Disconnected pancreatic duct syndrome: complete pancreas transection secondary to acute pancreatitis.

Disconnected pancreatic duct syndrome is a serious complication of acute pancreatitis which is defined by a complete discontinuity of the pancreatic duct, such that a viable side of the pancreas remains isolated from the gastrointestinal tract. This pancreatic disruption is infrequently observed in the clinical practice and its diagnostic and therapeutic management are controversial. We present an extreme case of disconnected pancreatic duct syndrome with complete duct disruption and pancreatic transection following acute pancreatitis, as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic processes carried out.

Outcome quality standards in pancreatic oncologic surgery in Spain. / Estándares de calidad en la cirugía oncológica pancreática en España.

INTRODUCTION: To establish quality standards in oncologic surgery is a complex but necessary challenge to improve surgical outcomes. Unlike other tumors, there are no well-defined quality standards in pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study is to identify quality indicators in pancreatic oncologic surgery in Spain as well as their acceptable limits of variability. METHODS: Quality indicators were selected based on clinical practice guidelines, consensus conferences, reviews and national publications on oncologic pancreatic surgery between the years 2000 and 2016. Variability margins for each indicator have been determined by statistical process control techniques and graphically represented with the 99.8 and 95% confidence intervals above and below the weighted average according to sample size. RESULTS: The following indicators have been determined with their weighted average and acceptable quality limits: resectability rate 71% (>58%), morbidity 58% (<73%), mortality 4% (<10%), biliary leak 6% (<14%), pancreatic fistula rate 18% (<29%), hemorrhage 11% (<21%), reoperation rate 11% (<20%) and mean hospital stay (<21 days). CONCLUSIONS: To date, few related series have been published, and they present important methodological limitations. Among the selected indicators, the morbidity and mortality quality limits have come out higher than those obtained in international standards. It is necessary for Spanish pancreatic surgeons to adopt homogeneous criteria regarding indicators and their definitions to allow for the comparison of their results.