1 year for later conversion).No significant weight gain or new-onset diabetes mellitus was observed. However, there was some increase in total cholesterol (+7 mg/dL) and blood pressure (+2 mm Hg during the third year and +8 mm Hg in the fourth years), followed by initiation of lipid-lowering and BP medications in 25% and 13% of patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with an mTOR inhibitor following LT resulted in improved kidney functions without significant negative metabolic effects such as weight gain or new-onset diabetes mellitus. This makes mTOR inhibitors a valuable immunosuppressive option in the face of the growing incidence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis as a leading cause for LT.

Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas: Management and long-term outcome.

BACKGROUND: Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) of pancreas is a rare pancreatic neoplasm with a low metastatic potential. Our aim was to study the clinical-pathological characteristics, and long-term outcome of this tumor. MATERIALS: Rretrospective single center study of patients operated for SPN of pancreas. Clinical and pathological data were collected. RESULTS: From 1995 to 2016, 1320 patients underwent pancreatic resection. SPN was confirmed in 32 cases (2.46%), including 29 (90.6%) female and three (9.4%) male, with a mean age of 28.4 ± 12.2 years. SPN was the most common pathology among female patients under age of 40 (72.4%). Abdominal pain was the most frequent presenting symptom (48%), whereas none of the patients presented with jaundice. Mean tumor diameter was 5.9 cm (range, 0.9-14 cm). All patients underwent margin-negative surgical resection. Two patients demonstrated gross malignant features, including liver metastases at presentation (n = 1), and adjacent organ and vascular invasion (n = 1). Microscopic malignant features were present in thirteen patients (40.6%). Recurrence occurred in the retroperitoneal lymph nodes (n = 1, 7 years post resection) and in the liver (n = 2, 1 and 5 years post resection). Mean follow-up was 49.2 months (range, 1-228 months). Five and 10-year disease-free survival was 96.5% and 89.6% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: SPNs are low-grade tumors with a good prognosis. Margin-negative surgical resection is curative in most patients. However, almost 15% of patients demonstrate malignant features including invasion of adjacent organs or metastatic disease. Patients with malignant disease are still expected to have long survival, and aggressive surgical approach is advocated.

Laparoscopic versus open liver resection for metastatic colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Application of minimally invasive surgery for oncologic liver resection is still limited to expert centers. We describe our experience in laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) for colorectal liver metastases (CLM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between February 2010 and February 2015, 174 patients underwent resection of CLM. LLR was chosen according to surgeon's preferences. Data was retrieved from the institutes' electronic charts and retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: LLR was performed in 42 patients (24.5%) and OLR in 132. Increased number of metastases were found in OLR (2.82 ± 2.81 versus 1.78 ± 1.16, P = 0.02), with no difference in maximal lesion size (33.1 ± 22 versus 34.9 ± 27.5 cm, P = 0.7). Altogether 55 patients underwent major hepatectomy, and 50 of the OLR group (37.8%, 37 right hepatectomy and 7 left hepatectomy) (P = 0.02). In 5 patients (11.6%) a conversion to open surgery was indicated. Operative time was longer in LLR. Estimated blood loss was decreased in laparoscopic minor resections. One OLR patient died during the postoperative period (0.7%). Eight patients in the OLR group had major complications, versus 1 in the LLR group (P = 0.0016). Reoperation within 30 days was performed in 4 OLR patients and none in the LLR group. Patients in the LLR group had shorter length of stay (LOS) (6.78 ± 2.75 versus 8.39 ± 5.64 days, P = 0.038). R0 resection was 88% in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: In selected patients with CLM, LLR is feasible, safe and may achieve shorter LOS without inferior oncologic outcome.

Efficacy of high vs low dose TNF-isolated limb perfusion for locally advanced soft tissue sarcoma.

AIMS: The administration of a high dose of rTNF-alpha (3-4 mg) and Melphalan via isolated limb perfusion (ILP) for patients with locally advanced limb STS was shown to be effective. Reports that a low dose of TNF (1mg) is as effective, led to the adoption of the low dose regimen as the treatment of choice. The purpose of this study was to compare two groups of patients with locally advanced limb STS, that was treated with high and low dose TNF-ILP, in terms of limb preservation. METHODS: Retrospective study of 41 patients who underwent ILP, with "high dose" (HD) and "low dose" (LD) TNF. ILP/TNF was performed on candidates to either amputation or significantly mutilating surgery without this treatment. In both groups, all patients, with the exception of three in each group, underwent resection of the residual tumor or tumor bed or limb 8-12 weeks after the procedure. RESULTS: In the HD group, marked tumor softening occurred within 48 h, and in tumors protruding through the skin, hemorrhagic necrosis was evident within 24h. The overall response rate was 65.2%. Five patients achieved a CR and 10 had a PR; in five of these patients >90% necrosis of the tumor occurred. In eight patients, only minimal regression was observed (stabilization of disease). The rate of limb sparing was 69.5%. In the LD group, the overall response rate was 30.7%. CR was achieved in one patient. PR was observed in two. Two patients were lost to follow up. Of the remaining 15 patients, limb preservation was achieved in 53.3%. CONCLUSION: Despite the retrospective comparison and possible selection bias, it is possible to raise the concern that at least some patients may benefit from a higher TNF dose perfusion in ILP for advanced limb STS.