Bedside diagnostic laparoscopy for critically ill patients: a retrospective study of 62 patients.

BACKGROUND: Bedside diagnostic laparoscopy has an important role of diagnosing acute abdomen in critically ill patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU). Delayed diagnosis of intraabdominal pathology increases the morbidity and mortality rates for these patients, whose clinical signs often are absent due to analgesic medication and sedation. METHODS: In this retrospective study performed from January 2007 to December 2009, 62 consecutive ICU patients whose blood test results showed them to be hemodynamically unstable underwent bedside diagnostic laparoscopy. The inclusion criteria specified clinically suspected acute cholecystitis, unknown sepsis, acidosis with a high level of lactate, elevated lab tests (white blood cell count, bilirubin, lactic dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase, gamma glutamyl transferase [γGT]), and acute anemia with suspected intraabdominal bleeding. The major contraindications to bedside diagnostic laparoscopy were coagulopathy, endocranic hypertension, and heart failure. Patients with a clear indication for an open surgical procedure were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Of the 62 patients who underwent bedside diagnostic laparoscopy, 43 (69.3%) had positive findings and 29 (46.7%) had acute acalculous cholecystitis. The mean operation time was 38 min, and no procedure-related deaths occurred. The procedure was performed for postsurgery patients, especially after cardiac operations, and for trauma or septic patients. Respiratory and hemodynamic parameters were monitored before, during, and after the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: As a minimally invasive procedure, bedside diagnostic laparoscopy can be performed in the ICU for hemodynamically unstable patients. It is safe procedure with high diagnostic accuracy for acute intraabdominal conditions that avoids negative laparotomies for unstable patients. The bedside diagnostic laparoscopy procedure is not performed widely, and prospective studies are needed to better evaluate outcome and advantages for critically ill patients.

Is laparoscopy safe and effective in nontraumatic acute abdomen?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Progress in laparoscopic experience has increased the number of laparoscopic procedures performed, even in emergency cases. Herewith, results in a prospective series of 300 patients laparoscopically treated for nontraumatic abdominal emergencies are presented with the intent to prove the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic approach in the treatment of acute abdomen. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From a prospective multicenter study performed between June 2008 and December 2009, the authors collected data on 300 patients with a provisional diagnosis of acute abdomen, laparoscopically treated or who underwent explorative laparoscopy. RESULTS: A correct diagnosis was made by means of laparoscopy in all 300 (100%) patients, and therapeutic laparoscopy was successfully performed in 270 (90%) patients. With laparoscopy, it was possible to modify the preoperative diagnosis and the treatment in 17 cases (5.6%). Upon statistical analysis, the conversion rate was correlated to the age of the patients (P<.0001) and to the operative time (P<.0001). The overall postoperative morbidity rate was 8%. Statistical analysis revealed that morbidity is correlated to the age of patients (P<.0001) and to the operative time (P<.0001). The mean hospital stay was 5.4 days. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy has been shown to play a crucial role in the management of almost every abdominal emergency, offering, compared with the open approach, an initial diagnostic or explorative tool and a valid alternative in the treatment of the cause of acute abdomen with low morbidity and mortality rates.

[Perforated jejunal diverticulitis: a case report]. / Diverticolite digiunale perforata: caso clinico.

The authors present a case of midgut perforated diverticulitis in a 78-year-old patient, associated with a colovesical fistula and sigmoid obstruction of diverticular origin. Surgical resection of the small bowel segment affected together with primary anastomosis is the preferred treatment in patients with symptomatic complicated jejunoileal diverticular disease. In complicated midgut diverticulitis the preoperative diagnosis is a challenge: the symptoms are aspecific and imaging techniques are of no use. As a result, the diagnosis of complicated jejunoileal diverticulitis can be quite difficult, and a definitive diagnosis may often be made only after surgical exploration.

Gallbladder strangulation within an incisional hernia.

We describe here the first case in the literature of gallbladder strangulation within an incisional hernia. A patient with a history of rectal cancer operation presented with a "surgical abdomen" and a palpable right upper quadrant mass at the site of the previous colostomy. At surgery, a strangulated gallbladder was found in the subcutaneous tissue. Cholecystectomy was performed, and patient recovery was uneventful. If gallbladder strangulation is suspected, the surgeon should avoid forceful attempts at hernia reduction, as this may cause rupture of the gallbladder and subsequent contamination.

[Hand-assisted videolaparoscopic surgery of the abdominal aorta: preliminary experience with the first 9 cases]. / Chirurgia videolaparoscopica dell'aorta addominale "hand assisted": esperienza preliminare sui primi nove casi.

Laparoscopic surgery decreases postoperative pain, shortens hospital stay, and returns patients to full functional status more quickly than open surgery in a variety of surgical procedures. This study was undertaken to evaluate laparoscopic techniques as applied to aortic surgery. Nine patients underwent elective hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery, 8 for obliterative disease and 1 for an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta. Five patients had a left aorto-femoral bypass, 3 patients an aorto-bifemoral bypass, and 1 patient an aorto-aortic bypass after aneurysmectomy. There were no laparotomic conversions and all procedures were completed with transperitoneal hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery. Mean aortic clamping time was 39 minutes and mean operative time 194 minutes. Mean blood loss was 500 ml and the mean postoperative hospital stay was 4.2 days without major complications. At control examinations all grafts were patent. Hand-assisted laparoscopic aortic surgery is feasible, safe, and effective. In selected cases it may be a valid surgical procedure in addition to conventional and endovascular surgery. The advantages observed in our patients were minimal tissue trauma, less postoperative pain and faster postoperative recovery.